Yes. You should report any accident you are in, even accidents involving minor damage and/or minor injuries. Alert your insurer even if the accident clearly wasn’t your fault.

A heads-up will help protect your innocence in the case. It can also jump-start a potential claim if you end up having to rely on your own coverage to get help for some reason.

The good news is, California doesn’t allow car insurance companies to raise your rates over an accident you weren’t to blame for.

Why Should I Contact My Car Insurance Company After Every Accident?

After any crash on a California boulevard or freeway, you should give your insurance provider a heads-up. Many insurers, like Geico, State Farm, and Progressive, don’t have a strict deadline for crash notification. However, they would like to be informed within 24 to 72 hours if possible.

This allows the insurance representative to be aware of what happened. It’s helpful in case they must deal with the other driver or the driver’s insurer down the road. A quick call to your insurer can also protect you if the accident isn’t as cut-and-dry as you first thought.

These are a few of the reasons you’ll want to alert your insurance company after a California traffic accident:

The Other Driver Calls Your Insurer. You don’t want your insurance company to hear about an accident from the at-fault driver.
The Other Driver’s Insurance Company Calls Your Provider. You don’t want your insurance company to receive a call from another insurer over an accident they aren’t aware of.
The Other Driver Blames You. You may walk away from an accident confident that everyone agrees that you weren’t to blame. But drivers can change their stories. When repair bills and medical bills run high, insurance agents are also known to cast doubt on who was to blame. You should be able to count on your own insurer to fight back, even if it’s simply to avoid having to cover the accident.
Evidence Collection. Your insurance company can secure some important evidence if necessary, like a collision report, on your behalf.
A Driver With No Insurance. If the other driver turns out to have lied about having insurance, you’ll likely have to seek support from your own insurer.
A Driver Without Enough Insurance Coverage. If the other driver’s policy has low limits and doesn’t cover all of your damages, you may be asking your insurer to make up the difference.

Using Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage After an Accident You Didn’t Cause

Another reason to keep your insurer in the loop is if you must rely on your underinsured motorist coverage after an accident that wasn’t your fault.

The other driver may admit fault and want to help pay for your car damage and medical care. Unfortunately, not everyone has equal car insurance coverage. Many have the bare minimum required.

In California, that means…

$30,000: For bodily injury or death to one person in an accident.
$60,000: For bodily injury or death to more than one person in an accident.
$15,000: For damage to property in an accident.

A recovery from a serious injury can cost well above those limits now and in the future. Fortunately, most car insurance policies include Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UM) and Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM). It’s usually a part of a policy unless drivers make a written request to drop it.

If you are struck by a driver without any insurance, your own UM coverage should kick in. You would ask your insurer for help with medical bills, replacing lost hours at work, and car repair costs.

In some cases, a driver’s basic insurance covers some of your healthcare costs, but not all of them. Rather than having to find thousands of dollars to pay what’s left over, UIM coverage on your policy allows you to seek the rest of the costs from your insurance company.

It’s important to note that requesting help from your own insurer comes with the same hazards as trusting the other driver’s insurer for help. All auto insurance companies will try to limit the support you receive, and you can still be left with some of the bills from an accident. A skilled Maison Law attorney can help you hold your own provider accountable and secure you more.

How Can a Car Accident Attorney Help My Case

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for accident victims to have issues with insurance companies. This includes their own insurer.

When an accident involves serious injuries and massive doctor bills, having a skilled California Car Accident Lawyer handle your case is a wise choice. Your lawyer can gather additional evidence, even hire an accident reconstruction team, to make sure you don’t get blamed for a crash you didn’t cause. Your lawyer also forces the insurer to take your injuries seriously and provide recovery support for current injury hardships and those that may arise in the years ahead.

A skilled Maison Law attorney also identifies every source of potential support for you. If a claim with both the at-fault driver and your own insurer will leave you with more money to pay for your damages, then your lawyer goes to work seeking full compensation from all involved.

The bottom line, a lawyer can often get injured victims much more in support than victims could secure by handling a case themselves.

Contact a California Car Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured in an auto accident, contact the experienced personal injury attorneys at Maison Law. Unfortunately, car accidents can result in life-altering injuries that prevent you from going to work, performing daily tasks, or spending time with family.

At Maison Law, we understand how important recovering compensation after an accident can be, and our team of attorneys is standing by to help you rebuild your life and your finances.

We do not charge any upfront fees for our service, and you won’t pay a cent until we’ve secured a fair settlement on your behalf. Then our fees come out of the settlement check that a car insurance company is forced to provide.

Do I Call My Insurance If It’s Not My Fault in California?