What is the very first thing to do after a UK car accident?

Make the scene safe. Switch on hazard lights, move to the verge or kerb if the vehicle is drivable and it is safe to do so, and use a warning triangle on non-motorway roads at a sensible distance behind the collision. Never set up a triangle on a motorway hard shoulder - call 999 and leave the road. Once safe, check yourself and other occupants for injury and call 999 if anyone is hurt or trapped. Only then move to exchanging details and gathering evidence. Personal safety always comes before evidence collection.

Do I have to call the police?

Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 the duty is to stop and exchange details. You must only report the collision to police where details cannot be exchanged at the scene (for example a hit-and-run, or a driver who refuses to provide details), and that report must be made within 24 hours at a police station. You should call 999 immediately where anyone is injured, the road is blocked, there is fire or fuel leak, a driver is impaired by drink or drugs, or there is suspicion of a stolen vehicle. For a routine damage-only collision the police usually do not attend.

Should I admit liability at the scene?

No. Even if you think the collision was your fault, do not admit liability at the scene. Liability is for the insurers (and ultimately the court) to determine on the evidence, applying the Highway Code, the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the common-law standard of the reasonable driver. An at-scene admission can prejudice the insurer’s right to defend the claim, can invalidate the policy under the standard ‘admission’ clause and is rarely a complete picture of the legal fault. State the facts (what you saw, what you did) but leave the question of fault to the file.

Do I have to use my own insurer?

You have a contractual duty to notify your own insurer within the policy’s notification window even on a non-fault claim - failing to notify can breach the policy and cause issues at next renewal. But notification is not the same as claiming on your own policy. On a non-fault claim, the at-fault driver’s insurer pays the recoverable heads of loss, your no-claims discount is protected and your excess is not engaged. Many drivers choose to route their non-fault claims through an independent accident-support service rather than through their own insurer, to preserve no-claims and avoid unnecessary policy entries.

What evidence should I gather at the scene?

Photographs of every vehicle in its resting position, the damage from multiple angles, the registration plates, the road layout, traffic signals, road markings, signs, debris, weather and any visible injuries; the other driver’s name, address, phone number, vehicle registration, insurer and policy number; the name and contact details of any independent witnesses; the police incident reference if police attended; dashcam footage saved to phone or laptop immediately; any third-party CCTV that may be on a council, shop or business camera in the area (note the location for later retrieval).

When do I have to claim by?

Three years from the accident date for personal injury under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980; six years for property damage under section 2. For children the personal-injury clock does not start until the eighteenth birthday under section 28. In Scotland the personal-injury prescription period is also three years but property damage is five. The headline figure is three years but the practical claim window is much shorter: evidence degrades, witnesses move, dashcam footage is overwritten and the OIC portal is structured around early notification. Open the file in weeks, not months.

How does the OIC portal work?

The Official Injury Claim portal at officialinjuryclaim.org.uk is the statutory route for low-value RTA personal injury claims where pain, suffering and loss of amenity is worth £5,000 or less. You register a Claim Notification Form, enter the at-fault driver’s details, and a MedCo-allocated medical expert produces the report. The compensator (at-fault insurer) responds through the portal on a timeline set by the rules. The portal is designed for use by the claimant in person, although you may instruct a solicitor. Above £5,000 PSLA the claim moves to the pre-action protocol for personal injury claims.

What if the other driver was uninsured or left the scene?

Where the at-fault driver was uninsured the claim is pursued against the Motor Insurers’ Bureau under the Uninsured Drivers Agreement 2017. Where the driver cannot be identified (hit-and-run, untraced) the parallel Untraced Drivers Agreement 2017 applies. Both Agreements impose contractual notification windows that must be met independently of the Limitation Act period - see our pages on the MIB uninsured-driver claim and the MIB untraced-driver claim. Strict early notice and a police report are mandatory conditions of MIB liability.

What can I claim for?

Personal injury damages (general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, tariff-capped for whiplash up to 24 months under SI 2025/615 and judicially valued for everything else); special damages for financial loss (lost earnings net of tax and NIC, treatment costs, care and assistance, mileage to medical appointments, damaged personal property); vehicle-related costs (recovery, storage, repair to PAS 125 / BS 10125 standard, like-for-like replacement vehicle under Lagden v O’Connor [2003] UKHL 64, diminished value where applicable). Excess and policy fees you have already paid are also recoverable.

Where does CityGrip fit in?

CityGrip is a UK accident claim management business. We coordinate the non-injury, property-damage side of a non-fault file - recovery from the scene, secure storage, independent engineer inspection, repair management at PAS 125 / BS 10125 accredited garages, like-for-like replacement vehicle and direct insurer communication. We do not provide legal advice and we do not run personal injury claims; with your explicit consent we introduce you to an SRA-regulated panel solicitor on disclosed referral terms for the injury element. There is no upfront cost to the non-fault driver because the recoverable costs are paid by the at-fault driver’s insurer.

UK guide

How to claim after a car accident in the UK: a step-by-step guide

An end-to-end UK guide to claiming after a road traffic accident: the first 24 hours, evidence at the scene, notifying insurers, the OIC portal, recovery and replacement vehicle, and how CityGrip coordinates the non-injury side while a panel solicitor handles the injury claim.

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What are the key steps to claim after a car accident in the UK?

Make the scene safe; check for injury and call 999 if needed; exchange details under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988; photograph every vehicle, plate, damage and the road layout; see a doctor within 48 hours; notify your own insurer for information only; open an accident-support file to coordinate recovery, storage, engineer inspection and a like-for-like replacement vehicle; and register a personal injury claim either on the Official Injury Claim portal (low value) or through a panel solicitor (higher value). CityGrip coordinates the non-injury side at no upfront cost; we introduce you to an SRA-regulated panel solicitor for the injury claim only with your explicit consent.

A UK car accident produces two parallel files: the property-damage and operational side (your vehicle, your replacement transport, your insurer communication) and the personal injury side (any injury to you or your passengers, claimed against the at-fault driver’s insurer). The two files run in parallel, talk to each other through shared evidence, and settle on different timelines. This guide walks through both, in the order things happen, from the moment of impact to the settlement. It also explains where CityGrip fits - as a UK accident claim management business that handles the property-damage side and introduces you to a panel solicitor for the injury claim.

At the scene: safety, the section 170 duty and evidence

Personal safety comes first. Switch on hazard lights, move the vehicle to the verge or kerb if it is drivable and safe to do so, and never set up a warning triangle on a motorway hard shoulder. On other roads place a triangle 45 metres behind the collision (further on faster roads) and only if you can do so without crossing live traffic. Check yourself and other occupants for injury and call 999 if anyone is hurt, trapped, the road is blocked, there is fire or fuel leak or there is suspicion of impairment.

Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 imposes a statutory duty on every driver involved in a collision causing personal injury or damage to any vehicle, animal, structure or property to stop, give their name, address and the vehicle registration to anyone reasonably requiring them, and to produce the certificate of insurance to a police constable or, where requested, to any other person involved. Where details cannot be exchanged at the scene - typically a hit-and-run - the driver must report the collision to police within 24 hours at a police station. Failure to comply is a criminal offence under section 170(4) of the 1988 Act.

Evidence collected at the scene determines the insurance file. Photograph every vehicle in its resting position before anything is moved, every registration plate clearly, the damage to each car from multiple angles, the road layout in wide context shots, traffic lights, road markings, road signs, weather, visibility, any debris on the road and any visible injuries. Dashcam footage is the single most valuable piece of liability evidence in modern claims - export it to your phone or a laptop immediately because the dashcam will overwrite the buffer within hours or days. Note the other driver’s details and the contact details of any independent witnesses.

The first 48 hours: medical evidence and the GP visit

The personal injury claim begins with the contemporaneous medical record. Whether you feel symptoms immediately or not, see a GP, walk-in centre, urgent treatment centre or A&E within 48 hours of the collision. Whiplash often has delayed onset - symptoms can appear 12-48 hours later, sometimes longer. Soft-tissue injuries to the back, shoulders and ribs may take a few days to declare themselves fully. The contemporaneous record dates the symptoms to the collision, rules out delayed concussion or serious internal injury, and triggers the medical record trail the insurer will later request.

Tell the clinician the date, time and mechanism of injury - the type of collision (rear-end shunt, side impact, head-on, low-speed bump in a car park), whether you were wearing a seat belt, whether the airbag deployed, your immediate symptoms. The note that appears in your GP record from this visit is the evidence the MedCo medical expert and the at-fault insurer will see months later. Without it the insurer will routinely argue that any subsequent symptoms are not collision-related and the OIC portal claim becomes substantially harder.

Notifying your own insurer and the no-claims trap

Every UK motor policy contains a notification clause requiring the policyholder to notify the insurer of any accident, loss or damage within a defined window - commonly 24 to 48 hours, sometimes seven days. The duty applies even on a non-fault claim. Failing to notify is a breach of the policy and can result in cover being avoided at next renewal or, in serious cases, the policy being treated as breached for the accident itself. Notify your own insurer, in writing, even if you intend to pursue the claim against the at-fault driver only.

Notification is not the same as claiming on your own policy. Tell the insurer you are notifying them for information purposes only and that the claim will be pursued against the at-fault driver’s insurer. This wording protects your no-claims discount - a non-fault claim notified-only does not affect NCD in most insurers’ practice. If you claim on your own policy (typically because the at-fault insurer is slow, you need an immediate replacement vehicle or the policy includes legal expenses cover that you wish to use) your insurer subrogates against the at-fault insurer and recovers the outlay. This route can affect your NCD in the short term while the recovery completes.

Many drivers prefer to route the non-fault claim through an independent accident-support service that coordinates recovery, storage, repair, engineer inspection and replacement vehicle without engaging the policyholder’s own insurer at the cost-incurring stage. This is the route CityGrip operates. The non-fault driver does not pay anything at the point of service because the costs are recovered from the at-fault driver’s insurer under established UK credit-hire and credit-repair authority (Dimond v Lovell [2002] 1 AC 384, Lagden v O’Connor [2003] UKHL 64).

The property-damage track: recovery, inspection, repair and replacement

Once a non-fault accident-support file is open, the property-damage track runs in a defined sequence. First: recovery from the scene. The damaged vehicle is recovered by an accredited operator to secure storage, or to a designated bodyshop if it is repair-bound and the repair is in scope. See our accident recovery page for the operational detail.

Second: secure storage. Where the vehicle is not immediately repair-bound - typically because liability is still being investigated or because an engineer’s inspection is pending - the vehicle is held in secure, weatherproof storage at recoverable rates. See accident storage. Third: an independent engineer inspects the vehicle to determine repair scope, total-loss valuation or like-for-like replacement specification. The engineer’s report is the technical basis on which the at-fault insurer’s reserve is set and against which the eventual settlement is negotiated. See engineer inspection.

Fourth: repair coordination at a PAS 125 / BS 10125 accredited bodyshop, or - where the vehicle is a total loss - settlement of the market-value claim. See repair management and car write-off claim. Fifth: a like-for-like replacement vehicle while the claimant’s own vehicle is off the road, supplied on credit hire terms under Lagden v O’Connor authority. See credit hire. The replacement should match the claimant’s vehicle by class, body type, drivetrain, equipment level and (where applicable) ULEZ / CAZ compliance.

The personal injury track: OIC portal or pre-action protocol

The personal injury track is procedurally distinct from the property-damage track. Where pain, suffering and loss of amenity is valued at £5,000 or less the route is the Official Injury Claim portal at officialinjuryclaim.org.uk, the statutory route under the Civil Liability Act 2018 reforms in force from 31 May 2021. The portal is designed for use by litigants in person but a solicitor can be instructed. A MedCo-allocated medical expert produces a fixed-cost report; the compensator (at-fault insurer) responds within the portal’s timeline; the portal manages the file through to settlement or exit.

Where the injury is valued above £5,000 PSLA, or where the claimant is a vulnerable road user (pedestrian, cyclist, motorcyclist, horse rider, mobility-scooter user), the claim runs on the ordinary pre-action protocol for personal injury claims through an SRA-regulated solicitor. The solicitor sends a letter of claim, the insurer has 21 days to acknowledge and three months to investigate, medical experts are instructed under the protocol, and the claim is negotiated and (if necessary) issued at court. Inter-partes legal costs are recoverable from the at-fault insurer on the fast track and multi-track.

CityGrip introduces clients with personal injury claims to an SRA-regulated panel solicitor on disclosed referral terms. The introduction is only made with the client’s explicit, recorded consent; the firm’s identity, the nature of the referral and the typical deductions from settlement are disclosed before agreement is signed. See injury claim referral for the procedural detail and personal injury claim car accident for the substantive legal background.

Typical timeline from accident to settlement

Day 0: collision occurs. Day 0-2: scene evidence captured, medical appointment, insurer notified, accident-support file opened. Day 1-3: vehicle recovered, secure storage arranged, engineer inspection scheduled. Day 7-21: engineer’s report produced, repair scope or total-loss valuation determined, like-for-like replacement vehicle in place. Day 14-30: at-fault insurer notified of property-damage heads of loss, reserve set. Week 6-12: repair completed or total-loss settlement paid, replacement vehicle returned.

On the personal injury side, the timeline is longer. Week 1-2: claim registered on OIC portal or letter of claim sent under the pre-action protocol. Month 2-3: MedCo medical examination, report produced. Month 4-6: insurer responds, liability admitted or contested. Month 6-9: negotiation, settlement offer, Part 36 exchanges. Month 9-18: settlement reached and damages paid; for higher-value or contested files the timeline extends to 24-36 months with proceedings issued and possibly tried.

Throughout, the three-year limitation period under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980 runs in the background. See accident claim time limit. The OIC portal does not stop the limitation clock; protective proceedings must still issue inside three years for personal injury (six for property damage under section 2). A claim that drifts into year three on the portal must be exited to protective proceedings before the long-stop expires.

Frequently asked questions

What is the very first thing to do after a UK car accident?: Make the scene safe. Switch on hazard lights, move to the verge or kerb if the vehicle is drivable and it is safe to do so, and use a warning triangle on non-motorway roads at a sensible distance behind the collision. Never set up a triangle on a motorway hard shoulder - call 999 and leave the road. Once safe, check yourself and other occupants for injury and call 999 if anyone is hurt or trapped. Only then move to exchanging details and gathering evidence. Personal safety always comes before evidence collection.
Do I have to call the police?: Under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 the duty is to stop and exchange details. You must only report the collision to police where details cannot be exchanged at the scene (for example a hit-and-run, or a driver who refuses to provide details), and that report must be made within 24 hours at a police station. You should call 999 immediately where anyone is injured, the road is blocked, there is fire or fuel leak, a driver is impaired by drink or drugs, or there is suspicion of a stolen vehicle. For a routine damage-only collision the police usually do not attend.
Should I admit liability at the scene?: No. Even if you think the collision was your fault, do not admit liability at the scene. Liability is for the insurers (and ultimately the court) to determine on the evidence, applying the Highway Code, the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the common-law standard of the reasonable driver. An at-scene admission can prejudice the insurer’s right to defend the claim, can invalidate the policy under the standard ‘admission’ clause and is rarely a complete picture of the legal fault. State the facts (what you saw, what you did) but leave the question of fault to the file.
Do I have to use my own insurer?: You have a contractual duty to notify your own insurer within the policy’s notification window even on a non-fault claim - failing to notify can breach the policy and cause issues at next renewal. But notification is not the same as claiming on your own policy. On a non-fault claim, the at-fault driver’s insurer pays the recoverable heads of loss, your no-claims discount is protected and your excess is not engaged. Many drivers choose to route their non-fault claims through an independent accident-support service rather than through their own insurer, to preserve no-claims and avoid unnecessary policy entries.
What evidence should I gather at the scene?: Photographs of every vehicle in its resting position, the damage from multiple angles, the registration plates, the road layout, traffic signals, road markings, signs, debris, weather and any visible injuries; the other driver’s name, address, phone number, vehicle registration, insurer and policy number; the name and contact details of any independent witnesses; the police incident reference if police attended; dashcam footage saved to phone or laptop immediately; any third-party CCTV that may be on a council, shop or business camera in the area (note the location for later retrieval).
When do I have to claim by?: Three years from the accident date for personal injury under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980; six years for property damage under section 2. For children the personal-injury clock does not start until the eighteenth birthday under section 28. In Scotland the personal-injury prescription period is also three years but property damage is five. The headline figure is three years but the practical claim window is much shorter: evidence degrades, witnesses move, dashcam footage is overwritten and the OIC portal is structured around early notification. Open the file in weeks, not months.
How does the OIC portal work?: The Official Injury Claim portal at officialinjuryclaim.org.uk is the statutory route for low-value RTA personal injury claims where pain, suffering and loss of amenity is worth £5,000 or less. You register a Claim Notification Form, enter the at-fault driver’s details, and a MedCo-allocated medical expert produces the report. The compensator (at-fault insurer) responds through the portal on a timeline set by the rules. The portal is designed for use by the claimant in person, although you may instruct a solicitor. Above £5,000 PSLA the claim moves to the pre-action protocol for personal injury claims.
What if the other driver was uninsured or left the scene?: Where the at-fault driver was uninsured the claim is pursued against the Motor Insurers’ Bureau under the Uninsured Drivers Agreement 2017. Where the driver cannot be identified (hit-and-run, untraced) the parallel Untraced Drivers Agreement 2017 applies. Both Agreements impose contractual notification windows that must be met independently of the Limitation Act period - see our pages on the MIB uninsured-driver claim and the MIB untraced-driver claim. Strict early notice and a police report are mandatory conditions of MIB liability.
What can I claim for?: Personal injury damages (general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, tariff-capped for whiplash up to 24 months under SI 2025/615 and judicially valued for everything else); special damages for financial loss (lost earnings net of tax and NIC, treatment costs, care and assistance, mileage to medical appointments, damaged personal property); vehicle-related costs (recovery, storage, repair to PAS 125 / BS 10125 standard, like-for-like replacement vehicle under Lagden v O’Connor [2003] UKHL 64, diminished value where applicable). Excess and policy fees you have already paid are also recoverable.
Where does CityGrip fit in?: CityGrip is a UK accident claim management business. We coordinate the non-injury, property-damage side of a non-fault file - recovery from the scene, secure storage, independent engineer inspection, repair management at PAS 125 / BS 10125 accredited garages, like-for-like replacement vehicle and direct insurer communication. We do not provide legal advice and we do not run personal injury claims; with your explicit consent we introduce you to an SRA-regulated panel solicitor on disclosed referral terms for the injury element. There is no upfront cost to the non-fault driver because the recoverable costs are paid by the at-fault driver’s insurer.

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