{"id":177598,"date":"2019-03-26T13:38:28","date_gmt":"2019-03-26T13:38:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/?p=177598"},"modified":"2026-04-02T13:14:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T12:14:00","slug":"how-long-to-file-a-car-accident-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/car-insurance\/how-long-to-file-a-car-accident-claim","title":{"rendered":"How long after a car accident can you file a claim?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;ve recently been in a car accident, your first concern might be getting car repairs paid so you can get back to everyday life.<\/p><p>But in some cases, when it comes to making a claim it might be better to wait.<\/p><p>In the UK claims can be made up to three years after the accident occurred, although this can vary from provider to provider.<\/p><h3 id=\"claim\">How long should I wait before filing a claim?<\/h3><p>Generally speaking, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/car-insurance\/car-insurance-claims\">filing a claim<\/a> as soon after an accident as possible helps your insurer to pay all the bills and expenses from your accident more quickly. Claims take time to process, so the sooner you file, the sooner you&#8217;ll probably see a reimbursement or payment from your provider.<\/p><h3 id=\"wait\">Should I wait to file an insurance claim?<\/h3><p>It&#8217;s worth weighing up the pros and cons of waiting to file.<\/p><div class=\"fin-pros-cons\">\n            <div class=\"fin-pros-cons__section\">\n            <h4 class=\"fin-pros-cons__heading\">Pros<\/h4>\n            <ul class=\"icon-list icon-list--check-circle\">\n                                    <li><strong>Get a more comprehensive claim.<\/strong> Most providers won't allow you to file more than one claim for one accident, and if they do, the process can be much more complex.<\/li>\n                                    <li><strong>Make the most of your available coverage.<\/strong> It's possible that if you rush to file your claim, you'll forget or miss an item that insurance would have covered if you had the chance to look through your claim again.<\/li>\n                            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n    \n            <div class=\"fin-pros-cons__section\">\n            <h4 class=\"fin-pros-cons__heading\">Cons<\/h4>\n            <ul class=\"icon-list icon-list--x-circle\">\n                                    <li><strong>Longer wait before reimbursement or payment.<\/strong> Depending on your circumstances, you might need your claim paid out sooner rather than later. When you wait to file, that just delays the claims process.<\/li>\n                                    <li><strong>Possible late bill payments.<\/strong> If you wait too long to file and it delays the payment of important charges or bills, you might get reported for a past-due payment to a credit reporting agency. If this happens, it could have a negative impact on your credit score.<\/li>\n                            <\/ul>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<h3>Bottom line<\/h3><p>If your vehicle is damaged in a car accident, it can take weeks or even months to assess the true cost of fixing what&#8217;s wrong.<\/p><p>Waiting before filing your claim with your insurer might help you get the coverage you&#8217;ll ultimately need. For more information on everything to do with auto coverage, you can read our comprehensive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/car-insurance\">guide to car insurance<\/a>.<\/p><h3>Frequently asked questions<\/h3><ul class=\"luna-accordionGroup accordionGroup\"><li class=\"luna-accordion\" data-accordion=\"accordion\">\n  <div class=\"luna-accordion__summary\">\n    <h4 class=\"luna-accordion__heading\">\n      <button class=\"luna-accordion__action collapsed\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion0000000000\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-target=\"#accordion0000000000\">\n        <span class=\"luna-accordion__title\">What happens to my insurance costs after making an insurance claim?<\/span>\n        <svg class=\"luna-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n          <use xlink:href=\"#chevron-down\" data-accordion-icon=\"show\"><\/use>\n          <use xlink:href=\"#chevron-up\" data-accordion-icon=\"hide\" class=\"is-hidden\"><\/use>\n        <\/svg>\n      <\/button>\n    <\/h4>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"luna-accordion__details collapse\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"accordion0000000000\" data-accordion=\"details\">\n    <div class=\"accordionContent\"><p>Typically your insurance premiums will increase after making a claim on your insurance. You might also lose any no-claim or claim-free discount for maintaining your policy with no accidents or claims for a certain period.<\/p><p>However, if you have accident forgiveness on your policy, you&#8217;re usually protected from any increase in cost because of your previous track record for safe driving. It may help to talk to your provider, so you can find out how much your rate will increase, and whether it&#8217;s worth it to make your claim or pay out of pocket for damages.<\/p><\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/li><li class=\"luna-accordion\" data-accordion=\"accordion\">\n  <div class=\"luna-accordion__summary\">\n    <h4 class=\"luna-accordion__heading\">\n      <button class=\"luna-accordion__action collapsed\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion0000000001\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" data-target=\"#accordion0000000001\">\n        <span class=\"luna-accordion__title\">What if my policy's window to file a claim is too short?<\/span>\n        <svg class=\"luna-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n          <use xlink:href=\"#chevron-down\" data-accordion-icon=\"show\"><\/use>\n          <use xlink:href=\"#chevron-up\" data-accordion-icon=\"hide\" class=\"is-hidden\"><\/use>\n        <\/svg>\n      <\/button>\n    <\/h4>\n  <\/div>\n  <div class=\"luna-accordion__details collapse\" aria-hidden=\"true\" id=\"accordion0000000001\" data-accordion=\"details\">\n    <div class=\"accordionContent\"><p>Many insurance providers reserve the right to set time limits for filing claims. If you feel your provider has set an unfair time limit, you may want to speak with an agent about a possible compromise, or other options that might help you file in time while still getting the cover you need.<\/p><\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/li><\/ul><style type=\"text\/css\">\n    .survey-response {\n        overflow-x: auto;\n        max-width: 800px;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .luna-table th,\n    .survey-response .luna-table td {\n        padding: 0.3rem 1rem calc(0.20rem + 1px);\n        font-size: 12px;\n        color: rgb(117, 117, 117);\n        text-align: left;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .luna-table {\n        border: none;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .row-color-icon {\n        width: 10px;\n        height: 10px;\n        display: inline-block;\n        margin-right: 4px;\n        border-radius: 2px;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .source-container {\n        top: -12px !important;\n        position: relative;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .source {\n        color: rgb(108, 120, 129);\n        font-size: 11px;\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .source-link {\n        color: rgb(2, 113, 225);\n        font-size: 11px;\n        text-decoration: underline;\n    }\n\n    @media (min-width: 600px) {\n        .survey-response .border-fix {\n            border-radius: 12px;\n            border: 1px solid var(--light-divider-normal, #E5E7EB);\n            background: var(--light-background-main, #FFF);\n            padding: 0px\n        }\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .chart-container {\n        min-height: 250px;\n        border-radius: 12px;\n        border: 1px solid var(--light-divider-normal, #E5E7EB);\n        background: var(--light-background-main, #FFF);\n        padding: 15px;\n    }\n\n    .google-visualization-tooltip {\n        pointer-events: none;\n    }\n\n    @media screen and (min-width: 960px) {\n        .survey-response.u-grid {\n            margin-left: auto;\n            display: flex;\n            justify-content: space-between;\n            margin-right: auto;\n        }\n\n        .u-grid__col.chart-container {\n            margin-left: 0 !important;\n            margin-right: 0 !important;\n        }\n    }\n\n    .survey-response .table-container {\n        overflow-x: auto;\n        max-width: 800px;\n        display: block;\n    }\n\n    @media screen and (max-width: 959px) {\n        .survey-response .table-container {\n            display: block;\n        }\n\n        .source-container {\n            margin-left: 2rem;\n            margin-right: 2rem;\n        }\n    }\n\n<\/style><h4>Finder survey: Has your car ever been involved in an accident or broken down?<\/h4><div id=\"scale-surveys-10011-4176\" class=\"survey-response u-grid u-grid--gutterLarge\"><div id=\"view-has-your-car-ever-broken-down-or-been-involved-in-an-accident-before--gender-\" class=\"u-grid__col u-1\/2@s u-1\/1 aligncenter size-full chart-container\" style=\"max-width: 445px;\"><\/div><style>\n\t\t\t\t#scale-surveys-10011-4176 text,\n\t\t\t\t#scale-surveys-10011-4176 svg text,\n\t\t\t\t#view-has-your-car-ever-broken-down-or-been-involved-in-an-accident-before--gender- text,\n\t\t\t\t#view-has-your-car-ever-broken-down-or-been-involved-in-an-accident-before--gender- svg text {\n\t\t\t\t\tfont-family: 'Modern Era', sans-serif !important;\n\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t<\/style><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\t\t\t\t(function() {\n\n\t\t\t\t\tvar packageToLoad = 'bar';\n\t\t\t\t\tvar eventName = 'GoogleChartsLoaded-' + packageToLoad;\n\t\t\t\t\tvar event = new Event(eventName);\n\n\t\t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(eventName, function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log('called event!', eventName);\n\n\t\t\t\t\tfunction drawChart() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tvar chartType = 'bar';\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvar data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[\" \", \"Male\", \"Female\", ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[\"Yes\", 46.74, 42.02, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[\"No\", 36.68, 32.38, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[\"N\/A I don't have a car\", 16.58, 25.6, ],\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t]);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tvar options = {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlegend: {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tposition: 'none'\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tcolors: ['#1D53FF', '#00B2FF', '#FFD23B', '#C3F53C', '#B469FF', '#FF73A9', '#1DD751', '#DB2420', '#E5F7FF', '#FFF9E5', '#EEF5DC', '#F2E5FF', '#FFE5EF']\n\t\t\t\t\t\t};\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\tvar chart;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tchart = new google.charts.Bar(document.getElementById('view-has-your-car-ever-broken-down-or-been-involved-in-an-accident-before--gender-'));\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Bar chart specific options can go here\n\t\t\t\t\t\toptions.bars = 'vertical';\n\t\t\t\t\t\toptions.hAxis = {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tviewWindowMode: 'maximize',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tformat: '#,###\\'%\\'',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttitle: '',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttextStyle: {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfontName: 'Modern Era',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfontSize: 12\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t};\n\t\t\t\t\t\toptions.vAxis = {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tformat: '#,###\\'%\\'',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\ttextStyle: {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfontName: 'Modern Era',\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfontSize: 12\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t};\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tchart.draw(data, (chartType == 'pie') ? options : google.charts.Bar.convertOptions(options));\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\tdrawChart();\n\t\t\t\t\t});\n\n\t\t\t\t\tfunction init() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log('calling init', eventName);\n\t\t\t\t\t\tif (typeof google !== 'undefined' && google.charts) {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log('found charts', google, packageToLoad);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tgoogle.charts.load('current', {'packages':[packageToLoad]});\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tgoogle.charts.setOnLoadCallback(function() {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.dispatchEvent(event);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t});\n\t\t\t\t\t\t} else {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log('retrying');\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsetTimeout(init, 100);\n\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\tinit();\n\t\t\t\t})()\n\t\t\t<\/script><div class=\"u-grid__col u-1\/2@s  u-1\/1 aligncenter size-full border-fix table-container\"><table class=\"luna-table js-tablesorter tablesorter tablesorter-default\" role=\"grid\"><thead class=\"luna-table__header\"><tr><th>Response<\/th><th><span class=\"row-color-icon\" style=\"background-color: #1D53FF;\"><\/span>Male<\/th><th><span class=\"row-color-icon\" style=\"background-color: #00B2FF;\"><\/span>Female<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody class=\"luna-table__body\" aria-live=\"polite\" aria-relevant=\"all\"><tr><td>Yes<\/td><td>46.74%<\/td><td>42.02%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>No<\/td><td>36.68%<\/td><td>32.38%<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>N\/A I don&#039;t have a car<\/td><td>16.58%<\/td><td>25.6%<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><div class=\"source-container\"><span class=\"source\">Source: Finder survey by Censuswide of 1032 Brits, December 2023\t\t<\/div><\/div><article class=\"luna-card luna-card--alt\"><div class=\"luna-card__block has-padding-small\">The offers compared on this page are chosen from a range of products we can track; we don't cover every product on the market...yet. Unless we've indicated otherwise, products are shown in no particular order or ranking. The terms \"best\", \"top\", \"cheap\" (and variations), aren't product ratings, although we always explain what's great about a product when we highlight it; this is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/terms-of-use\" class=\"fin-text-navy\">subject to our terms of use<\/a>. When making a big financial decision, it's wise to consider getting independent financial advice, and always consider your own financial circumstances when comparing products so you get what's right for you. Most of the data in Finder's comparison tables is provided by Defaqto. In other cases, Finder has sourced data directly from providers.<\/div><\/article><article class=\"luna-card luna-card--alt\"><div class=\"luna-card__block\">*Based on data provided by Consumer Intelligence Ltd, www.consumerintelligence.com (January \u201926). 51% of Confused.com car insurance customers could save \u00a3529.15.<\/div><\/article>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;ve been in a car accident, your first concern is getting car repairs paid off. Learn about how you can avoid waiting too long to file.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":680,"featured_media":180481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"nicheCode":"","productId":"","enableOptimizely":false,"_persistent_nav_menu_items":null,"blockTemplateId":"","_post_hreflang":"","related_url":"\/how-long-to-file-a-car-accident-claim","footnotes":""},"categories":[2645],"tags":[],"asset_tag":[],"class_list":["post-177598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-car-insurance"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.9 (Yoast SEO v24.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How long after a car accident can you file a claim? | Finder UK<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you&#039;ve been in a car accident, your first concern is getting car repairs paid off. Learn about how you can avoid waiting too long to file.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.finder.com\/uk\/car-insurance\/how-long-to-file-a-car-accident-claim\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How long after a car accident can you file a claim?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you&#039;ve been in a car accident, your first concern is getting car repairs paid off. 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