Is the handling of your personal injury claim taking a long time while you receive little clarity? Ask for an overview of the outstanding questions, the people responsible and concrete follow-up dates. A complaint becomes stronger when it shows which action is not being taken and what consequence that has for you.
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Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Do you have questions about your own situation? Get in touch.
Recognising delay and making it concrete
Not every long handling period is careless. Medical recovery, a necessary expert examination or a calculation of future loss can take time. Unexplained inactivity, repeated requests for documents already provided and the absence of a decision on sufficiently substantiated losses, however, do call for an explanation.
Draw up a timeline of information requests, your answers, commitments made and missed responses. Note which step is needed now: medical advice, acceptance of a head of loss, an advance payment or negotiations on a settlement. This prevents a complaint from producing nothing more than a general acknowledgement of receipt.
The Code of Conduct for Personal Injury Claims (GBL)
The GBL, the Code of Conduct for Personal Injury Claims of the Dutch Personal Injury Council, contains principles for careful and prompt claims handling. Check its scope and identify which conduct in your file falls short. A reference to the code is most useful when it is linked to a concrete question or a missed agreement.
The code does not automatically determine the amount of your compensation. A complaint about communication and a dispute about liability or causation are separate matters. Both may arise at the same time, and each then calls for its own appropriate approach.
Submitting a targeted complaint
Address the complaint to the right organisation: the liability insurer, your own insurer or your claims representative. State the file number, the core of the complaint, the relevant dates and the solution you want. You could ask, for example, for a meeting with someone who has decision-making authority and a timetable for the remaining issues.
Leave out medical details that are not needed for the complaint. Refer to the relevant documents instead of sending the entire file unsorted. Ask for a substantive response within a reasonable period, in line with the urgency of the matter.
If discussions do not help
The available complaints route depends on whom you are addressing and in what capacity. An injured third party cannot simply take every dispute with the motor liability insurer (WAM insurer) to Kifid, the Dutch Financial Services Complaints Tribunal. Professional and disciplinary routes also have their own purpose and jurisdiction.
A partial dispute procedure (deelgeschil), an expert investigation or other proceedings can be considered if a substantive blockage persists. If you are in financial difficulty, the undisputed advance payment deserves separate attention. A complaint does not automatically suspend the limitation period or other deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
Is lengthy claims handling always blameworthy?
No. The reason for the delay and the progress made are taken into account. Ask which necessary step explains the delay.
Do I automatically receive extra compensation for delay?
Not automatically. Interest and any additional loss require their own legal basis and supporting evidence.
Can I switch to a different claims representative?
That can be looked into. Arrange the transfer of the file, deadlines and costs carefully, especially if legal expenses insurance is funding the case.
What can Arslan do?
We can identify the blockage, draft a targeted complaint and assess the options for taking over the case or starting proceedings.
Read also about discontinued advance payments, expert investigations and a second opinion under legal expenses insurance.
Have us examine which step can move your stalled personal injury claim forward.
This page provides general information and is not legal advice about your own situation. No rights can be derived from its content.
