How to File a Car Insurance Claim
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Christine Walker of Burlington, New Jersey, is a safe driver. I proved it by driving a school bus full of loud, sometimes rowdy kids on country roads and city streets for 19 years.
But even good drivers can have serious accidents. A little over a week after she bought her used 2000 Honda Civic, it was totaled and wrecked by a hit-and-run driver who, according to a police report, ran a red light. Walker considers herself lucky she wasn't injured. Less than a month later, the same driver was involved in another accident that killed a pedestrian.
Among the problems: She hasn't yet received a settlement from any insurance company, she doesn't have a car and she still has to pay off her loan on a Honda that's now rusting in a junkyard. She was frustrated enough to file a claim with the insurance company of the car that hit her.
If Walker files an insurance claim, she’s not alone. There are about 4 million crashes reported to police each year in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. About 3 million people are injured or killed in these car crashes, which accounts for a large number of lawsuits and insurance claims each year.
Filing an insurance claim against someone else
If someone else hits you, in the simplest scenario, you’ll file a claim with their auto liability insurance. This is called third-party liability: You’re the third party to the other driver and their insurance company.
The other person’s insurance company will handle the claim but won’t expect a quick payout. The insurance company may want to investigate the accident to determine if its client was actually at fault.
Use Your Insurance to Take Care of It
But if insurance claims were simple, we could all feel like insurance experts. When someone else causes an accident, it’s natural for them to feel like they should pay for what they did. But in some cases, you may have to turn to your car insurance, even if someone else hits you. Here’s how that might happen.
Situation #1: No-fault cases
In states with no-fault insurance laws, you always file injury claims with your insurance first. These states require personal injury protection (PIP) insurance to do this. You can only sue another driver if you meet certain qualifications set by each state. In many cases, there must be a serious injury or death before you can sue someone else for a no-fault car website accident. (Property damage claims can usually still be filed through the other person’s liability insurance.)
In states without no-fault laws, PIP and a similar coverage called Medical Payments (MedPay) are often available. They can be used in injury claims for you and your passengers.
Scenario #2: Uninsured Driver
What happens if the driver doesn’t have enough insurance to cover the injuries they cause to others? You can still sue them for the remaining amount, but if they have no assets, it may not be worth it. One option is to look into uninsured motorist insurance if you have it. It can cover medical expenses when the other driver doesn’t have enough insurance.
Scenario #3: Not Dealing With It
You may decide to use your own auto damage insurance instead of dealing with someone else’s insurance company. If you have collision insurance, you can use it to cover damage to your car caused by someone else.
The downside is that your insurance check will be reduced by the collision deductible. You can get that deductible later if your insurance company reimburses the other person’s insurance company for the costs.
If you have rental reimbursement coverage, you can also take advantage of it to rent while your vehicle is in the shop for repairs in the event of a collision claim.
Situation #4: Default on the balance of your car loan
If your car is in an accident, your insurance company must reimburse you for the value of the car at the time of the accident, whether you file a liability claim against someone else or use your own collision insurance.
But that doesn’t Problem solved. In some cases, you may owe more than the car is worth on a car loan or lease. This could happen, for example, if you financed most of the cost of the car or if you own a vehicle that is rapidly losing value. In either case, gap insurance can cover the difference between the insurance payment and the balance of the loan/lease.
Or you can take legal action
Another way to get compensation is to hire a lawyer and sue the other driver.
You may need help proving that the other person was actually at fault, especially if they start pointing fingers at you. Things like a police report, photos of the scene, and contact information for any witnesses will help prove that you are not at fault.
If the potential settlement after a car accident is small—around $4,000—and you have a provable case—you may choose to take the other driver to small claims court.
While each state has different rules, most local governments have some version of small claims court. Filing fees are usually reasonable, and the wait time for a hearing is typically about a month or two. You also have the right to subpoena witnesses, including the other driver, the insurance company’s adjuster, and anyone else who may have been involved in the accident. Be sure to provide all of your information, as well as a verified estimate of the cost of repairs.
The benefit of this process is that it requires the other person’s insurance company to send an attorney and any witnesses necessary to prove its case—or dispute the amount of the claim—in court. This could lead to settlement negotiations.