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Last updated: December 19, 2024

Whose Insurance to Call First in a Car Accident

First, call the police from the accident site and get a report. Then, let your car insurance provider know you’ve been in a car accident.

Table of Contents

Should I Talk to the Other Insurance Company After a Car Accident?
Why Call Your Insurance Company First After an Accident?
Do I Need to Inform My Insurance Company Even if the Damage Isn’t Substantial?
What to Do After You’re Involved in a Car Accident
What Happens When Someone Hits Your Parked Car?
Will My Insurance Rates Increase After Someone Hits My Car?
What if I Don’t Have Insurance When My Car Is Hit?
No-Fault and At-Fault State Systems
What Types of Auto Insurance Cover Damage in a Car Accident?
Should I Contact the DMV or Police After an Accident?
Should I File a Claim?

Monica Luhar

Staff Writer

When you’re in a car accident, you might wonder whose insurance you should call first—yours or the other driver’s. Even if you’re not at fault or there’s minimal damage, you should still notify your car insurance provider to avoid delaying repairs and coverage.

Call your insurance provider after you’ve called the police and checked that all parties involved in a car accident are not injured. Whether or not you’re at fault, you’re not responsible for contacting the other party’s insurance company. Your insurance provider is responsible for that.

Should I Talk to the Other Insurance Company After a Car Accident?

You don’t need to talk to the other insurance company after an accident. Your insurance company will work on the claim and coverage. However, if you are in an accident where the other driver is at fault, you may need to file a third-party car insurance claim with the other driver’s insurance company and contact it briefly.

You can either file the third-party car insurance claim online or with the other car insurance provider. However, we’d recommend consulting with your insurance provider on whether or not you should reach out to the other insurance provider.

The third-party insurance claim would help pay for your car repairs and medical expenses. From there, you might work with a claims representative or insurance adjuster from the other party to determine fault or any car repairs needed.

Why Call Your Insurance Company First After an Accident?

Here are some reasons for contacting your car insurance provider right away:

It can help provide coverage as soon as possible for damages or injuries.
It can assist with the claim process.
The other driver might allege injuries or damages later on, or your story might not correlate with what you said at the scene.
You might have out-of-pocket costs if you decide not to report the car accident right away.

Do I Need to Inform My Insurance Company Even if the Damage Isn’t Substantial?

Yes, you still should still call and notify your car insurance company even if there’s minimal damage during a collision or accident. However, you’re also not obligated to let your provider know. We recommend letting your insurance company know about an incident, since it’ll have a record of that if you need to file a claim, or if the other driver files a claim against you.

What to Do After You’re Involved in a Car Accident

Follow these steps after a car accident:

Stay calm and contact 911 for injuries or immediate medical attention. If there are no injuries, report the car accident to the police regardless.
Make sure no one is seriously injured.
Take photos of the damage and the other driver’s license plate number.
Document the time of the accident, the location, the weather, and the speed of the vehicle during the incident.
Exchange contact and insurance information with the other driver, including driver’s licenses, license plate numbers, insurance policy, phone numbers, addresses, and names.
When the police arrive, tell them about the incident and ask for a copy of the police report. Write down their police badge numbers and names.
If possible, find witnesses and get their contact information.
Call and notify your auto insurance company about the car accident.¹

Car insurance companies	Phone number	Email address or online form
21st Century	888-244-6163 (claims)	service@21st.com
AAA	888-883-8417	https://www.fuzeqna.com/aaawebsupport/consumer/question.asp
AARP/The Hartford	800-423-6789	N/A
Amica	800-242-6422	https://www.amica.com/en/customer-service/contact-us/form.html
Allstate	800-255-7828 (1-800-ALLSTATE)	https://messaging.allstate.com/corp.aspx
CarShield	800-587-4162	https://carshield.com/help-support/contact-us/
Clearcover	855-444-1875	https://clearcover.com/contact/
Concord Group	800-852-3380	https://www.concordgroupinsurance.com/about/contact-us
Dairyland	800-334-0090	https://www.dairylandinsurance.com/contact-dairyland-insurance
Direct	877-463-4732	https://www.directauto.com/emailus
Endurance	800-253-8203	https://www.endurancewarranty.com/contact/
Erie	800-458-0811	https://www.erieinsurance.com/contact-erie/customer-care
Esurance	800-378-7262 (1-800-ESURANCE)	https://www.esurance.com/contact-email
Farmers	888-327-6335	https://www.farmers.com/contact-us/send-message/
Foremost	800-527-3907 (claims)	imaging@foremost.com
GAINSCO	866-GAINSCO (claims)	https://www.gainsco.com/contact-us/
GEICO	(800) 841-3005	https://www.geico.com/contact-us/email/
National General (formerly GMAC)	888-293-5108	Service@NGIC.com
Good2Go	855-646-4661	https://www.good2go.com/contact-us/
Infinity	800-690-3818	customer.service@ipacc.com
Liberty Mutual	844-629-8984	N/A
Mercury	800-503-3724 (claims)	https://cp.mercuryinsurance.com/guest/contact-mercury
MetLife	800-METLIFE	N/A
Metromile	888-595-5485 (claims)	N/A
Nationwide	877-669-6877	https://www.nationwide.com/personal/contact/online-form?language=en
Plymouth Rock	800-437-5556	rockcare@plymouthrock.com
Progressive	888-671-4405	https://www.progressive.com/contact-us/
Root	866-980-9431 (claims)	help@joinroot.com
Safeco	800-332-3226 (claims)	N/A
State Farm	800-782-8332 (1-800-STATE-FARM)	N/A
The General	844-328-0306	https://www.thegeneral.com/about/contact/
Travelers	800-252-4633 (claims)	https://www.travelers.com/contact-us/email
USAA	800-531-8722	https://www.usaa.com/help/contact

What Happens When Someone Hits Your Parked Car?

Here are the steps to take when someone hits your parked car:

Call the police and obtain a police report for your claim.
Determine whether the person left a note or fled the scene. If they left a note, document their contact information and let your insurance company know.
Speak with possible witnesses.
Contact your insurance provider as soon as possible.

Will My Insurance Rates Increase After Someone Hits My Car?

Whether or not you’re at fault in a car accident, you might see premium increases afterward. However, if you’re not at fault, your premiums won’t go up as much. An exception to the typical rate increase is if you have accident forgiveness coverage, which prevents your premiums from increasing after your first at-fault accident.²

TIP

We recommend contacting your insurance provider after someone hits your car. As a policyholder, you’re obligated to update your provider if you’ve been in an accident.

What if I Don’t Have Insurance When My Car Is Hit?

Your license might be suspended for not having insurance, with the exception of New Hampshire, which doesn’t require insurance (you are still financially liable for injuries and damages you cause in New Hampshire, even if you choose not to carry insurance). You still need to file a claim with the other party’s insurance if you don’t have insurance when someone hits your car.

No-Fault and At-Fault State Systems

If you’re in an accident, look into what type of fault system your state observes: no-fault or at-fault.

Florida’s no-fault system lets you file claims through your own insurance provider to cover medical expenses. Additionally, when you’re at fault in an accident, you need to pay for the other party’s damage by filing a claim through your insurance.

In at-fault states, if you’re the driver who caused a car accident, then you or your insurance provider must pay for the cost of injuries or property damages to the other driver’s vehicle. The other party can also sue you for damages.³

State	Fault system
Alabama	At fault
Alaska	At fault
Arizona	At fault
Arkansas	At fault
California	At fault
Colorado	At fault
Connecticut	At fault
Delaware	No fault
Washington D.C.	No fault
Florida	No fault
Georgia	At fault
Hawaii	No fault
Idaho	At fault
Illinois	At fault
Indiana	At fault
Iowa	At fault
Kansas	No-fault
Kentucky	Optional
Louisiana	At fault
Maine	At fault
Maryland	At fault
Massachusetts	No fault
Michigan	No fault
Minnesota	No fault
Mississippi	At fault
Missouri	At fault
Montana	At fault
Nebraska	At fault
Nevada	At fault
New Hampshire	At fault
New Jersey	Optional
New Mexico	At fault
New York	No fault
North Carolina	At fault
North Dakota	No-fault
Ohio	At fault
Oklahoma	At fault
Oregon	At fault
Pennsylvania	Optional
Rhode Island	At fault
South Carolina	At fault
South Dakota	At fault
Tennessee	At fault
Texas	At fault
Utah	No fault
Vermont	At fault
Virginia	At fault
Washington	At fault
West Virginia	At fault
Wisconsin	At fault
Wyoming	At fault⁴

What Types of Auto Insurance Cover Damage in a Car Accident?

Check your auto insurance policy for damage and loss coverage under six main insurance coverage types.

Liability Coverage

Liability insurance coverage includes both bodily injury liability and property damage liability in an at-fault accident. This type of coverage covers the other parties’ injuries and damages to their vehicle, including any of their personal property. However, it doesn’t cover you and your passenger’s bodily injuries, or an accident in which an uninsured motorist damages your car.

Uninsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured motorist coverage provides additional coverage in the event that a driver without auto insurance crashes into your car. It covers your medical bills for bodily injury, damages to your car and property, and any lost wages.⁵

Collision Insurance Coverage

Although collision coverage isn’t legally required, we still recommend it, as it will cover the cost of repairs to your car after an at-fault accident.

Comprehensive Coverage

Comprehensive coverage covers your car damages from incidents other than collisions, such as theft or vandalism.

Medical Payments Coverage and Personal Injury Protection

You can apply either medical payments coverage in at-fault states or personal injury protection (PIP) in no-fault states to your injuries. In no-fault states, PIP is required with an average minimum of approximately $13,000 per person and per accident and a range from $2,000 to $250,000. Medical payments coverage is an optional coverage that can help cover you or your passengers for medical expenses — even if you’re found to be at fault.⁶

Read our auto insurance guide to learn about how much auto insurance you need.

Should I Contact the DMV or Police After an Accident?

You might still need to contact your state DMV or local police after a car accident. Each state has its own rules and requirements regarding the deadlines and forms for reporting injuries, property damages, or fatalities following car accidents.

State	General deadline to file	Forms to fill out (if not investigated by police and you need to self-report)	Minimum estimated amounts for reporting property damage, fatality, injuries
Alabama	30 days	SR-13: https://www.una.edu/police/docs/forms/sr-13.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages over $250 when the at-fault driver is uninsured
Alaska	10 days	Alaska Motor Vehicle Crash Form: 12-209 https://dot.alaska.gov/sef/forms/CarCrash12-209.pdf	Property damages over $50 Injuries or property damages worth $2,000 or more
Arizona	None specified	None specified	No state law requiring the driver involved in an accident to file a police report
Arkansas	30 days	SR-1: https://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/SR121.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
California	10 days	SR-1: https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv-virtual-office/accident-reporting/accident-reporting-form/	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Colorado	10 days	Request Traffic Crash Report DR3447: https://www.codot.gov/about/committees/strac/dr3447	Death, injury, or any property damage over $1,000
Connecticut	5 days	DAS Vehicle Incident/Accident Report: https://portal.ct.gov/-/media/DAS/Fleet-Operations/ Vehicle-Accident-Form.pdf?la=en	Death, injury, or property damages over $1,000
Delaware	Immediately	Request crash report: https://dsp.delaware.gov/traffic-unit/	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500
District of Columbia	5 days	Accident report with the Metropolitan Police Department: https://mpdc.dc.gov/	Property damage more than $250
Florida	As soon as possible	Driver Report of a Traffic Crash (Self-Report): https://flhsmv.gov/pdf/forms/90011s.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth at least $500
Georgia	Immediately	Personal Report of Accident: https://odis.dhs.ga.gov/ViewDocument.aspx?docId=3005149&verId=1	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500
Hawaii	Immediately	State of Hawaii Motor Vehicle Accident Report: https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/ documents/mvar_final_combined_pages.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $3,000
Idaho	Immediately	Crash Reports: https://www.accessidaho.org/secure/itd/ohs/crashreports/search.html	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,500
Illinois	10 days	SR-1050: https://policeepi.uic.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/751/2020/09/ Illinois_PoliceSR1050_2013.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,500 (if all drivers are insured) or $500 if any vehicle is uninsured
Indiana	10 days	Report of Incident: https://www.in.gov/iara/services-for-public/state-forms-online-catalog/	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Iowa	3 days if a report is required	Iowa Accident Report: https://iowadot.seamlessdocs.com/f/IowaAccidentReport	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,500
Kansas	Immediately	Online Accident Report: https://www.kansas.gov/accident-reports/	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Kentucky	10 days	Request copy of accident report from Kentucky State Police Headquarters: https://www.kentuckystatepolice.ky.gov/civilian-collision-reports	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500
Louisiana	Immediately	Louisiana State Driver’s Accident Report Form DA 2041: http://www.dnr.louisiana.gov/assets/docs/intranet/Forms/ Driver%20Safety%20Accident%20Report.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500
Maine	Immediately	Maine Crash Reporting Online: https://www1.maine.gov/online/mcrs/	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Maryland	15 days	Motor Vehicle Accident Report: https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Organization/Pages/SupportServicesBureau/ Central%20Records%20Division/CRD-Document-Page.aspx	Death or injury
Massachusetts	5 days	Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report: https://www.mass.gov/doc/motor-vehicle-crash-operator-report/download	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Michigan	Immediately	Traffic Crash Report: https://mdotjboss.state.mi.us/TCPS/login/welcome.jsp	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Minnesota	10 days	Minnesota Crash Record Request Form: https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/dvs/forms-documents/Documents/CrashRecordRequestForm.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Mississippi	10 days	Mississippi Crash Report: https://www.ms.gov/dps/crash_reports?	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500
Missouri	30 days	Motor Vehicle Accident Report: https://dor.mo.gov/forms/1140.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500, or if an involved party doesn’t have liability insurance
Montana	10 days	Crash Release Form: https://www.dojmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/HQ1511.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Nebraska	10 days	Driver’s Crash Report: https://ecmndotportal.nebraska.gov/NDOT-CRASH-REPORTING5	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,500
Nevada	10 days	SR-1: https://dmv.nv.gov/pdfforms/sr1.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $750
New Hampshire	15 days	Motor Vehicle Accident Report: https://www.dmv.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt416/files/inline-documents/dsmv400.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
New Jersey	10 days	SR-1: https://njdot.prod.simpligov.com/prod/Portal/ ShowWorkFlow/AnonymousEmbed/a24cb054-6900-4ab2-97c8-67f1f64ae7a0	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500
New Mexico	5 days	Vehicle Accident or Vandalism Form: Transportation Services online-forms/report-a-vehicle-accident/	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500
New York	10 days	Report of Motor Vehicle Accident: https://dmv.ny.gov/forms/mv104.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
North Carolina	Immediately	Crash Report: https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/downloads/Documents/TR-67A.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
North Dakota	Immediately	Request for Crash Report Information: https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/publicsafety.ohio.gov/bmv3303.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $500
Ohio	5 days	Crash Report: https://publicsafety.ohio.gov/static/bmv3303.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $400
Oklahoma	mmediately (death or injury); 6 months (property damage)	Collision Report Form: https://oklahoma.gov/dps/forms/computer-fillable-collision-report-form.html	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $300
Oregon	72 hours	Oregon Traffic Accident and Insurance Report: https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Forms/DMV/32fill.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $2,500, any vehicle towed from the scene
Pennsylvania	5 days	Driver’s Accident Report: https://www.dot.state.pa.us/public/PubsForms/Forms/AA-600.pdf	Death, injury, or disabled vehicle
Rhode Island	21 days	Accident Report: https://risp.ri.gov/safety/vehiclesafety/accident.php	Death, injury, or property damages worth at least $1,000
South Carolina	15 days	Collision Report: https://www.scdmvonline.com/SCTRNS/Public/Transactions/Info.aspx	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
South Dakota	Immediately	Crash Report: https://www.safesd.gov/	Property damage worth more than $1,000, any injuries or deaths, or $2,000 of total losses per accident⁷
Tennessee	mmediately (death, injury, or property damage of $50 to $400) or 20 days (death, injury, or property damage worth over $400)	Crash Report: https://apps.tn.gov/purchasetncrash/crashreport.jsp	Any injury or fatality, or property damages over $50
Texas	Immediately (injury or death); 10 days (property damage)	Crash Report: https://cris.dot.state.tx.us/public/Purchase/app/home	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Utah	10 days	Crash Report: https://publicsafetyutah.govqa.us/WEBAPP/_rs/(S(gq5dcbktrv0hotff3rwipyyq))/SupportHome.aspx	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,500
Vermont	72 hours	Report of a Motor Vehicle Crash: https://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/documents/VA-004-Operator_Crash_Report.pdf	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $3,000
Virginia	Immediately	Request Crash Report: https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/webdoc/pdf/crd93.pdf	Property damages, injury, death
Washington	4 days	Request Collision Report: https://fortress.wa.gov/wsp/wrecr/WSPCRS/	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
West Virginia	Immediately	Report of Motor Vehicle Accident (AR-13): https://transportation.wv.gov	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000
Wisconsin	Immediately	Wisconsin Driver Report of Crash DT4002: https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/safety/crsh-rpt/default.aspx	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000 Government property damage of more than $200
Wyoming	Immediately	Accident Release Form: https://www.dot.state.wy.us/home/ driver_license_records/formsapplications/page.html	Death, injury, or property damages worth more than $1,000

Should I File a Claim?

If you’ve been in a car accident, you might want to file a claim. We’ve compiled a few pros and cons of filing a claim.

Pros

The cost of damages might be higher than your deductibles.
Your insurance provider can help cover expensive damages or injuries as soon as possible.
It might help you avoid going to court.⁸

Recap

If you’re worried about high-cost accidents, notify your insurance company of the incident as soon as possible. Maintain communication with your provider to find out if your policy covers damages, injuries, or other losses. The best insurance companies handle claims with efficiency, transparency, and fairness, providing timely responses, clear communication throughout the process, and swift resolutions to ensure customer satisfaction.

Written by:Monica Luhar