How Long Do You Have to Report a Car Accident to Your Insurance Company?

About six months after I bought my new car, I was in a (very) minor fender bender. I knew that for major accidents, you need to file a police report and call the insurance company to report the accident and file a claim. But because the damage to my car was so minor (just a broken headlight), I wasn’t sure what I needed to do.

How long you have to report a car accident to your insurance company varies based on your state’s statute of limitations, the insurance company’s process, and the language in your policy. It can also vary based on the type of damage and if (or how badly) anyone was injured. The best car insurance companies will offer a variety of ways to report an accident and file a claim, which should simplify the process.

Let’s look at what determines the accident reporting deadline, why it's essential to report accidents quickly, and what the statutes of limitations are to file claims in each state.

Key takeaways

• Each state has a statute of limitations for reporting an insurance claim.
• Quickly reporting a car accident to your insurance company can help provide a smoother claims process.
• Insurance carriers may include specific timelines for reporting accidents in the policy documents.
• You should always report an accident to your insurer, even if you don’t file a claim.
• Your insurance premium will likely increase after an accident, even if it wasn’t your fault.

Why reporting the accident is important

After another driver hit me at a stop sign, I wasn’t sure what to do or in what order to do it.

So, I called my insurance company to ask. I learned that reporting even a minor accident is important. There’s likely language in your insurance policy requiring you to notify your insurance company immediately of a possible claim — even if you ultimately don’t file one.

Some people wait to file a claim to see if any hidden damage or injuries appear a few days or weeks after an accident. While you can delay your claim, it's still important to notify the insurance company of the situation immediately after the accident.

Alerting your insurance company promptly gives you the best chance of having a claim approved and receiving a faster settlement, even if you wait to file. It also helps document the facts of the accident while fresh, which is helpful during a lengthy or contentious claims process.

By calling to ask my insurance if they needed to know about the accident, I wound up notifying them anyway, which was lucky. If I had waited to alert them, it could have been a much more difficult process when I ultimately did file a claim.

What can happen if I don’t report an accident?

Although you may be worried about a rate increase after filing a claim, not notifying the insurance company about that accident may lead to costlier situations down the road, such as:

• Denied claims: If you don’t report an accident and later try to file a claim, your insurance company may deny it and refuse to pay. In that case, you would be responsible for covering repairs and medical expenses out of pocket.
• Potential policy termination: Many insurance contracts include language requiring you to report any accidents immediately, regardless of whether you file a claim. If you were in an accident but didn’t report it, the insurance company might cancel or refuse to renew your policy.
• Legal problems: If you don’t notify or cooperate with your insurance company, they may deny your claim or the other driver's liability claim if you were at fault in the accident. In that case, the other driver may take you to court to recover their medical and repair costs, leaving you to pay out of pocket for any judgment amount plus legal fees.
• Trouble getting future insurance policies: Not reporting an accident to your insurance company could make it difficult to get coverage later on. If your current insurer drops you for non-compliance, finding affordable policies from other companies can be challenging, especially if you have multiple at-fault accidents or a DUI conviction on your record.

After my minor accident, I filed a police report online and called my insurance company the same day. My insurance agent walked me through all my options and helped me arrange a repair and rental car.

What determines how long you have to report a car accident to your insurance company?

Generally, insurance companies will tell you to report an accident immediately or “within a reasonable time frame” but not give a hard date. Deadlines can vary based on the specific company, the language in your policy, and the statute of limitations where you live.

The type of damage (bodily injury or property damage) can also determine how long you have to report or file a claim. The statute of limitations for filing a bodily injury liability claim can be shorter than filing a property liability claim in some states, so it's important to find out any deadlines that might limit your claim quickly.

Because of this, it’s wise to report an accident immediately so you don’t unintentionally miss a deadline. This is especially important if you’re in a hit-and-run accident where the other driver left the scene or in an accident involving an uninsured or underinsured driver.

Talk to your insurance company about its specific reporting and claim requirements. You can also read your policy documents and research your state’s laws and statute of limitations for filing an insurance claim or lawsuit.

If necessary, discuss your situation with an attorney. While some accidents, like mine, are pretty straightforward, others are much more complicated. An attorney familiar with the auto insurance laws in your state can help you sort through the details and develop a plan.

Car accident claim statutes of limitations by state

Although you need to report the accident immediately, you have extra time to file a claim with your insurer. Each state has a statute of limitations that the insurance company must honor, but just because the state says you can take years to file a claim doesn’t mean you should.

Here are the statutes of limitations to file a claim in each state.

State	Bodily injury claims	Property damage claims
Alabama	2 years	2 years
Alaska	2 years	2 years
Arizona	2 years	2 years
Arkansas	3 years	3 years
California	2 years	3 years
Colorado	3 years	3 years
Connecticut	2 years	2 years
Delaware	2 years	2 years
Florida	2 years	4 years
Georgia	2 years	4 years
Hawaii	2 years	2 years
Idaho	2 years	3 years
Illinois	2 years	5 years
Indiana	2 years	2 years
Iowa	2 years	5 years
Kansas	2 years	2 years
Kentucky	2 years	2 years
Louisiana	1 year	1 year
Maine	6 years	6 years
Maryland	3 years	3 years
Massachusetts	3 years	3 years
Michigan	3 years	3 years
Minnesota	6 years	6 years
Mississippi	3 years	3 years
Missouri	5 years	5 years
Montana	3 years	2 years
Nebraska	4 years	4 years
Nevada	2 years	3 years
New Hampshire	3 years	3 years
New Jersey	2 years	6 years
New Mexico	3 years	4 years
New York	3 years	3 years
North Carolina	3 years	3 years
North Dakota	6 years	6 years
Ohio	2 years	2 years
Oklahoma	2 years	2 years
Oregon	2 years	6 years
Pennsylvania	2 years	2 years
Rhode Island	3 years	10 years
South Carolina	3 years	3 years
South Dakota	3 years	6 years
Tennessee	1 year	3 years
Texas	2 years	2 years
Utah	4 years	3 years
Vermont	3 years	3 years
Virginia	2 years	5 years
Washington	3 years	3 years
Washington D.C.	3 years	3 years
West Virginia	2 years	2 years
Wisconsin	3 years	6 years
Wyoming	4 years	4 years

5 key steps for reporting your car accident

After a car accident, you may feel overwhelmed, especially if you or someone you love is hurt. Staying calm and following the steps below can help you avoid common insurance claim mistakes.

1. Make sure everybody is safe

Immediately after an accident, check yourself and your passengers (including pets!) for injuries. If another car was involved, check its occupants as well.

If you or someone at the scene has an injury, call 911 or ask a bystander to do so. If possible, don’t move the injured person until emergency services arrive, and keep them as calm as possible while you wait.

If you aren’t injured and your car is safe to drive, consider pulling it to the side of the road to avoid becoming a traffic hazard. If you can’t safely move the vehicle or are concerned about a fire, turn the car off, turn on your hazard lights, and leave it where it is. Get yourself and everyone else to a safe distance.

When possible, use road flares to warn other vehicles to proceed cautiously.

2. Contact the police when necessary

Once you’ve determined that everyone is in a safe spot, call the police. Most states require you to contact the authorities immediately if there are injuries or significant property damage. Even if there aren’t injuries or significant damage, some states may still require you to report the accident, especially if the other driver leaves the scene.

If someone is hurt and you call 911, the police will usually respond along with an ambulance or fire rescue. If no one was hurt, call the non-emergency police line and follow their instructions.

The officers will complete an accident report and provide copies to you and the other driver. Many insurance companies will request a copy of the police report as part of your supporting claim documents, but you don’t necessarily need one to file an insurance claim.

If officers don’t arrive at the scene, you can go to your local police station to fill out a police report. Many municipalities also allow you to complete one online, which is what I did after my accident.

3. Gather important information and evidence

You and the other driver must exchange some critical information to help with your insurance claim, including:

• Your name, complete address, phone number, and email address (if possible)
• Names and contact information of any passengers in the vehicles
• Your driver’s license number
• Insurance information
• The make and model of each vehicle and the VIN, if possible
• The other vehicle’s license plate number
• The name and badge number of any police officer you engage with

Generally, all of this information is in the police report, but you may need to exchange it with the other driver if officers don't respond to the scene. You can write it down, take photos of the other person’s driver’s license and insurance card, or take notes on your phone. Be careful not to express guilt or discuss fault with the other driver.

If there were third-party witnesses, request their contact information so your insurance adjuster can reach out to them as part of the claims process.

In addition to gathering information, you must take photos of your vehicle’s damage. If another vehicle hits you, take pictures of both cars. If you collide with a fence, telephone pole, or other object, take photos of the damage to that object since your insurance company will likely need that information for any liability claims that result from the damage.

If possible, note what direction you’re facing (north, south, etc.), the lighting and weather conditions, and anything else that may have contributed to the accident, such as a blind corner or obscured stop sign.

4. Report the car accident to your insurance company

Once you’ve dealt with injuries, spoken to the police, and documented the scene, it's time to report the accident to the insurance company. Your agent will likely ask you many of the same questions the police officer asked.

When the other driver hit me, my insurance agent first made sure everyone involved was ok and there were no reported injuries. She then asked me to describe the accident in detail. She even pulled up the intersection where it happened on Google Maps so we could talk about the specifics.

After taking my statement, she helped me with filing a car insurance claim and gave me access to the claims portal to upload the police report and photos I had taken.

5. Work with the insurer during the claims process

With the claim started, I could see all correspondence through the portal and monitor the claim’s progress.

Using the online portal made recording communications and uploading information easy. However, you can also file a claim over the phone and mail or fax documentation, though that might cause processing delays. If there are additional questions about the damage, the adjuster may contact you directly.

The insurance company approved my claim within a few days, and I started working with the body shop to repair my car.

Many insurance companies will send you a letter approving or denying your claim. If your claim is denied, the letter details why and tells you how to appeal and any critical appeal deadlines.

You can gather evidence and submit an appeal based on the instructions in your denial letter. Speaking with an attorney to help you with the appeals process may be beneficial.

What to expect with your car insurance after the accident

Unfortunately, filing an insurance claim (liability, collision, or comprehensive, among others) will likely increase your insurance rates, depending on your state and insurance company, even if you weren’t at fault. However, you can do a few things to help prevent your rates from increasing after an accident.

Many of the best car insurance companies offer an add-on policy called “accident forgiveness,” which keeps your rate from increasing after your first at-fault accident. However, you may have to be a customer for years before you qualify for the program with some insurers.

Additionally, some insurance companies offer safe driving programs that can help you save by practicing good driving behaviors. Most programs require installing a small telematics device, which monitors your habits for speeding, hard braking, or dangerous driving. In general, the safer you drive, the more you might save. However, your rate might increase if you use one of these devices and don’t have safe driving habits.

Manage car insurance costs after an accident

Here are some more ways to manage your car insurance costs after an accident or claim.

Get multiple quotes: It can pay to shop around, so make sure to get quotes from at least three different insurers before you make a decision. Remember that the lowest price isn’t always the best choice. Compare policy limits and coverage options and read customer service reviews before you sign up with a new company. And while switching car insurance might seem annoying, it’s actually a relatively simple process.

Raise your deductible: The deductible is the money you pay for repairs before your insurance coverage kicks in. You can generally raise it, meaning you’ll pay more out of pocket, which should lower your overall policy cost. Talk to your insurance agent about how much you might save by increasing your deductible.

Get every discount you can: Most insurance companies offer a long list of discounts, so work with your agent to ensure you get all you qualify for. While the savings potential varies by company, you may see significant savings if you bundle policies with the same company, go paperless, or pay your insurance premium in full instead of monthly. Some carriers also offer discounts for certain groups, like alumni organizations.

Maintain a good credit history: Some states allow insurance companies to consider your credit history when determining your premium rates. Pay your bills on time and check your credit report periodically to make sure there are no mistakes or problems.

Reduce coverage: Almost every state requires some insurance coverage to drive legally, but it is generally recommended to carry more than the state’s minimum. If you are paying for more than the state minimum, consider dropping the extra coverage like comprehensive insurance to help lower your premium. Just ensure you have enough coverage to protect you if you’re in an accident.

Take a defensive driving course: Some insurance companies provide a discount if you take a defensive driving course, but it can depend on your state. They might also only offer it to drivers over a certain age, such as 55 years old. Speak with your insurance agent to see if you qualify.

FAQ

Bottom line

Reporting an accident to the police and your insurance company is usually a requirement, especially if anyone was hurt or there was extensive damage. If you’re in an accident, contact your agent as soon as possible and read your policy documents to help you understand any important deadlines or required documentation.

Doing so can help protect you from potential legal and financial issues. If you have reached the end of your state’s statute of limitations for filing an insurance claim, consider contacting an attorney for advice.