Car insurance claim rules in Virginia

The clock on a Virginia claim

The State Corporation Commission's Rules Governing Unfair Claim Settlement Practices (14VAC5-400) set the minimum pace. The rules count calendar days, so weekends count.

The Bureau of Insurance's consumer guide says there is no specific time limit to settle a claim, but that a rejected or partly paid claim should come with a written explanation. Keep dated copies of every form you send, because the decision clock runs from the insurer's receipt of the proof of loss. See claims that drag on for the letters that move a stalled file.

When a Virginia car is a total loss

Virginia writes the insurer's usual formula into its title law. Under Va. Code § 46.2-1600, a late-model car is a salvage vehicle when it was damaged so badly that the estimated cost of repair, not counting towing, storage, a rental car or diminished value, would exceed its actual cash value less its current salvage value. A car an insurer acquires in the claims process is a salvage vehicle too.

A late-model vehicle is generally one from the current model year or the five before it, or one worth $10,000 or more before the damage. How a cash settlement should be measured is in our guide to total loss claims, and the total loss check runs the numbers.

Reporting a Virginia crash

Under Va. Code § 46.2-894, a driver in a crash that injures or kills someone or damages attended property must stop and report at once to the State Police or the local law-enforcement agency, giving their name, address, license number and registration number. There is no dollar minimum for that duty.

Drivers don't file their own report with the DMV. Section 46.2-373 makes the investigating officer send a written report to the DMV within 24 hours after completing the investigation of a crash with an injury, a death, or apparent total property damage of $3,000 or more. Ask the officer how to get a copy, since your insurer will want it.

Contributory negligence and who pays

Virginia is an at-fault state, and its consumer auto guide from the Bureau of Insurance states that Virginia is a contributory negligence state: if you are responsible for the accident in any way, you could be prevented from recovering from the other party. That makes your own coverage more important.

• Collision coverage pays for your car whatever the fault finding, minus your deductible.
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage protects you when the driver who caused the crash has no insurance or too little; see uninsured motorist claims.
• Attorney's fees against your own insurer: under Va. Code § 38.2-209, if you sue your insurer over coverage or payment and the court finds it denied coverage or refused to pay in bad faith, it can order the insurer to pay your costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

Deadlines to sue and where to complain

Va. Code § 8.01-243 gives two years after the cause of action accrues for personal injury claims, whatever the theory of recovery, and five years for injury to property. The two-year clock is the one people miss, so mark it the day of the crash.

1. Write to the insurer first. The Bureau's guide recommends a complaint by letter, with a copy kept.
2. Gather your file: the policy and claim numbers, the correspondence, and a short note of what you think should happen.
3. Contact the Bureau of Insurance at the State Corporation Commission using its Property and Casualty Insurance Complaint Form or online; our guide to insurance department complaints walks through it.

Questions people ask