How to File a Car Insurance Claim After an Accident in California?
- Get an official police report of the accident. This report will be helpful when filing a claim.
- Collect the other driver’s contact and insurance details, vehicle info, witness contacts, and photos of the scene and damages.
- Report the accident to your insurance company as soon as possible and file a claim.
- Provide them with the gathered information, including any relevant medical records.
- Avoid direct communication with the other party’s insurance carrier; let your attorney handle it.
Your primary goal after an accident is to deal with any emergencies or significant injuries that may have arisen. After that, the process for filing an insurance claim boils down to getting the information that your insurance company will need to pay your benefits.
Seeking legal advice during the insurance claims process will increase your chances of obtaining every dollar you are entitled to.
- Claims for Auto Accidents with Injuries
- If There are No Injuries that Require Emergency Medical Attention
- Information from the Other Driver
- Vehicle Information
- Witness Information
- Photos of Damage
- Contact Your Insurance Company
- What is required to file a car insurance claim in California?
- What happens after I file a claim after an accident in California?
- Contact Cutter Law Today for Your Free Consultation
Claims for Auto Accidents with Injuries
If a car accident is severe enough to result in injuries to you, a passenger, a person in another vehicle, or a pedestrian, the first thing you must do after the accident is call 911. Before any insurance information can be gathered, you must ensure that any injured parties have access to emergency medical services.
In these cases, the police might also arrive and take an official report of the accident. This report will be necessary when filing a claim with your insurance company.
If There are No Injuries that Require Emergency Medical Attention
In cases where no injuries occurred as a result of the accident, still get a police report on the accident. The exact degree of police response may vary based on several factors. In some California municipalities, police will respond to any car accident. In others, they may only respond if the accident is severe enough.
Other times, police response may depend on whether or not there are any officers available. Regardless, contact the local police department for an accident report.
Information from the Other Driver
If neither you nor the other driver is injured, the next step in the process is to gather information from the other driver or drivers involved in the accident.
This includes:
- Driver’s name
- Phone number
- Driver’s license number
- Home address.
- Car insurance information
You will need to provide the other driver or drivers with your contact information and insurance information.
Vehicle Information
Collect information on the vehicles involved. Get the license plate of any other vehicle involved in the accident. The other driver should provide you with their vehicle’s registration to confirm their vehicle identification number.
Witness Information
If any witnesses saw the accident, get their names and contact information. Your insurance company may want to contact them for a statement to determine what happened and who may be at fault.
Photos of Damage
If you have a camera on your phone or any other way to take pictures, take photos of any damage to the vehicles involved in the accident, as well as any damage to nearby property.
Next, take photos of the scene of the accident, including any traffic controls — such as traffic lights or stop signs — visual obstructions, road hazards, or any other relevant evidence from the accident scene. Your insurance company can use this visual evidence to determine the exact damage and cause of the accident.
Contact Your Insurance Company
Call the phone number on your insurance card to report the accident and file a claim. Once you have filed the initial report with your insurer, they will give you a claim record number for future reference.
If you or a passenger in your car sustained injuries in the accident that required hospitalization or other medical care, send the relevant medical records to the insurance company.
After you have filed the initial claim with your insurance company, your insurance carrier will likely contact you again within a day or two for a recorded statement. The insurance adjuster will ask you for a detailed account of the accident. The other driver’s insurance company may also contact you.
Additionally, if the accident results in death, injury, or damages exceeding $1,000, you must report it to the California Department of Motor Vehicles within 10 days.
What is required to file a car insurance claim in California?
When filing an insurance claim or a lawsuit resulting from a car accident in California, the first thing you will need to file the claim is any evidence from the accident itself. Ideally, you began to gather evidence immediately after the accident occurred.
If the accident is severe enough to cause significant property damage or injury, the first thing to do is call 911. Not only will this get you or anyone else the necessary medical attention as quickly as possible, but it will also provide you with a police report on the accident. If the officer who responds to the accident does not provide you with a police report directly, you can request it from the local police department.
As California is an at-fault state, you must file your subsequent insurance claim with the other party’s insurance company rather than your own if you can establish that the other party was at fault for the accident. As such, any information that will help the insurance agent establish fault will be necessary when filing a claim with that insurance company.
If you or your passengers require medical attention, maintain all medical records and medical bills resulting from injuries sustained in the accident. Keep records of lost wages, time off from work, and other necessary expenses resulting from the accident.
Under California law, these records will be necessary to demonstrate the financial loss you have suffered from the accident and determine the financial compensation you may receive.
What happens after I file a claim after an accident in California?
The other driver’s insurance company may contact you. To protect yourself, avoid communicating directly with the other party’s carrier. Instead, have your personal injury attorney communicate with the insurance companies on your behalf.
You may also receive a settlement offer quickly after the accident. Do not accept this initial settlement without consulting your attorney. Insurance companies are notorious for offering low settlement payments to protect their bottom line.
Once claims have been filed, insurance companies will then determine the proportion of fault for the accident. California law allows for pure comparative negligence in car accident claims, which means that each party’s compensation is proportionate to their responsibility in the accident.
Contact Cutter Law Today for Your Free Consultation
Filing an insurance claim after a car accident can be complicated, depending on the circumstances surrounding the collision. For this reason, having the best attorneys in your corner is especially important.
The attorneys at Cutter Law have more than 50 years of combined experience representing clients who suffered injuries and financial losses due to car accidents caused by the negligence of other drivers.
Cutter Law’s unmatched experience with California law allows us to ensure that our clients receive the best financial compensation they are entitled to following injuries sustained in a car accident.
With offices in Sacramento, Oakland, and Santa Rosa, we offer a statewide presence that can assist California residents with legal and insurance needs across the state. Contact Cutter Law today for your free consultation.
In California, the responsibility for paying medical bills after a car accident primarily depends on who’s at fault.
Taking the proper steps after a car accident will give you the best shot at recovering the maximum compensation in an insurance claim.
For significant injuries, most people should expect a car accident claim to settle in a year or two years.