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What Insurance Information Should I Give My Personal Injury Lawyer After a Car Accident?

If you have been injured in a car accident in Santa Clarita, Valencia, Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, Castaic, Stevenson Ranch, or elsewhere in Los Angeles County, one of the first things your personal injury lawyer will need is information about your auto insurance coverage.

Your own insurance policy can be important even when another driver caused the collision. Your policy may provide uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments (MedPay) coverage, or other benefits that could help pay for medical treatment or compensate you for losses.

You should give your attorney as much insurance information as possible, even if you are unsure whether a particular policy provision applies to your accident.

Key Takeaways

• Give your personal injury lawyer a copy of your auto insurance policy, declarations page, and any relevant insurance correspondence as soon as possible after the accident.
• Your attorney will want to know your insurance company, policy number, coverage limits, and the types of coverage you purchased.
• Your own insurance may provide important benefits even when another driver caused the accident, including uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage.
• If you were driving without insurance, California law can significantly affect your ability to recover non-economic damages such as pain and suffering. The rules are found in California Civil Code § 3333.4 and can depend on the circumstances of the accident.
• If you have MedPay coverage, it may help pay accident-related medical expenses regardless of who caused the collision, subject to the terms of your policy.
• Give your lawyer information about the other driver's insurance, as well as the police or California Highway Patrol collision report, if available.
• Do not assume that an insurance company is protecting your interests simply because it is your own insurer. Your lawyer can help determine what your policy covers and how communications with insurers should be handled.

What Insurance Information Should You Give Your Personal Injury Lawyer?

After a motor vehicle collision, your attorney will typically want to review your insurance information along with information about the other driver and the accident itself.

If possible, provide your lawyer with:

1. Your insurance company's name and contact information
2. Your policy number
3. A copy of your insurance card
4. Your policy declarations page
5. The applicable policy limits
6. Information about uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage
7. Information about Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage
8. Any letters, emails, texts, or other communications you have received from an insurance company
9. The other driver's insurance information
10. The traffic collision report, if one was prepared

You do not need to determine which portions of your policy are important before giving the documents to your lawyer. Your attorney can review the policy and determine which provisions may affect your claim.

1. Your Auto Insurance Policy and Declarations Page

Your insurance declarations page is often one of the most useful documents for your personal injury attorney.

It typically identifies the insured person, covered vehicles, policy period, and applicable coverage limits.
Your lawyer may be looking for information such as:

Policy number and insurance company

The policy number helps identify the specific policy involved in the accident. Your attorney can use this information when communicating with the insurance carrier.

Policy period

Your lawyer needs to determine whether the policy was in effect on the date of the collision.

Bodily injury liability coverage

This is the coverage that may apply when you are legally responsible for injuries caused to another person. Although this coverage generally protects you from claims made by other people, your attorney may still need to know your liability limits because they can be relevant to the overall insurance picture.

Uninsured motorist coverage

Uninsured motorist (UM) coverage can be extremely important after a California car accident.
If the driver who caused your accident does not have applicable liability insurance, your own uninsured motorist coverage may potentially provide compensation for covered losses, subject to the terms and limits of your policy.

Underinsured motorist coverage

A driver may technically have insurance but not enough insurance to fully compensate you for serious injuries. For example, suppose another driver causes a collision resulting in substantial medical expenses, lost income, and other damages, but the driver's liability policy has relatively low limits.

Depending on your policy and the circumstances, underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage may provide an additional source of compensation. That is one reason you should give your attorney your entire insurance policy rather than assuming that only the other driver's insurance matters.

Medical Payments coverage

Your policy may also contain Medical Payments (MedPay) coverage. MedPay can potentially help pay reasonable medical expenses resulting from a covered automobile accident regardless of who was at fault, subject to the policy's terms, conditions, and limits. Your attorney can determine whether using MedPay makes sense in your particular situation.

2. What If You Were Driving Without Insurance?

This is an important issue to discuss with your lawyer immediately. California law generally requires drivers to demonstrate financial responsibility. The consequences of being uninsured can extend beyond receiving a traffic citation.

California Civil Code § 3333.4 limits recovery of certain non-economic damages in motor-vehicle cases when, among other circumstances, the injured person owned an uninsured vehicle involved in the accident or was operating a vehicle and could not establish the required financial responsibility.

Non-economic damages can include compensation for losses such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Physical impairment
• Disfigurement
• Inconvenience
• Other nonpecuniary losses

The statute does not mean that an uninsured person automatically has no personal injury claim. The effect of the statute is more specific: it can prevent recovery of certain non-economic damages while leaving other categories of damages potentially available.

There is also an important statutory exception involving an uninsured vehicle owner who is injured by a motorist who was operating under the influence and was convicted of violating California Vehicle Code § 23152 or § 23153.

Because the application of Civil Code § 3333.4 can depend on the facts and legal theories involved, do not assume that being uninsured means you have no case—or that you automatically lose your right to compensation for every type of damage.

Talk to a California personal injury attorney about your specific circumstances.

3. What If the Other Driver Was Uninsured?

Your attorney will also want information about the other driver's insurance.

If the at-fault driver had no insurance, your uninsured motorist coverage may become particularly important.

If you were involved in a hit-and-run collision and the responsible driver cannot be identified, uninsured motorist coverage may also potentially be relevant, depending on the facts and the requirements of your policy.

This is another reason to give your attorney a copy of your own policy even if you believe the other driver was responsible.

4. What If the Other Driver Had Insurance But Not Enough?

Having insurance does not necessarily mean that the available coverage will be sufficient to compensate an injured person.

Serious injuries can generate substantial:

• Medical expenses
• Lost wages
• Loss of future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Rehabilitation expenses
• Other accident-related losses

If the at-fault driver's liability insurance is insufficient, your own underinsured motorist coverage may potentially provide additional compensation. Your lawyer can examine both policies and determine what insurance coverage may be available.

5. MedPay Can Help With Accident-Related Medical Bills

Some California auto insurance policies include Medical Payments coverage, commonly called MedPay.
MedPay is generally designed to pay certain medical expenses resulting from an automobile accident, regardless of who caused the collision, subject to the policy's terms and limits.

Depending on the circumstances, MedPay may help pay for expenses such as:

• Emergency room treatment
• Ambulance services
• Doctor visits
• Diagnostic testing
• Hospital treatment
• Physical therapy
• Other reasonable medical expenses covered by the policy

The availability and amount of MedPay coverage varies from policy to policy.

Your personal injury attorney can review your policy and explain how the coverage may interact with your injury claim and medical bills.

6. What About Your Health Insurance?

Your health insurance may also pay some of your medical expenses after a car accident. This can be important because you should not necessarily postpone medically necessary treatment simply because the liability insurance claim has not been resolved. Depending on the circumstances, your health insurer may have contractual or legal rights relating to reimbursement from a personal injury settlement or judgment. Your attorney should be aware of your health insurance coverage and any correspondence you receive concerning accident-related medical treatment.

If you have health insurance, give your lawyer the information needed to identify the plan and provide any accident-related letters you receive.

7. Should I Give My Lawyer Information About the Other Driver's Insurance?

Yes. If you exchanged information with the other driver after the accident, provide that information to your attorney.

Useful information may include:

• Driver's full name
• Driver's telephone number
• Driver's address
• Driver's driver's license information
• Vehicle make and model
• License plate number
• Insurance company
• Insurance policy number
• Photographs of the insurance card
• Photographs of the vehicles
• Photographs of the accident scene
• Names and contact information for witnesses

If you did not obtain all of this information, don't panic. Your attorney may be able to obtain additional information through the collision report, insurance investigation, or other sources.

8. Get the Traffic Collision Report

If law enforcement responded to the accident, obtain a copy of the traffic collision report if possible and provide it to your lawyer.

Depending on where the collision occurred, the report may have been prepared by an agency such as the California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, or a local police department.

The report may contain information about:

• The drivers involved
• Vehicles involved
• Insurance information
• Witnesses
• Statements made at the scene
• The responding officer's observations
• Roadway and weather conditions
• Diagrams or descriptions of the collision
• Citations issued
• Other potentially relevant information

A collision report is important evidence, but it is not necessarily the final word on who is legally responsible for an accident. Your attorney should evaluate the report together with photographs, witness testimony, vehicle damage, medical records, and other evidence.

9. What If an Insurance Adjuster Already Contacted Me?

This is another reason to tell your lawyer about every communication you have had with an insurance company.

After a collision, you may receive a telephone call, email, letter, or text message from an insurance adjuster.

The adjuster may be investigating the accident and attempting to determine:

• Who was responsible
• Whether you were injured
• The extent of your injuries
• What medical treatment you received
• Whether the other driver was insured
• The amount of the potential claim

Do not assume that every question from an insurance company is harmless or that you must immediately provide a recorded statement.

Once you have hired a personal injury attorney, your lawyer can advise you about communications with insurance companies and, where appropriate, communicate with the insurers on your behalf.

10. What Should I Bring to My First Meeting With a Personal Injury Lawyer?

If you are meeting with a personal injury attorney after a car accident in Santa Clarita or the surrounding Los Angeles area, consider bringing or providing copies of:

Insurance information

• Your insurance card
• Your declarations page
• Your complete auto insurance policy, if available
• The other driver's insurance information
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist information
• MedPay information

Accident information

• Traffic collision report
• Photographs and videos
• Dashcam footage
• Witness information
• Exchange-of-information documents
• Citations or tickets

Medical information

• Emergency room records
• Medical bills
• Doctor information
• Physical therapy information
• Prescription information
• Health insurance information

Financial information

• Pay stubs
• Documentation of missed work
• Employment information
• Other evidence of lost income

Insurance correspondence

• Letters
• Emails
• Text messages
• Recorded-statement requests
• Settlement offers
• Claim numbers
• Adjuster contact information

You do not have to wait until you have gathered every document before contacting an attorney. If you have been seriously injured, getting legal advice early can be more important than assembling a perfect file.

Personal Injury Insurance Questions?

Talk to a Santa Clarita Car Accident Lawyer

Insurance coverage can become complicated after a California car accident, particularly when multiple policies, uninsured or underinsured motorists, MedPay, health insurance, and significant injuries are involved.

If you were injured in a collision in Santa Clarita, Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country, Newhall, Castaic, or Stevenson Ranch, understanding the available insurance coverage can be an important part of protecting your claim.

An experienced personal injury attorney can review your insurance information, investigate the accident, identify potentially available sources of compensation, and help you understand your legal options.

If your accident occurred elsewhere in Los Angeles County or Southern California, the same general insurance principles may apply, although the facts of each case matter.

Do not assume that the insurance company has already identified every source of coverage available to you. Providing your attorney with your complete insurance information is one of the simplest ways to help your lawyer evaluate your claim.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What insurance information should I give my personal injury lawyer after a car accident?

Give your lawyer your insurance company's name, policy number, insurance card, declarations page, applicable coverage limits, and information about uninsured, underinsured, and Medical Payments coverage. You should also provide any letters, emails, or other communications you have received from an insurance company.

2. Why does my personal injury lawyer need my own insurance policy if the other driver caused the accident?

Your own policy may contain uninsured motorist, underinsured motorist, or MedPay coverage that could be important to your claim. Your lawyer needs to review your policy to determine what coverage may be available.

3. Can I recover damages if I was driving without insurance in California?

Possibly. Being uninsured does not necessarily eliminate every potential claim. However, California Civil Code § 3333.4 can prevent an uninsured owner or certain uninsured operators from recovering non-economic damages in a motor-vehicle case. The precise application depends on the facts and circumstances.

4. Can an uninsured driver recover pain and suffering damages in California?

Generally, California Civil Code § 3333.4 restricts recovery of non-economic damages—including pain and suffering—for an uninsured vehicle owner or an operator who cannot establish the required financial responsibility. There are statutory exceptions, including a specific exception involving an uninsured vehicle owner injured by a driver convicted of certain DUI offenses.

5. What is uninsured motorist coverage?

Uninsured motorist coverage is automobile insurance that may provide benefits when you are injured in an accident caused by a driver who does not have applicable liability insurance. The amount and availability of coverage depend on your policy and the circumstances of the accident.

6. What is underinsured motorist coverage?

Underinsured motorist coverage may provide additional compensation when the person responsible for an accident has liability insurance, but the available limits are insufficient to fully compensate you for your covered losses.

7. What is MedPay coverage?

Medical Payments coverage, commonly called MedPay, is coverage under an auto insurance policy that can pay certain accident-related medical expenses regardless of who caused the collision, subject to the policy's terms and limits.

8. Should I give my lawyer my health insurance information?

Yes. Your attorney should know what health insurance you have and should receive relevant correspondence concerning accident-related medical treatment. Health insurance can play an important role in paying medical expenses while a personal injury claim is pending.

9. Should I give my lawyer the other driver's insurance information?

Yes. Give your attorney everything you received at the accident scene, including the other driver's insurance card, policy number, driver's license information, vehicle information, photographs, and contact information.

10. Should I give my lawyer the police accident report?

Yes, if you have it. A traffic collision report can contain valuable information about the drivers, vehicles, witnesses, statements, roadway conditions, and responding officers' observations. Your attorney can evaluate the report along with the other evidence in your case.

11. What if the other driver does not have insurance?

Your own uninsured motorist coverage may potentially provide compensation if the other driver caused the accident. Your attorney should review your policy and investigate whether other sources of compensation may be available.

12. What if an insurance adjuster contacts me after my accident?

You should be cautious about providing statements or discussing the full extent of your injuries before you understand your rights. If you have hired a personal injury lawyer, tell the adjuster that you are represented and follow your attorney's advice regarding communications with the insurer.