What Is an Intimation of Claim and What Happens When It Is Sent?
At some point in the early stages of every personal injury claim in Scotland, a formal written communication goes out from the claimant's solicitor to the party responsible for the accident — or more precisely, to that party's insurer. This communication marks the moment at which the claim moves from an internal process of evidence gathering and case preparation into the external world of formal legal correspondence. It is the point at which the other side is officially put on notice that a claim is being made, that a solicitor is involved, and that compensation is being sought.
In Scotland, this communication is commonly referred to as an intimation of claim or a letter of claim. The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, and in practice different solicitors and different contexts use different terminology. What matters is not the label but the function — this is the document that formally initiates the claims process from the perspective of the other side, and understanding what it contains, what it triggers, and what happens after it is sent is important for anyone pursuing a compensation claim in Scotland.
What Is an Intimation of Claim?
An intimation of claim is a formal written notification sent by a claimant's solicitor to the defender — the party alleged to be responsible for the accident — or directly to their insurer, setting out the basic facts of the claim and inviting the defender to confirm their position on liability. It is the first formal step in the external claims process and it serves a number of distinct purposes simultaneously.
The first purpose is notification. The intimation puts the other side on notice that a claim is being made. Before this letter is sent, the insurer may have no knowledge that a claim is coming — they may have a record of the accident from their insured's own report, but they will not have received a formal legal claim. The intimation changes that. From the moment it is received, the insurer is on notice and is expected to begin investigating the circumstances of the accident and their insured's potential liability.
The second purpose is identification. Where the insurer is not already known — in some workplace accident cases, some public liability cases, and some road traffic accident cases — the intimation is sent to the defender directly, inviting them to identify and notify their insurer and to provide the insurer's contact details. This enables the claimant's solicitor to deal directly with the insurer going forward, which is the normal channel for conducting the claim.
The third purpose is preservation. The intimation puts the defender on notice that relevant evidence — CCTV footage, accident book entries, maintenance records, vehicle data, workplace risk assessments — should be preserved rather than destroyed or overwritten in the ordinary course of business. Where a defender receives notice of a claim and subsequently allows relevant evidence to be destroyed, they risk adverse inferences being drawn by a court.
The fourth purpose is procedural. In some categories of claim — particularly road traffic accident claims handled through the relevant online portals — the intimation of claim is a formal step that starts a defined procedural timeline with specified response periods. In other categories the timeline is less rigidly defined, but the sending of the intimation always marks the beginning of a process that the defender is expected to engage with constructively and promptly.
The Difference Between an Early Intimation and a Full Letter of Claim
An important distinction in Scottish personal injury practice is between an early intimation of claim sent at the outset of the case and a full letter of claim sent once the medical evidence and special damages have been fully prepared.
An early intimation is sometimes sent very shortly after the solicitor is instructed — before the medical evidence has been obtained and before the value of the claim has been assessed. Its primary purpose at that early stage is notification and preservation rather than the initiation of detailed negotiations. It tells the other side a claim is coming, puts them on notice to preserve evidence, and invites them to identify their insurer and indicate their position on liability. It does not attempt to set out the full value of the claim because that cannot be done until the medical evidence is in place.
A full letter of claim — sometimes called a letter of claim and valuation or a pre-litigation letter — is a more substantial document sent once the medical evidence is complete and the special damages have been calculated. It sets out not just the facts of the accident and the basis of liability but also the full value of the claim, supported by the medical report, the special damages schedule, and any other evidence relevant to quantum. It is this full letter of claim that opens the negotiation phase of the case.
In some claims, particularly straightforward ones where the solicitor moves quickly to gather the evidence, these two stages are combined into a single communication. In more complex claims, they are distinct steps separated by a period of evidence gathering that may last many months.
What an Intimation of Claim Contains
The content of an intimation of claim varies depending on its stage and purpose, but a full letter of claim in a Scottish personal injury case will typically contain several standard elements.
It will identify the parties — the claimant and the defender — and set out the solicitor's details and the basis on which they are instructed. It will set out the factual circumstances of the accident in sufficient detail for the defender to investigate — the date, time, and location of the accident, the circumstances in which it occurred, and the basis on which the defender is alleged to have been at fault. It will identify the legal basis of the claim — whether it is founded in common law negligence, breach of statutory duty, or both — and set out briefly why the defender is considered to be liable.
It will describe the injuries sustained and their impact on the claimant, supported by reference to the medical evidence obtained. Where a full medical report has been obtained, it will typically be attached to or summarised in the letter. It will set out the special damages claimed — the financial losses incurred and likely to be incurred as a result of the injuries — supported by a schedule of loss with the relevant documentary evidence. And it will invite the defender to confirm within a specified period whether they admit or deny liability, and if they deny it, to set out the basis of that denial.
The tone of a well-drafted letter of claim is formal but not aggressive. It presents the claimant's case clearly and comprehensively, gives the defender the information they need to assess their position, and invites a constructive response. The goal at this stage is not confrontation — it is to give the defender the opportunity to resolve the claim without the need for court proceedings.
What Happens When the Letter Is Received
When the intimation of claim lands with the defender's insurer, it triggers a series of internal processes on the insurer's side that run in parallel with the continued preparation of the claimant's case.
The insurer will open a claims file and assign the claim to a claims handler — a member of staff responsible for investigating and managing the claim. For straightforward, lower-value claims the claims handler may manage the entire process internally. For more complex or higher-value claims, the insurer will instruct a firm of solicitors to act on their behalf, and from that point the claimant's solicitor will be dealing with the defender's solicitors rather than directly with the insurer.
The insurer will contact their insured — the person or organisation responsible for the accident — to obtain their account of the circumstances. In a road traffic accident case, they will take a statement from their policyholder. In a workplace accident case, they will contact the employer to understand their account of how the accident happened and to review the relevant documentation — the accident book entry, the risk assessment, the maintenance records for any equipment involved, and the training records for the employees concerned. In a public liability case, they will contact the occupier to understand how the hazard arose, what inspection and maintenance regime was in place, and whether any previous complaints or incidents had been reported.
The insurer will also investigate the circumstances independently — they may instruct a loss adjuster or an investigator to visit the scene, review any available CCTV footage, obtain statements from witnesses, and gather any other evidence relevant to the liability question.
The Liability Response
The most significant thing that happens after the intimation of claim is received is the defender's response on liability — their confirmation of whether they accept or deny responsibility for the accident. This response is the pivot point of the entire claim, because the direction the case takes from this point depends fundamentally on whether liability is admitted or denied.
Where liability is admitted, the focus of the claim shifts entirely to quantum — the assessment of how much compensation is due. The defender is conceding that they were at fault and that the claimant is entitled to compensation. The dispute, if there is one, is about the value of that compensation rather than about whether it is owed at all. In these circumstances the negotiation process can begin as soon as the medical evidence and special damages are fully prepared, and the prospects of settlement are significantly improved.
Where liability is denied, the picture is more complex. The defender is saying that they do not accept responsibility for the accident, and the claimant must then consider how to establish liability — through further evidence gathering, through the pleadings process in court proceedings, and ultimately through a proof before a sheriff if the parties cannot agree. A denial of liability does not mean the end of the claim — many claims that begin with a liability denial are ultimately resolved by settlement — but it adds complexity, time, and evidential demands to the process.
Sometimes the response is neither a clear admission nor a clear denial. The insurer may indicate that investigations are ongoing and that they are not yet in a position to respond on liability. This is a legitimate response in the early stages of a complex case, but it cannot continue indefinitely — a defender who fails to engage on liability within a reasonable period can be brought to account through court proceedings that force the issue.
Partial admissions are also possible — the insurer may admit that an accident occurred and that their insured was partly at fault, but allege that the claimant was also contributorily negligent and therefore partly responsible for their own injuries. As discussed in the essay on contributory negligence, this does not defeat the claim — it reduces the compensation proportionally — but it is a position that needs to be addressed through evidence and argument.
The Period Between Intimation and Settlement
The period between the sending of the intimation of claim and the eventual resolution of the case — whether by settlement or by court proceedings — is the period during which the real work of the claim takes place. It is during this period that medical evidence is finalised, special damages are quantified, liability is investigated and if necessary contested, negotiations are conducted, and if necessary court proceedings are raised and progressed.
The length of this period varies enormously depending on the nature and complexity of the claim. A straightforward road traffic accident claim where liability is quickly admitted and the medical evidence is clear may move from intimation to settlement within a few months of the letter being sent. A complex industrial disease claim or a contested clinical negligence case may take years from intimation to resolution.
Throughout this period, the claimant's solicitor is managing the case actively — chasing medical records, corresponding with experts, engaging with the defender's solicitor, reviewing offers, advising on tactics, and keeping the claimant informed of developments. The claimant's role during this period is to keep their solicitor updated on changes in their medical condition, to attend all medical appointments, to maintain their records of financial losses, and to respond promptly to requests for information or instructions.
Responding to Requests for Information
Once the intimation of claim is sent and the insurer is engaged, the defender's side will sometimes make requests for information or documentation as part of their investigation. They may ask for access to the claimant's medical records, for permission to instruct their own medical expert to examine the claimant, or for specific financial documentation supporting the special damages claimed.
Some of these requests are legitimate and should be complied with — providing access to relevant medical records and attending a medical examination instructed by the insurer are standard parts of the personal injury claims process. Others may be wider than is appropriate — requests for access to records that pre-date the accident by many years, or that relate to medical conditions entirely unconnected with the claim, are not automatically ones that must be complied with.
The claimant's solicitor will advise on which requests are reasonable and should be complied with and which are not. The claimant should not respond directly to any requests from the insurer or their solicitors — all communication should go through the claimant's own solicitor, who is best placed to assess whether requests are appropriate and to respond on the claimant's behalf.
The Bottom Line
The intimation of claim is one of the most important steps in the Scottish personal injury claims process — the moment at which the claim formally enters the external world and the other side is put on notice. What happens after it is sent determines the direction, pace, and ultimate outcome of the case. A prompt liability admission opens the path to negotiation and settlement. A denial of liability sets up a more contested process. A partial admission brings the contributory negligence question into focus.
Understanding what the intimation contains, what it triggers, and what the period that follows involves gives any claimant in Scotland a clearer and more grounded picture of where their case is and where it is heading at every stage of the process.