Car insurance claim rules in Delaware

The clock on a Delaware claim

The Delaware Department of Insurance sets claim deadlines in Regulation 902, Prohibited Unfair Claim Settlement Practices (Title 18 of the Delaware Administrative Code). It turns the general duty to act promptly into a count of days.

The 30-day decision clock starts when the insurer has your proof of loss, so send the forms and documents it asks for quickly and keep dated copies. If a deadline passes without an answer, ask in writing what the insurer still needs. Our page on claims that drag on shows how to write that letter and keep a log.

PIP claims in Delaware

Section 2118 of Title 21 requires every Delaware auto policy to include personal injury protection with limits of at least $15,000 for one person and $30,000 for all people hurt in one accident. PIP pays medical bills and lost income for you and your passengers whoever caused the crash.

• 30 days to pay or deny. Under Section 2118B, the insurer must pay a PIP claim, or explain a denial in writing, within 30 days after it receives your written request and the documents that support it.
• Interest on late payments. Unpaid benefits grow by 1.5% a month from day 31 to day 60, 2% a month from day 61 to day 120, and 2.5% a month after that.
• No double recovery. PIP does not stop you from suing the driver who caused the crash, but you can't recover in that lawsuit the costs PIP already covers.

How PIP and medical payments coverage work, and what to send with a claim, is in our guide to PIP and MedPay claims.

When a Delaware car is a total loss

Delaware has no repair-cost percentage that makes a car a total loss. Under Section 2512 of Title 21, a car becomes salvage when it is transferred as the result of a total loss insurance settlement, so the insurer's own comparison of repair cost, salvage value and the car's value decides it.

• The title goes to the state. The insurer must send the car's title to the state within 30 days of the settlement, and the state issues a salvage certificate.
• You can keep the car. If you keep a totaled car, the insurer must either handle the title itself or have you get a salvage certificate before it pays you.
• The settlement is the car's value before the crash. What it should include, and how to check it, is in our guide to total loss claims.

Reporting a Delaware crash

Section 4203 of Title 21 requires a driver to report a crash to the police agency for that area right away when the crash injures or kills someone, when it happens on a public highway and causes property damage that appears to be $2,000 or more, or when a driver involved appears to be impaired by alcohol or drugs. You may report smaller crashes too.

Drivers don't file a separate state form. Police agencies complete the State of Delaware Uniform Traffic Collision Report; the state can ask a driver for a supplemental report only when the original is insufficient. Ask the officer for the report number, because your insurer will ask for it.

Fault, deadlines to sue and complaints

Delaware is an at-fault state with required PIP: the driver who caused the crash, through their liability insurance, pays for the damage and for injury costs beyond PIP. Under Section 8132 of Title 10 you can recover if your negligence was not greater than that of the other side, and your award drops by your share. Sections 8119 and 8107 give you two years to sue for injuries and two years for damage to your car or other personal property.

1. Ask the insurer in writing for the reason for a denial or a low offer and the policy language it relies on.
2. Call the Delaware Department of Insurance Consumer Services Division at 1-800-282-8611 with questions about your rights.
3. File a complaint on the department's website if the insurer misses deadlines or won't explain itself; our guide to insurance department complaints shows what to include.

Questions people ask