We understand life can get busy. There’s nothing like getting into a bingle in a carpark the day before you head off on holiday for two weeks. So, is there a time limit for making a claim on your car insurance policy?

The short answer: For AAMI, no. If you had a policy at the time of the incident you’re entitled to lodge a claim (except for legal action on third party liability, which has a seven-year limit). But it’s better to lodge a claim sooner rather than later. We’ll go over why below.

Make a claim

How long after an accident should I lodge a car insurance claim?

The sooner the better!

It depends on the insurer, but usually you’re able to complete a claim online when it suits you. You’ll be required to provide some information about the incident as part of this process, which means it can be harder to recall all the details the longer you leave it off.

With that said, if you don’t have all the information when you first make a claim, you can just add what you know at the time and add more at a later date.

How delaying a claim lodgement may affect its progress

Delaying the lodgement of your claim can increase the risk of something affecting the success of your claim. For example:

• Changes to an at-fault driver’s circumstances or contact details. This might include changes to their registration details, insurance details or even their contact details. This can impact our ability to contact them and process a claim.
• Memories fade over time, and this can affect interested parties’ ability to recount key facts of an event and details listed in a claim.
• Evidence for a claim can either be lost or be harder to collate the longer the delay, impacting the potential success of a claim.
• The damage that occurred may worsen over time. This could lead to more significant damage, like rust spreading to panels or underlying parts, which wasn’t caused by the incident itself. This may then impact your claim.

The specifics of how a delay may impact your claim depends on your specific policy wording.

How to make a claim

Claim on your AAMI insurance through AAMI Online, the AAMI App or by calling 13 22 44. We'll guide you through our step-by-step process:

• Have the details ready – we'll need to know what happened.
• Lodge your claim 24/7 – follow the guided prompts. If requested, supply photos, docs and details.
• Assessment – we’ll assess your claim and if deemed to be repairable we will arrange the repairs to your car with one of our preferred repairers.
• Finalise your claim – we'll let you know the outcome of your claim and organise a settlement, if applicable.

What to have ready for a car insurance claim

Before you start your car claim, gather the following:

• Your policy number.
• Details of the event – when and where it occurred, what happened and the damage to vehicles or property.
• Details of the people involved including witnesses, if applicable – their contact info (full name, contact number and address), insurer, and info about their car (the make, model and colour, and their rego and licence).
• Where possible, photos and videos of the accident scene and damage to vehicles involved.
• If someone stole or maliciously damaged your vehicle, notify the police and get hold of a police report.

Don’t worry if you don’t have all the info right now. Enter what you can, and we’ll reach out for additional details if required.

Hint: for many policies, you can do all this through the AAMI App, including uploading photos directly from your phone. Handy, right?

Download the AAMI App

Managing your claim

Once you’ve lodged a claim, simply log in to your AAMI account to keep up to date and manage your claim. You can:

• view and manage your claim
• book, view, and manage your vehicle assessment
• view details of your AAMI Approved Repair Partner
• view and manage a hire car booking (if eligible), and
• pay your excess online (if applicable).

* The following personal insurance policy types can’t be managed online: AAMI Fire & Theft Contents Insurance), AAMI Strata Insurance, and AAMI Compulsory Third Party Insurance (CTP).

Track your claim online

Repairs and replacements for car insurance claims

We provide support throughout the process of repairing or replacing your car.

If your car insurance claim is accepted, we‘ll connect you to one of our AAMI Approved Repair Partners. We’ll let you know where to drop your vehicle off and you’ll get a notification when it’s ready for pick up.

Regardless of whether you claim online or by phone, you can use AAMI Online to:

• View and change your vehicle assessment booking time.
• View details of the authorised repairer.