Dealing With Your CTP Insurer and Case Manager

Your case manager is the person handling your file day to day at the insurer. Most are simply doing a high-volume job within scheme rules — but a productive working relationship with them, built on clear written communication, generally serves your claim better than frustration, even when the process feels slow.

Communicate in writing where you can

Phone calls are convenient, but they leave no record. Follow up important calls with a short email confirming what was discussed and agreed. If the insurer gives you a deadline for information, get it in writing, and meet it — or explain in writing why you can't.

Keep a simple log

• Date and time of each call, letter, or email.
• Who you spoke to and what was discussed or agreed.
• Any deadlines given to you, and any you gave the insurer.
• Copies of everything sent and received.

Read every letter carefully

Insurer letters often contain deadlines for providing information, or formal decisions about treatment or payments that trigger review rights with their own time limits. A letter that looks routine can carry a 28-day clock you don't want to miss.

If your case manager changes

Files sometimes move between case managers. If this happens to you, ask the new case manager to confirm in writing what's already been approved or agreed, so nothing gets lost or re-litigated unnecessarily.

Signs it's time to bring in a lawyer

• The insurer disputes liability or blames you for the accident.
• Requests for information feel excessive, repetitive, or designed to stall.
• Treatment that your treating team recommends keeps being refused.
• Weekly payments are reduced or stopped without a clear explanation.
• You're not getting straight answers about your entitlements.

What CTP Assist can (and can't) help with

CTP Assist (1300 656 919, weekdays 8:30am–5pm) is a free information and support service run by SIRA — useful for process questions and communication difficulties with an insurer. It's not your lawyer and doesn't give legal advice; for a dispute about liability, entitlements, or a threshold injury classification, that's where a specialist CTP lawyer comes in.

When to escalate beyond your case manager

If straightforward, polite written follow-ups aren't getting a response, the next step is usually asking for the case manager's team leader, in writing, and copying in the original correspondence so there's a clear paper trail. This isn't about being difficult — insurers generally have internal escalation paths precisely because case manager workloads and turnover mean things sometimes slip. If escalation within the insurer still isn't working, that's a reasonable point to involve CTP Assist or, for a substantive dispute rather than a communication problem, a lawyer.

The Independent Review Office (IRO)

Separately from CTP Assist, the Independent Review Office (IRO) handles complaints specifically about the conduct of CTP insurers — for example, if you feel you've been treated unfairly or unreasonably by an insurer's process, rather than disagreeing with a particular decision. The IRO can be contacted on 13 94 76 or online at iro.nsw.gov.au. It's a different role from CTP Assist, and from a dispute at the Personal Injury Commission — worth knowing which one actually fits your concern.