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When another driver damages your car, you generally have two routes. Claim on your own comprehensive policy and let your insurer sort it out, or claim directly against the driver who caused it. Both are legitimate and they lead to quite different places. The excess is the part everyone focuses on, and it is not the most important difference.
Sorting out a replacement?
Tell us what is off the road. We will tell you what we run that is genuinely comparable.
Route One: Claim on Your Own Policy
How it works
You lodge with your own comprehensive insurer, pay your excess, and they manage the repair.
They then pursue the at-fault driver's insurer to recover what they paid, a process called
subrogation. Where recovery succeeds, your excess is typically refunded.
Why people choose it
It is the path of least resistance. Your insurer has an established process, an approved
repairer network, and a claims handler whose job is to move it along. If you do not want to
correspond with a stranger's insurer, this is the simpler option.
The catches
You pay the excess upfront and wait for it back, and the refund depends on recovery succeeding.
The claim appears on your record and, depending on your insurer and policy, can affect your
no-claim discount until fault is established in your favour. And you have less control: your
insurer chooses the repairer and decides what to accept in settlement, because at that point it is
their money being recovered.
Where it matters most
Comprehensive policies frequently include some form of replacement vehicle entitlement, but the
scope varies enormously between products. Many provide a small hire car for a limited number of
days. That is a contractual benefit under your policy, and it is a different thing from your
common law entitlement against the at-fault driver.
Route Two: Claim Directly Against the At-Fault Driver
How it works
You do not involve your own policy for the damage. You claim against the person who caused it,
in practice their insurer, for the cost of repair and for the reasonable cost of a broadly
comparable replacement vehicle for the period you are deprived of your own.
Why people choose it
No excess to fund. No claim on your own record. And critically, your entitlement to a
replacement vehicle is governed by the common law position confirmed by the High Court in 2021
rather than by whatever limited hire benefit your own policy happens to include. For a prestige
vehicle owner that difference is substantial.
The catches
You are dealing with an insurer that has no relationship with you and no incentive to move
quickly. If liability is contested, you carry that dispute yourself rather than handing it to your
own insurer. And you may need to fund repairs or a replacement in the interim.
The Excess, Properly Explained
Your excess is the contribution you pay under your own policy when you claim on it. It is not
a penalty and it is not related to fault.
Where another driver is at fault, the excess is ordinarily recoverable from them as part of
your loss. Two points people miss. First, recovery takes time and is not guaranteed, so you are
out of pocket in the interim. Second, if you never claim on your own policy, there is no excess to
recover in the first place, which is one of the cleaner arguments for the direct route.
No-Claim Discount and Your Record
Practice varies between insurers and policies, so read yours rather than relying on general
statements. Commonly, a claim where you are not at fault and the other driver is identified does
not reduce your no-claim discount, particularly once recovery succeeds.
The two situations that cause trouble are where the other driver cannot be identified, and
where liability is genuinely disputed for a long period. In both, the claim may sit on your record
as unrecovered for some time. If your no-claim position matters to you, ask your insurer directly
how they will treat it before lodging rather than afterwards.
Where the Replacement Vehicle Question Really Bites
This is the difference that matters most and gets the least attention.
Under your own policy, any hire car is whatever your product schedule says: often a small
vehicle, often for a capped number of days. It is a contractual benefit and its limits are the
limits.
Against the at-fault driver, the measure is the reasonable cost of a broadly comparable or
equivalent vehicle for the period you are reasonably deprived of yours, following
Arsalan v Rixon; Nguyen v Cassim [2021] HCA 40. There is no cap written into a product
schedule, and you do not have to prove you needed a car.
If you were driving something expensive, those two routes produce very different vehicles. That
is frequently the deciding factor.
How to Read the Hire Car Clause in Your Own Policy
Before deciding between the two routes it is worth actually reading what your policy provides,
because people routinely assume it is more generous than it is.
Find the words, not the summary
Look in the product disclosure statement rather than the marketing page. The clause is usually
under a heading such as hire car, rental car or alternative transport, and it will be qualified.
Four questions to answer
How many days is it capped at? What class or size of vehicle is provided? Does it apply only
where the vehicle is stolen, or also where it is damaged? And does it apply while the vehicle is
being repaired, after a total loss, or both? The answers vary enormously between products, and a
policy that provides fourteen days of a small hatchback is a very different proposition from your
common law entitlement against the at-fault driver.
The comparison that matters
Put the policy benefit next to what a broadly comparable replacement for your actual car would
look like over the realistic repair period. If the gap is large, that is the single strongest
argument for pursuing the direct claim, and it is a calculation you can do in ten minutes.
You Can Sometimes Do Both
These are not always mutually exclusive. It is common to have the repair handled through your
own insurer, because that is efficient, while pursuing the replacement vehicle claim against the
at-fault driver, because that is where the better entitlement sits.
Whether that combination is available and sensible depends on your policy wording and the facts
of the accident. It is exactly the sort of question worth putting to a solicitor early, because
the decision is much easier to make before you lodge than to unwind afterwards.
Notify Your Insurer Either Way
Whichever route you take, tell your own insurer the accident happened. Most policies require
notification of any incident regardless of whether you intend to claim, and failing to notify can
create a problem entirely separate from who was at fault. Notifying is not the same as claiming,
and you can say explicitly that you are notifying only.
When the Choice Is Made For You
Three situations narrow the options considerably. If the other driver is unidentified, claiming
on your own policy may be the only realistic route. If they are uninsured, recovery is against an
individual and your own insurer may be better placed to pursue it than you are. And if liability
is genuinely disputed, your own insurer carrying the fight has real value even at the cost of an
excess and a mark on your record.
If the replacement vehicle is booked
We never move you down a tier. If your dates are taken, these are the luxury cars we will offer instead, and we will tell you plainly if none of them is free rather than substituting something lesser on the day.
Range Rover Sport
- 294kW
- 5.9s
- AWD
- 5 seats
The kind of broadly comparable replacement the principle contemplates when the damaged car was a prestige SUV.
Mercedes-Benz GLS
- 243kW
- 6.3s
- AWD
- 7 seats
Seven seats, for when the car off the road was the family vehicle and a hatchback genuinely will not do the job.
Insurer offered you something smaller?
Send us the make and model of your car and we will tell you honestly whether what they offered is a fair match.
General information only. Every claim turns on its own facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to claim on my own insurance if I was not at fault?
Generally no. You can claim directly against the at-fault driver, in practice their insurer, for the repair and for a replacement vehicle. Claiming on your own policy is a choice rather than a requirement, and the two routes lead to different places.
Will I get my excess back?
Where you claim on your own policy and your insurer recovers from the at-fault side, the excess is typically refunded. It takes time and is not guaranteed. If you never claim on your own policy there is no excess to recover in the first place.
Will a not-at-fault claim affect my no-claim discount?
It depends on your insurer and policy, so check yours. Commonly a not-at-fault claim where the other driver is identified does not reduce it, particularly once recovery succeeds. Problems arise where the driver is unidentified or liability is disputed for a long time.
Which route gets me a better replacement vehicle?
Usually the direct claim against the at-fault driver. Your own policy provides whatever hire benefit the schedule specifies, often a small car for capped days. The claim against the at-fault driver is measured by the reasonable cost of a broadly comparable vehicle, with no product cap. For a prestige car that difference is significant.
Can I use my own insurer for repairs but claim the hire car separately?
Often yes, and it is a common approach: efficiency on the repair, better entitlement on the replacement. Whether it is available depends on your policy wording and the facts, which is worth advice before you lodge rather than after.
Do I still have to tell my insurer if I am not claiming?
Yes. Most policies require notification of any incident regardless. Notifying is not the same as claiming and you can say you are notifying only.
What if the other driver cannot be identified?
Claiming on your own policy may be the only realistic route for property damage, since there is no one to pursue. Note that the NSW Nominal Defendant scheme addresses personal injury under CTP, not property damage or hire costs.
What if liability is disputed?
Having your own insurer carry the dispute has real value, even at the cost of an excess and a claim on your record. Pursuing a contested claim yourself while running up hire charges is the riskier path.
Is this legal advice?
No. This is general information about how replacement vehicle claims usually work in New South Wales. It does not take account of your circumstances and no solicitor-client relationship arises from reading it. For advice on your own claim, speak to a solicitor.
Does Drive Tribe run my claim?
No. We are a vehicle hire business. What we can do is supply a broadly equivalent replacement from a prestige fleet, and tell you honestly whether what we have is a reasonable match for what you were driving.