Your First Claim in California, Document by Document

People who are new to insurance in this country often wait to report a claim until they have every paper in order. That is backward. Report it, get a claim number, and then build the folder while the adjuster tells you what is missing. The rules are written to make the company tell you.

Before you call: the folder

• Your policy number and the name exactly as it appears on the policy.
• Date, time and location, as precisely as you can.
• The other driver's information, which California requires drivers to exchange: name, address, license number, VIN, the registered owner's address, and the insurance company with its policy number (Vehicle Code section 16025).
• Photos of every vehicle, the scene, and any visible injuries.
• The police report number, if an officer responded.
• A copy of your SR 1, if you filed one with the DMV. The SR 1 is separate from your claim and has its own 10-day deadline.

What you'll be asked for, by type of claim

The deadlines the rules put on the insurer

California's Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations set clocks that run against the company, not you:

1. 15 calendar days after notice of a claim to acknowledge it, give you the forms and instructions you need — including what information you must provide — and begin investigating (title 10, section 2695.5(e)).
2. 15 calendar days to respond to any communication from you that reasonably asks for a response (section 2695.5(b)).
3. 40 calendar days after proof of claim to accept or deny it, in whole or in part. A denial of your own claim must be in writing, with the reasons (section 2695.7(b)).
4. 30 calendar days after accepting the claim to pay it (section 2695.7(h)).

The company also cannot insist that you report the claim in writing unless your policy says so (section 2695.5(f)).

If you are asked for a Social Security number

What varies by insurance company: some claim forms include a field for one. Ask the adjuster whether it is required for this claim, why, and what they accept if you do not have one. The regulations say an insurer "shall not persist in seeking information not reasonably required for or material to the resolution of a claim dispute" (section 2695.7(d)), and they bar discrimination in claim handling based on language or national origin (section 2695.7(a)).

Language, and keeping a record

If you are more comfortable in Spanish or another language, ask whether the company has an adjuster or interpreter who speaks it; that varies by company. Whatever language the call is in, follow up in writing: a short email repeating what you were told and what you sent gives you dates you can point to later.

What not to do

• Do not sign a release or accept a final payment until you understand what it closes.
• Do not guess or round up. Say "I don't know" when you don't.
• Do not hand original documents to anyone. Send copies and keep the originals.

If a claim has shown you that your current coverage was thinner than you thought, get a quote here and we will show you what each line would have paid.