For road users

MAI scheme

The way you’re covered by compulsory personal injury insurance if you’re involved in a motor accident in the ACT changed from 1 February 2020. Under the new scheme, Canberrans will receive fairer, faster and more comprehensive support if they are injured in a motor vehicle accident.

Everyone who is injured in a motor vehicle accident will be entitled to receive treatment, care and lost income benefits for up to five years – no matter who was at fault. This is different to the previous scheme that only covered people injured by an at-fault driver (third parties).

The name of the new scheme is the Motor Accident Injuries Scheme (the previous scheme was the Compulsory Third-party (CTP) Insurance Scheme). If you paid a CTP insurance policy when you registered your vehicle prior to 1 February 2020 and that policy extended past 1 February 2020, then that policy automatically became a Motor Accident Injuries policy on 1 February 2020.

The new scheme delivers:

fair coverage for all road users
equitable access to treatment and care for people who are injured
quick and transparent benefits to get recovery underway as soon as possible
comprehensive and ongoing support for those who need it most.

You can find out more about the Motor Accident Injuries Scheme on this website.

There is also a Defined Benefit Information Service provided by CARE inc, that provides free advice and assistance to people on accessing the defined benefits available to them under the Motor Accident Injuries Scheme. The Defined Benefit Information Service by CARE can be contacted on 1300 209 642.

If you are injured in a motor vehicle accident, the scheme you are covered under depends on the date of the accident, not the date of your application. Any claims for accidents that occurred before 1 February 2020 will be managed under the Compulsory Third-party (CTP) Insurance Scheme, regardless of when the claim is made. Visit Treasury website to find out more about the CTP Scheme.

Your Motor Accident Injuries policy will indemnify you for an accident that occurs interstate if another person is injured and you are at fault. However, if you are injured in the accident what you receive in benefits or compensation for your injuries will be under the applicable scheme in that state, and not of the ACT scheme.

How MAI insurance premiums are set

Premiums for the Motor Accident Injuries (MAI) scheme are subject to government regulation to ensure that they can cover our community’s needs.

The premiums are set by and paid to a licensed private sector MAI insurer.

When setting premiums insurers consider the estimated claims cost for the year (the average claim cost), the estimated number of claims (claim frequency), and administration costs. Other factors considered when calculating premiums are the type and use (private or business) of the vehicle.

The ACT’s MAI scheme is a ‘community rated’ scheme, where motorists in each vehicle class pay the same premium regardless of their individual circumstances and risk of being involved in an accident. ‘Community rated’ schemes provide equality and affordability, and reduce the cost of compulsory personal injury insurance for drivers with differing circumstances (such as young and older drivers).

Prior to the Citizen’s Jury process that led to the development of the MAI scheme, the Government made a commitment that premiums for all vehicle classes will not increase as a result of the commencement of the new MAI scheme. For motorcyclists, who are expected to have more and higher cost claims than drivers under the new scheme, premium affordability has been maintained through a subsidy from other vehicle classes that is reflected in premiums.

Your Motor Accident Injuries policy

On 1 February 2020, your existing CTP insurance policy will become a MAI policy and you will be automatically covered under the new scheme. You do not need to cancel or do anything with your CTP policy.

You will see the new MAI premium reflected in your registration renewal notice when your registration becomes due.

You can find information on previous CTP premiums on the Treasury website. For information on MAI Premiums, visit MAI Insurers and Premiums.

MAI insurers and Premiums

Motor Accident Injuries Premiums Payable

The MAI premiums in the ACT for all MAI vehicle classes are provided below for each licensed insurer. Consumers should note that MAI insurers may offer incentives such as cash/back, multi-policy or other types of discounts on their products. You will need to contact the insurers directly or visit insurers’ webpages to obtain information on these products.

The contact details for each of the insurers is as follows:

AAMI	Website: www.aami.com.au Phone: 13 22 44
Apia	Website: www.apia.com.au Phone: 13 50 50
GIO	Website: www.gio.com.au Phone: 13 10 10
NRMA Insurance	Website: www.nrma.com.au Phone: 132 132

The levies that appear on your registration renewal notice fund other services associated with road usage, including the MAI Commission and the Lifetime Care and Support (LTCS) Scheme.

The Motor Accident levy funds the MAI commission in performing its role to regulate, administer, oversee, review and monitor the ACT MAI Scheme. The LTCS levy provides funds for the treatment and care of catastrophically injured persons from motor accidents. You can find information on this scheme on the LTCS website.