Claims handling process
All notices of patient injury are handled at the Patient Insurance Centre. The handling process proceeds from the registration of the notice of injury to the issuance of a claims decision.
When your notice of injury has been received by the Patient Insurance Centre, its handling will proceed as follows:
- the notice of injury is registered
- clarifications are obtained from the places of treatment concerned, e.g. patient documents
- a statement is obtained from a medical expert
- the individual filing the notice of injury is heard where necessary
- a written claims decision is issued
- after a potential favourable claims decision, the claims handling will commence.
The average handling time from the receipt of a notice of injury to the first claims decision is about 8 months. Half of the notices of injury are resolved within 7,8en months and more than 90 per cent within one year of the receipt of the notice of injury. The most time-consuming parts of the claims handling process are the collection and careful examination of the necessary information, reports and statements in order to prepare the claims decision.
For further information about the processing of the notice of injury, read the pairs of questions and answers provided on our website.
Frequently asked questions on notices of injury
After filing the notice of injury
After you have filed a notice of injury with the Patient Insurance Centre, you will receive a letter informing you about the registration of your notice of injury and the commencement of the claims handling process. You will receive the confirmation letter in approximately 3–4 weeks after we have received your notice of injury.
You may supplement your notice of injury and send clarifications for the claims handling electronically or by post when the processing of your case has commenced. You cannot supplement your notice by the phone. Any additional information and clarifications must always be submitted in writing.
Examples of clarifications submitted after filing the notice of injury include a rejoinder to the statement the Patient Insurance Centre has delivered, addition to a notice of injury and notice of a change of address. When the Patient Insurance Centre has issued a claims decision, you may submit a request for revision or file a claim for compensation. You can authorise another person to manage the case on your behalf by delivering the power of attorney to our claims handling unit. You can also inquire about the processing stage or time or ask for advice.
Submit questions and documents to the Patient Insurance Centre electronically
You can send questions or submit documents and additional information related to your claim, such as appendices to your notice of injury or a response to an invitation to a hearing, to the Patient Insurance Centre electronically at the address:
- Electronic submissions become possible after the Patient Insurance Centre has started processing your claim and has issued a claim reference number for your case.
- You will need to verify your identity with the Signicat service. For this, you need your online banking credentials or a mobile ID, and the claim reference number of your case. The claim reference number can be found on the confirmation letter or decision sent to you by the Patient Insurance Centre. The format of the reference number is PO-yyyy-nnnn-nnn, for example PO-2012-1234-123.
- Please use the service between 6 am and 10 pm, since there may be maintenance breaks in the system of the Patient Insurance Centre during the night.
Problems with electronic submission: If you encounter technical problems when filling out and submitting the electronic form, send e-mail to PVK.lomaketuki(@)vakuutuskeskus.fi. This e-mail address will only serve you in technical issues related to the use of electronic services from 9 am to 3 pm.
Submit attachments
Please send the attachment files in a format where they can be transferred directly to our system. Our system supports the following file formats: .pdf (not electronic forms), .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .txt, .gif, .png, .jpeg, .jpg and .bmp. We cannot process attachments sent in other formats. We also cannot receive reports via a cloud storage service, e.g. Google Drive, OneDrive and DropBox or audio files.
The aggregate file size of the attachments may not exceed 15 MB. If the maximum attachment size is exceeded, you will receive an error message. The program will automatically delete any attachments whose file size exceeds the prescribed limit. Click the Submit button again to send the form complete with the attachments that do not exceed the prescribed limit to the recipient. Send the removed files separately using a new form.
We do not provide IT support in the event of a problem with uploading attachments. If you are unable to submit the attachments in the requested file formats, you can print them out or save them, e.g. on a memory stick and send them by letter to the Patient Insurance Centre (address P.O. Box 1, 00084 VAKUUTUSKESKUS).
Submit documents to the Patient Insurance Centre by mail
You can also deliver additional information, documents or original material related to your claim, such as plaster models, to the Patient Insurance Centre by mail. The Patient Insurance Centre’s postal address for claims is
Patient Insurance Centre, P.O. Box 1, 00084 VAKUUTUSKESKUS.
Be sure to always provide the material with the claim reference number, the patient’s name and personal identity code and the sender’s name and address.