What information to exchange after an accident

What the law makes every driver give

The duty to exchange information is in each state's vehicle code, and the core is similar from state to state: stop, identify yourself and your car, and help anyone who is hurt. The details differ, which is why it pays to collect more than your own state asks for.

The penalties for skipping this step are real. In California, failing to exchange the required information is an infraction with a fine of up to $250, and driving away from a crash without identifying yourself can be treated as a hit-and-run, which is far more serious. If no one at the scene can take your details, for example because the other driver is badly hurt and no officer is there, Florida and Connecticut require you to report the crash to the police.

The fuller list your insurer will want

The legal minimum identifies a driver. A claim also needs the policy behind the car and the people who saw what happened. When you call your insurer, the adjuster will ask for most of this:

• Driver and owner: the driver's full name, address and phone number, and the owner's name if the car belongs to someone else. The owner's policy usually covers the car.
• Insurance: the insurance company, the policy number and the claims phone number printed on the card.
• License: the driver's license number and the issuing state.
• The car: license plate and state, make, model, color and year, and the VIN, which many insurance cards print.
• Work and rideshare: the employer's name if the car is a company or delivery vehicle, and whether a rideshare driver had the app on. Different policies can apply in each case.
• Passengers and witnesses: names and phone numbers of everyone in each car and anyone who stopped.
• The officer: name, agency and the report number, if police came.

Each item answers a question the claim will raise. The insurer and policy number let your adjuster, or you, open a claim against the other driver's policy the same day instead of waiting for a call back. The owner's name matters because insurance usually follows the car, so a borrowed car is often covered by its owner's policy first. Witnesses matter most when the two drivers tell different stories, and they are hard to find once they leave. If you are too shaken to gather all of it, the plate and a photo of the insurance card are the two items that let an insurer track down the rest.

Photograph the documents, then check them

1. Photograph the insurance card, the license and the registration rather than copying them by hand. Photos avoid transposed digits and record the details in one step.
2. Check the dates on the insurance card. An expired card isn't proof that the policy lapsed, but it is a reason to ask, and to call the police if the driver can't show current coverage.
3. Compare the names. If the name on the policy doesn't match the driver or the registration, ask who owns the car and note it.
4. Photograph the plate on the car itself. It ties the papers to the car that hit you.
5. Send the photos to yourself or save them to cloud storage before you leave, so a lost phone doesn't erase them.

If the other driver has no insurance card or admits they have no coverage, call the police and don't make a side deal at the scene. Your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay; see crashes with an uninsured driver.

What you don't need to share

Give what the law requires and what lets the other driver's insurer find yours. You don't need to give your Social Security number, your date of birth beyond what is on your license, your policy limits or your opinion about who caused the crash. If the other driver asks how much coverage you carry, the insurers will deal with that through the claim.

If the other driver refuses to share their details, don't argue. Note the plate and the car, tell them the police are on the way, and call. A driver who leaves without identifying themselves can be treated as a hit-and-run; see hit-and-run accidents.

When the other car is parked or no one is there

Hitting a parked car, a fence or a mailbox still brings a duty to identify yourself. The rules differ by state, so look up yours in claim rules by state. Two examples:

• Indiana: if you hit an unattended car or other property and can't find the owner, contact law enforcement (IC 9-26-1-1.1).
• North Carolina: hitting an unattended parked car requires a report to its owner within 48 hours (G.S. 20-166.1).

In any state, a written note left securely on the car with your name, phone number and a short description of what happened, plus photos of the note and the damage, shows that you tried. Then report the incident to your insurer, since the owner may claim against your liability coverage.

Questions people ask