Your Insurance or the Other Driver's?

People are often told to "go through the other guy's insurance" after a crash, as if only one claim were allowed. In the auto accident cases we handle, the better question is which coverage pays which loss, and in what order. California's insurance rules let you use your own policy and the other driver's at the same time, each for different parts of the harm.

This guide explains each kind of coverage, how they fit together, the deadlines for each, and when it makes sense to start with your own insurer.

How do the two claims work together, step by step?

Report the crash to your own insurer. Your policy sets how and when to give notice, even if you plan to claim against the other driver, and reporting early avoids any question about it.
Open a claim with the other driver's insurer. Give the date, place and report number, and ask for a claim number in writing.
Use your own coverage for urgent costs. Medical payments coverage can pay limited medical expenses for you and your passengers whether or not you were at fault, and collision coverage can repair your car, subject to your deductible (Department of Insurance auto guide).
Your insurer may seek repayment. When your company pays a collision claim and the other driver was at fault, it can ask that driver's insurer to reimburse it. This is subrogation, and if your company pursues it, it must include your deductible.
Pursue the rest against the at-fault driver. Pain and suffering, lost earnings and medical costs beyond your own coverage come from the other driver's liability policy.
If that policy is too small or missing, use your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. See our guide on how uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage works.

Which coverage pays for what?

Coverage	Whose policy	What it pays	Fault needed?
Medical payments	Yours	Limited medical expenses for you and people in your car	No
Collision	Yours	Repairs to your car based on its market value, minus your deductible	No
Uninsured motorist bodily injury	Yours	Injuries to you and people in your car when an at-fault driver has no liability insurance	Yes, the other driver's
Underinsured motorist	Yours	Injuries when the at-fault driver's limits are too low	Yes, the other driver's
Uninsured motorist property damage	Yours	Damage to your car from an identified uninsured driver, up to $3,500, if you do not have collision	Yes, the other driver's
Bodily injury liability	The at-fault driver's	Your injuries, including pain and suffering and lost earnings, up to its limits	Yes
Property damage liability	The at-fault driver's	Your car and other property, up to its limits	Yes

Descriptions of each coverage come from the California Department of Insurance's automobile insurance guide. California's minimum liability limits for a policy are $30,000 for one person's injury, $60,000 for all people in one accident and $15,000 for property damage, under Vehicle Code 16056; a serious injury can easily exceed them.

When does it make sense to start with my own insurer?

Starting with your own policy usually makes sense when you need the car fixed or bills paid quickly and fault is disputed. Your company decides collision and medical payments claims under your contract without waiting for anyone to accept blame. The other driver's insurer, by contrast, pays only if it accepts that its driver was at fault, and its investigation can take weeks.

The trade-off is your deductible and, for some people, worry about premiums. The Department of Insurance's accident guide explains that if your company pursues subrogation, it must include your deductible, and if the recovery is partial, most companies reimburse the same percentage of the deductible. If your company decides not to pursue subrogation, it must tell you, so you can seek the deductible yourself.

One caution from the same guide: you must cooperate with your company's subrogation, and you cannot sign anything releasing the other driver in exchange for payment of your deductible.

Starting with the other driver's insurer can make sense when fault is clear, the damage is modest and you do not want to pay a deductible up front. Even then, report the crash to your own company, because if the other insurer later disputes fault or turns out to have low limits, your own coverage is the fallback. Keep in mind that medical payments coverage pays only up to the limit you bought, so it is a first payment toward medical bills, not the whole injury claim.

Do the same deadlines apply to both insurers?

The fair claims rules apply to every insurer. Each must accept or deny a claim within 40 days after it receives proof of claim, and explain any delay in writing every 30 days (California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.7). Our guide on how long the insurance company has to respond lists every step.

The deadlines for going to court differ by the kind of loss. A lawsuit for your injuries is generally due within two years of the crash (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1), while a lawsuit for damage to your car or other property is generally due within three years (Code of Civil Procedure 338(c)(1)). An uninsured motorist claim has its own two-year steps (Insurance Code 11580.2(i)).

What changes the answer?

Fault is disputed. Your own collision and medical payments coverage does not depend on fault, so it may be the only quick source of payment while the other insurer investigates. Our guide on who pays when several drivers share the blame explains how fault is divided.

The other driver has no insurance or too little. Your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage takes the place of their liability coverage (Insurance Code 11580.2). If the other driver fled, see what to do after a hit-and-run.

You had no insurance yourself. You may still claim against an at-fault driver, but Civil Code 3333.4 bars uninsured drivers and owners from recovering pain and suffering in most cases. Read whether an uninsured driver can recover pain and suffering.

You were working, or driving for a rideshare company. Workers' compensation or a company policy may come first. See who pays when a rideshare car crashes.

A public vehicle hit you. A city or county may not carry insurance in the usual way, and a written government claim is due within six months (Government Code 911.2).

What could this look like? An example

For example, imagine a driver whose car is hit from the side on Highway 116 near Sebastopol. The other driver says the light was yellow; the driver who was hit says it was red. She has $5,000 of medical payments coverage, collision coverage with a $500 deductible, and uninsured motorist coverage.

She reports the crash to both companies. Her own company pays her emergency room bill under medical payments coverage and repairs her car under collision, less the $500. It then tells her it will pursue subrogation against the other driver's insurer, including her deductible. Weeks later the other insurer accepts 70 percent of the fault. Her company recovers part of what it paid and refunds the matching share of her deductible, while her own injury claim against the other driver's liability coverage continues, for her pain, missed work and any medical costs her own coverage did not pay. This example is made up to show how the rules fit together; it says nothing about any real case.

What mistakes do people make choosing between insurers?

Not reporting the crash to their own insurer because they think the other driver will pay.
Waiting weeks for the other insurer to accept fault while bills and repairs pile up.
Accepting the other driver's offer to pay the deductible in cash and signing a release that harms their own insurer's recovery.
Forgetting that the other driver's liability limits may be as low as the state minimums.
Assuming medical payments coverage is the whole injury claim, when it is a limited first payment.

What should I do this week?

Find your policy's declarations page and note your medical payments, collision and uninsured motorist limits.
Report the crash to your own insurer and write down the claim number.
Open a claim with the other driver's insurer and ask for its decision timeline in writing.
Send both insurers the report number and copies of bills as they arrive.
Read our guide on who pays medical bills while the claim is pending.
Keep receipts for rentals, towing and other costs from the crash.

Frequently asked questions

Will using my own collision coverage raise my premium?

That depends on your company and your record, and the regulations discussed here do not answer it. Ask your agent or company before deciding, and weigh it against how long the other insurer may take.

Does my medical payments coverage have to be paid back?

Policies differ. Read the medical payments section of your policy and ask your insurer whether it claims reimbursement from a recovery against the other driver; our guide on what comes out of a settlement explains how repayment claims work.

Can I claim against both insurers at the same time?

Yes. Each pays different losses: your company under your contract, the other driver's company for the harm its driver caused. You just cannot be paid twice for the same loss.

What if the other driver's insurer says I was partly at fault?

California reduces your recovery by your share of fault rather than barring it (CACI 405). Your own medical payments and collision coverage still pay regardless of fault.

Who handles my injury claim if the other driver had no insurance?

Your own company, under your uninsured motorist coverage. Disputes over that claim can go to arbitration under Insurance Code 11580.2, so read the policy terms carefully.

What if my own insurer denies my medical payments or collision claim?

A denial under your own policy must be in writing and must list every reason, with the facts and the policy provision or law it relies on (10 CCR 2695.7(b)(1)). It must also tell you that you can ask the Department of Insurance to review it, with the address and phone number of the unit that does so (10 CCR 2695.7(b)(3)).

Is there a deadline to report the crash to the DMV as well?

Yes: within 10 days if anyone was hurt or property damage was over $1,000 (Vehicle Code 16000). See whether you have to report a crash to the DMV.

If you are not sure which insurer should pay for what after a crash, contact Young Law Group today at (707) 343-0556 or through our contact page for a free consultation.

Should I claim through my own insurance or the other driver's after a crash in California?