After the Accident: What Has to Happen

The obligations after a collision do not depend on how much coverage you carry. What changes at minimum limits is the consequence of getting them wrong, because there is less policy standing between you and the outcome.

At the scene

California law sets out duties after a collision. Vehicle Code section 20002 concerns accidents involving damage to property, including the requirement to leave identifying information when the other party is not present — the note on a parked car is not a courtesy, it is a legal duty. Section 20003 concerns duties at accidents involving injury or death.

Section 16028 requires you to present evidence of financial responsibility at the scene, alongside exchanging information.

Practically: stop, make sure people are safe, call emergency services if anyone is hurt, exchange information, present your insurance evidence, and document what you can.

Reporting to the DMV

Vehicle Code section 16000 requires drivers involved in certain accidents — those causing injury or death, or property damage above a threshold set in the statute — to report to the DMV using the SR-1 form, within the deadline the section provides.

Check the DMV's current instructions for the exact threshold and deadline rather than relying on a figure from a website. This obligation is separate from any police report and separate from telling your insurer, and it applies regardless of who was at fault.

It also applies regardless of your limits — but if you carry the state minimum, an ordinary collision is more likely to exceed the property damage threshold, which makes this requirement more likely to be triggered rather than less.

Reporting to your insurer

Your policy imposes its own obligations, typically including prompt notice and cooperation. Report the incident to your carrier promptly even if you do not intend to make a claim, because a claim may be made against you and your insurer needs to know.

This is the step people most often skip when they carry minimum limits and are worried about their premium. It is a mistake. A claim you did not report to your carrier is a claim your carrier finds out about later, from someone else, in worse circumstances.

What to be careful about

• Do not decide fault at the scene. Exchange information and let the process work.
• Do not agree to settle privately without understanding what you are giving up, particularly if anyone might be injured — injuries can present later.
• Document. Photographs of the vehicles, the scene, the position, the plates, and the other party's insurance card.
• Get names and contacts of witnesses if there are any.

Why this matters more at minimum limits

Because if the claim exceeds your limits, the exposure lands on you — and your position is materially better if you reported promptly, cooperated with your insurer, and did not say anything at the scene that complicated matters. Your insurer's defense obligation is generally tied to those policy conditions being met.

If a claim looks likely to exceed your limits, speak to an attorney. That is genuinely outside what an insurance brokerage should advise on, and it is the right next step.

If an accident has you rethinking your limits, that is a common and sensible reaction — ask us what a higher limit costs.