Third-party direct insurance

You are probably familiar with the basic WA car insurance. If another driver causes a collision which results in damage to your car, you can recover this from the other party's insurer. However, this may change next year. The Union of Insurers has announced that they expect to start with WA-direct next year. WA-direct ensures that insurers can directly handle the damage for their policyholders. But how does WA-direct insurance work?

How does WA-direct work?

Suppose an accident has taken place between you and another car. The other driver did not give you the right of way although he should have done so. As a result, you have a big dent in your car. You report the damage to your own insurer. Your insurer then compensates the damage and recovers it from the other party's insurer. This is called WA-direct, because the damage is settled directly.

Initially, WA-direct will only apply to situations involving two passenger cars. If the test proves successful after a year, it will be extended to other vehicles such as mopeds and motorbikes. Incidentally, you are not obliged to use WA-direct if your insurer offers it. You can also simply recover the damage from the third-party insurance of the other party. Ultimately, that insurer also remains responsible for the compensation after the direct insurer has recovered the damages.

The aim of WA-direct is to simplify the handling of claims by claiming directly from the insurer. It does not matter who is liable. The WA-direct insurance is primarily aimed at material damage.

Getting redress

The big difference with a normal Third Party Liability insurance is that you do not have to recover damages from the other party's insurer. After your insurer has assessed the damage and paid you compensation, recovery only takes place from the liable insurer. Currently, they already do this with hull insurance. Many insurers experience that this works more efficiently, especially because there are fewer discussions between insurers.