Collision claims

What counts as a collision

The standard personal auto policy defines collision as the upset of your covered car, or its impact with another vehicle or object. The NAIC's consumer guide puts it as damage from a collision with another car, an object, a pothole, or flipping over. The same form lists losses that are "other than collision," which most insurers sell as comprehensive coverage, and the line between the two decides which deductible applies.

Collision also covers a non-owned car you drive, such as a borrowed car, under the terms of your policy. It doesn't pay for wear and tear, mechanical breakdown or road damage to tires. Loss to the car from hail, theft or fire is covered in comprehensive claims.

How the check is calculated

The standard form caps the payment at the lesser of the car's actual cash value or the amount needed to repair or replace the damaged property with property of like kind and quality. Your deductible comes off the result. If more than one of your cars is damaged in the same collision, only the highest deductible applies.

On the first line, the claim pays $900. Whether that is worth a claim, given a possible premium increase, is a question for the claim or pay calculator. On the last line, repairs would cost more than the car is worth, so the insurer pays its value instead; how that settlement should be built is in total loss claims. If a repair leaves the car better than before, for example new parts on a worn panel, the standard form lets the insurer deduct the betterment.

Estimates, the shop and supplements

• Inspection first. The standard form requires you to let the insurer inspect and appraise the damage before repair, and to take reasonable steps to protect the car from more damage. The insurer pays reasonable costs of doing so.
• A copy of the estimate. Under the NAIC model regulation many states follow, if the insurer settles on its own estimate, you get a copy.
• A higher shop estimate. If your shop's estimate is higher, the insurer must pay the difference or name at least one shop that will do the repair for its estimate.
• No long trips. The insurer can't require you to travel an unreasonable distance for an estimate or a repair.
• Supplements. When the shop finds hidden damage after taking the car apart, it sends a supplement; the insurer may re-inspect before approving it.

If you and the insurer agree the loss is covered but not on the amount, the policy's appraisal clause lets each side hire an appraiser, with an umpire to break a tie. Which shop and parts you can insist on is covered in choosing a repair shop and parts.

Before you file a collision claim

1. Check the declarations page. It shows whether the car has collision coverage and the collision deductible, which can differ from the comprehensive deductible.
2. Report the crash promptly even if you are not sure you will claim. The policy requires prompt notice, and a late report can cost you coverage if the other driver claims against you.
3. Gather what the adjuster will ask for: photos of the damage, the police report number, the other driver's insurance details and a repair estimate if you have one.
4. Decide on the route. If another driver caused the crash, compare a claim on your collision coverage with a claim against their liability insurance.
5. Check your transport. The 2005 standard form adds a small allowance for temporary transportation, $20 a day up to $600 with no deductible. Many policies sell rental reimbursement as an extra coverage with higher limits.

How long a rental lasts and what it pays is in rental reimbursement during repairs.

Getting your deductible back

When another driver caused the crash, claiming on your own collision coverage is often faster than waiting for their insurer to accept fault; the choice is laid out in first-party vs. third-party claims. Your insurer then uses its right to recover payment, called subrogation, against the other driver and their insurer. If it recovers everything, it can return your deductible. If it recovers part, because you shared the fault, you may get part of it back.

• Missouri requires your insurer, if you ask, to include your deductible in its demand against the at-fault driver's insurer and to share what it recovers; see Missouri claim rules.
• Michigan, a no-fault state where your own collision coverage pays for your car, lets you recover up to $3,000 of vehicle damage your insurance doesn't cover, such as your deductible, from the at-fault driver for crashes after July 1, 2020; see Michigan claim rules.

Questions people ask