Disputing a Rate Increase After Another Driver's Injury Claim

Attorney Answer

Probably not the rate itself, and it is worth being straight about why. What an insurer charges you is a pricing decision, and California's claims-handling regulations do not control it. What you can push on is the thing underneath the price — the fault determination the insurer recorded, and whether the claim against you was investigated properly. Get that in writing first.

Start with what a claim actually is. Someone filing a bodily injury claim against you is a request for money, not a finding. Civil Code § 1714(a) sets the real standard: "Everyone is responsible, not only for the result of his or her willful acts, but also for an injury occasioned to another by his or her want of ordinary care or skill in the management of his or her property or person, except so far as the latter has, willfully or by want of ordinary care, brought the injury upon himself or herself." Whether you failed to use ordinary care is decided on evidence. An adjuster's internal coding of an accident as at-fault is a business decision that can be questioned, and it is often the thing that moved your premium.

California's Fair Claims Settlement Practices regulations give you levers on the claim, even though they do not govern pricing. Under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(b), a licensee that receives a communication from a claimant reasonably suggesting a response is expected must respond completely within 15 calendar days. Under § 2695.7(b), an insurer must accept or deny a claim, in whole or in part, no more than 40 calendar days after receiving proof of claim, and under § 2695.7(c)(1) it must give written notice within that window if it needs more time, repeating that notice every 30 calendar days. Section 2695.7(b)(1) requires an insurer that denies a third-party claim, or disputes liability or damages, to do so in writing. Section 2695.7(d) requires every insurer to conduct and diligently pursue a thorough, fair and objective investigation.

And there is a real escalation route. Under § 2695.7(b)(3), a written denial must tell the claimant they may have the matter reviewed by the California Department of Insurance and give its address and telephone number. Under § 2695.5(a), an insurer has 21 calendar days to give the Department a complete written response to an inquiry about a claim. A Department inquiry tends to produce answers that a phone call does not.

Two accidents close together will affect pricing even where you were not at fault in either. That is a rating question, and this page cannot point you to a rule that controls it — but you are entitled to know how each accident was recorded, and that is worth asking in writing.

What you can do

1. Write to your insurer and ask three specific things: how each accident was coded, what liability determination was made on the bodily injury claim, and what that determination was based on. Ask for it in writing and keep the reply.

2. If you disagree with the fault determination, say so in writing and send what you have — photos, the police report number, dashcam footage, witness details. Ask that the determination be reviewed.

3. Ask for the current declarations page and the notice explaining the premium change, so you can see what actually drove it.

4. If you do not get straight answers, file a complaint with the California Department of Insurance. Section 2695.5(a) gives the insurer 21 days to answer the Department.

5. Get quotes from other carriers while this is pending. Comparing prices costs nothing and is often the fastest fix for the number on the bill.

6. Ask a local attorney to look at the file if the bodily injury claim is still open, if it approaches your policy limits, or if you have been sent anything from a lawyer.

7. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. The bodily injury claim against you runs under Code Civ. Proc. § 335.1, which allows two years for an action for injury to an individual caused by another's wrongful act or neglect; vehicle damage runs three years under Code Civ. Proc. § 338(c)(1). The insurer's own clocks — 15 days under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(b), 40 days under § 2695.7(b) — run from its receipt of communications and proof of claim. When each period started depends on your facts. Have a local attorney check the dates.