Under current UK legislation, you must pay costs to the first medical person to treat you following a road traffic accident. This is part of the Road Traffic Act. People have been known to call this a charge for an ambulance. Strictly speaking this is not the case but in real life terms it is usually the ambulance paramedics that offer the care and the account is sent to to you from the N H S hospital that sent the ambulance and its crew.



YOU MUST PAY THIS BY LAW irrespective of who was to blame for the accident. Your insurer will foot the bill under this section. Just send the account into them and they will remit it straight to the N H S trust. Or pay it out of your own pocket and ask your insurer to repay you.

Sometimes in a hectic insurance office, the claims staff could overlook the account if you have returned it with other papers. Indeed you might receive a reminder from the N H S trust that the account remains unpaid. Tell the N H S Trust who your insurance company are and telephone the claims office. Be firm but please don't lose your temper.

Payment of this account in itself does not affect your no claims bonus. It is not regarded as a claim. So, in the unlikely event that your insurance company were to pay the medical treatment invoice and nothing else your bonus remains intact. But in a road traffic accident where a person is hurt, it is unlikely there is no other types of claim to be met.

Theoretically, if someone else is at fault for the accident you can send the invoice on to their insurance company but you are just asking for unnecessary hassle. My advice is, don't bother. It makes no difference to you whichever way.

Following recent alterations to the law, hospitals now also charge insurers for treatment given to third party victims of accidents, with certain limits applied. These are paid to the NHS Trust in cases where you have been negligent and somebody else has had treatment for the injury that you caused. THIS HAS PUSHED UP THE COST OF CLAIMS SETTLEMENTS AND CONSEQUENTLY YOUR PREMIUMS. Some insurance professionals consider that this is a further case of increasing taxation by stealth by the Government.