Requesting a payment before
the claim settles.
An interim payment is a partial advance on expected compensation, available once liability is admitted. It does not close the claim. Most claimants do not know it exists.
A personal injury claim can take months to resolve. An interim payment allows a claimant to receive part of their expected compensation before the final settlement is reached — for example, to fund treatment, cover lost earnings, or meet other immediate financial needs caused by the accident.
It is available through the OIC portal once liability has been admitted. It does not close the claim. It is deducted from the final settlement when the claim resolves. It is one of the most consistently underused features of the OIC process, in part because it is not prominently explained and many claimants do not know it exists.
This page explains what an interim payment is, when it applies, how to request one and what to expect.
What an interim payment is
An advance on expected compensation — not an additional payment, and not a settlement.
Personal injury claims take time. The medical examination, the report, the offer stage and any negotiation can span many months. During that time, the claimant may be dealing with immediate financial consequences of the accident — treatment costs, time off work, travel expenses — without any compensation having been received.
An interim payment addresses this by allowing the claimant to receive part of the expected compensation before the claim fully resolves. It recognises that the financial impact of an accident does not wait for the claims process.
An interim payment is not a settlement. Accepting an interim payment does not close the claim or limit the final settlement. It is an advance — a partial payment of what the claimant is expected to receive — and it is deducted from the final figure when the claim resolves.
It is also not guaranteed. The compensator can decline a request or offer a lower amount. The availability of an interim payment depends on liability having been admitted and on the claim being at a stage where the expected compensation can be roughly assessed.
When it is available
The key condition is that liability has been admitted. Before that point, no interim payment is available through the OIC portal.
An interim payment through the OIC portal is available once the compensator has admitted liability — either in full or in part. Before the liability decision, the claim has not yet reached the point where an advance on compensation is appropriate, because it has not been established that the claimant is entitled to compensation at all.
Where liability is admitted in part — a split liability decision — an interim payment may still be available, but the amount will reflect the admitted proportion. A 75% liability admission means the interim payment is calculated against 75% of the expected compensation.
Interim payments are most relevant where there is an immediate financial need that cannot wait for the final settlement — private physiotherapy or treatment that has already been incurred or is urgently needed, significant lost earnings during recovery, or other substantial out-of-pocket costs directly caused by the accident.
They are less relevant for claimants whose immediate financial position is not significantly affected by the accident, or where the claim is progressing quickly toward settlement in any case.
An interim payment does not close the claim.
It advances part of it.
Accepting an interim payment is not the same as accepting a settlement. The claim continues. The final figure is agreed later. The interim payment is simply deducted from it. This distinction matters — some claimants are reluctant to request an interim payment because they worry it will affect their final settlement. It does not change the value of the claim. It changes only when part of that value is received.
How to request one through the portal
The request is made through the OIC portal after liability has been admitted. The process is built into the portal’s standard functionality.
Once liability has been admitted, the OIC portal allows unrepresented claimants to submit an interim payment request directly. The portal generates an Interim Request Form, which is sent to the compensator through the portal’s messaging system. The compensator then has a defined period to respond — either accepting the request, offering a different amount, or declining with reasons.
The OIC’s guidance states that unrepresented claimants can request up to £1,000 as an interim payment once liability is admitted. The request should be accompanied by a brief explanation of why the interim payment is needed and what it will be used for.
An interim payment request is more likely to be accepted where the need is clear and supported by documentation. A letter from a treatment provider confirming the cost of sessions needed, a payslip showing lost earnings, or receipts for costs already incurred give the request a concrete basis.
A request without supporting context is not invalid — but a compensator is more likely to accept or engage with one where the basis for the request is explained. The portal’s messaging system is the appropriate channel for this exchange.
How it affects the final settlement
The interim payment is an advance — it is deducted from the final figure. It does not change the value of the claim.
When the claim eventually settles, the interim payment is deducted from the agreed settlement figure. If the claim settles for £2,500 and an interim payment of £800 was received, the final payment on settlement is £1,700. The total received is £2,500 either way — the interim payment simply means part of it arrived earlier.
The interim payment does not reduce the negotiating position. The tariff value, the non-tariff elements and the financial losses component of the claim are not affected by whether an interim payment has been received. The settlement is negotiated based on the full picture, and the interim payment is settled out of the final figure.
If an interim payment was received and the claim ultimately settles for less than the interim amount — an unusual situation — the excess may need to be repaid. This is rare in practice, because interim payments are typically conservative relative to the expected settlement. It is worth being aware of the principle, however, particularly in claims where the outcome is uncertain.
What happens if it is refused
The compensator can decline an interim payment request. Understanding what that means — and what options exist — is useful to know before requesting one.
A compensator may decline an interim payment request where the amount requested is considered disproportionate, where the claim is at an early stage and the expected settlement is unclear, or where liability has been admitted only in part and the admitted proportion does not support the requested amount. The compensator must provide reasons for a refusal.
A refusal is not necessarily the end of the matter. If the reasons given are not consistent with the claim’s position — for example, liability has been fully admitted and the request is modest — this is a situation where regulated legal advice may be worth obtaining to assess whether the refusal is reasonable and what options exist.
If an interim payment request is declined and the financial need is immediate, the options depend on the specific circumstances. Where the claim is progressing normally and the financial need relates to treatment costs, it may be worth discussing with the compensator whether their preferred treatment provider can be used directly — some insurers have panel providers where treatment can be arranged without upfront cost to the claimant.
Where the need is more urgent and the claim is complex, regulated legal advice is the appropriate route. A solicitor can assess the position and advise on whether the refusal can be challenged through the portal’s formal mechanisms.
Related guidance
The rights you have at every stage of the OIC process — including the right to take time before settling and the right to claim financial losses separately from the tariff.
How the final settlement figure is calculated, what the counter-offer mechanism involves, and the most important question to ask before accepting.
When the process feels slow, the insurer is unresponsive, or something about how the claim is progressing does not seem right.
Last reviewed: 19 March 2026
ClaimTalk provides general guidance only. Not legal advice. Not affiliated with the Official Injury Claim portal or any government body.
ClaimTalk cannot respond to questions about individual claims. If you need advice specific to your situation, a regulated solicitor is the appropriate route.