Guides
Car Accident Claim Guides
Plain-English guides to car accident claims: diminished value, fault rules, settlement offers, attorney fees and demand letters, written and checked by the ClaimFairly editorial team.
- SettlementsCar Accident Settlement Agreement: What to Check Before You Sign the ReleaseA clause by clause checklist for the release that ends your claim, with the warning signs that mean you should stop and ask.
- Insurance claimsWhat If Your Car Accident Claim Is Worth More Than the Policy Limits?What happens when your damages exceed the at-fault driver's insurance, and seven places to look for more money.
- SettlementsHow to Negotiate a Car Accident Settlement With an Insurance AdjusterAn eight step plan for negotiating with an adjuster, with replies to the most common tactics and a sample counteroffer.
- After a crashDo You Need a Lawyer for a Car Insurance Claim? An Honest ChecklistWhen a lawyer is likely worth the fee, when you can handle a claim yourself, and the math to compare both paths.
- Diminished value17c Diminished Value Chart: What the Formula Pays by Car Value and MileageReady-made tables showing exactly what the insurer 17c formula pays at every car value, damage level and mileage band.
- Insurance claimsHow Long Should a Car Insurance Claim Take?Typical timelines for repair, total loss and injury claims, what slows each one down, and how to speed up a stalled claim.
- After a crashHow Long Do You Have to Report a Car Accident to Insurance?The deadlines that matter after a crash: telling your insurer, filing police and state reports, and the lawsuit deadline.
- Insurance claimsCCC Valuation Report: How to Read It and Dispute a Low Total Loss OfferA section by section walkthrough of the CCC valuation report behind many total loss offers, and how to challenge it with evidence.
- Insurance claimsCar Insurance Claim Denied? 9 Common Reasons and What to Do NextThe nine most common reasons a car insurance claim is denied, and a step by step plan to challenge the decision.
- SettlementsIs a Car Accident Settlement Taxable? What the IRS SaysWhich parts of a car accident settlement are tax free under federal law, which parts are taxable, and how to avoid surprises.
- SettlementsCar Accident Settlement With No Injury: What You Can Still ClaimNobody was hurt, but you still lost money. Eight things you can claim after a property-only crash, with a worked example.
- SettlementsRear-End Car Accident Settlement: What Your Claim May Be WorthWho is at fault when you are hit from behind, the injuries rear-end crashes cause, and worked settlement ranges for common cases.
- SettlementsAverage Car Accident Settlement: Why the Number Misleads (and What Drives Yours)Why an "average" settlement figure tells you very little, the six factors that actually set the number, and four worked examples by injury level.
- Insurance claimsHow Insurers Value a Totaled Car (and How to Push Back)How the valuation report behind a total loss offer is built, the errors to look for, and a step by step way to ask for more.
- Insurance claimsWhat Happens When Your Car Is Totaled? Total Loss Claims ExplainedHow insurers decide a car is a total loss, what they pay, what happens to your loan, and whether you can keep the car.
- Insurance claimsHow the Car Insurance Claim Process Works, Step by StepThe full car insurance claim process in ten plain steps, from the first phone call to the final check, with what to do at each one.
- Diminished valueDiminished Value After a Lease or Loan: What to KnowWho owns the loss on a leased or financed car, who can claim it, and how to protect yourself at turn-in or trade-in.
- SettlementsShould You Accept the First Settlement Offer? (Questions to Ask)Nine questions to ask before you accept an insurer's first offer, and how to counter without burning bridges.
- After a crashWhat to Do After a Car Accident: Claim ChecklistA calm, step by step checklist for the scene, the first week and the claim, so you protect your health and your money.
- SettlementsHow Long Does a Car Accident Settlement Take?A realistic timeline from the crash to the check, and what speeds things up or slows them down.
- Fault and state rulesAt-Fault vs No-Fault States: What Changes for Your ClaimWhich states are no-fault, what PIP pays, and when you can still sue for pain and suffering.
- Insurance claimsHow to Write a Car Accident Demand LetterWhat to include, what to leave out, how much to ask for, and a free generator that formats it for you.
- SettlementsMultiplier vs Per Diem: Two Ways to Value Pain and SufferingThe two common ways to put a number on pain, when each one fits, and how to defend your choice.
How to use these guides
Every guide here answers one question that comes up during a real car accident claim: what your car lost in value, how fault changes the money, what an adjuster's first offer is based on, how long a settlement takes, and how much of it you actually keep. Each one is written in plain English, cites its sources, and shows the math when there is math involved.
If you are new to claims, a good order is:
- Right after the crash: what to do after a car accident, so nothing important is missed in the first week.
- While the claim is open: how adjusters calculate settlement offers and how long a settlement takes.
- When an offer arrives: whether to accept the first settlement offer and how to write a demand letter.
- Before you sign: how attorney fees and medical liens reduce your settlement.
Guides and calculators work together
Reading tells you how a claim is valued. The calculators put your own numbers through the same method. The settlement calculator gives a low to high range for an injury claim, the diminished value calculator shows what the insurer 17c formula pays for your repaired car, and the take-home calculator shows what is left after fees, costs and liens. Nothing you type is stored.
Who writes them
The guides are written and reviewed by the ClaimFairly editorial team, following our editorial policy. We are not lawyers, and nothing here is legal advice. Each guide shows the date it was last reviewed, and if you spot an error, please tell us so we can fix it.
Rather see your own numbers?
Our free calculators turn what you read here into a range for your own claim.