Mounting Storage Fees After a Tow From an Accident

Attorney Answer

Storage charges keep running until the car leaves the lot, so the first job is getting it out. Who should have asked you where to tow it comes second.

Two separate things are happening. One is the towing and storage bill, which grows every day the car sits. The other is whether any insurance covers it. Only the first one is urgent, because it is the one that gets worse while you decide.

If you carry collision or comprehensive coverage — physical damage coverage on your own car — Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.8(k) requires the insurer, after a covered loss, to pay reasonable towing and storage charges incurred by the claimant where towing and storage are reasonably necessary to protect the vehicle from further loss. The same subdivision requires the insurer to give reasonable notice before it terminates payment for storage, so that you have time to remove the vehicle. If you carried liability coverage only, that regulation will not help you here, because a liability-only policy provides no coverage for damage to your own car. That is the honest answer, and it is worth confirming before you spend time on the claim.

Whatever the coverage answer turns out to be, the insurer has to respond to you. Under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(b), a licensee must furnish a complete response no more than 15 calendar days after receiving a communication from a claimant that reasonably suggests a response is expected. Under § 2695.5(e), an insurer has 15 calendar days after notice of a claim to acknowledge it, to provide the necessary forms, instructions and reasonable assistance, and to begin any necessary investigation. Under § 2695.7(b), it has 40 calendar days after proof of claim to accept or deny the claim in whole or in part.

The storage lot's right to hold the vehicle and to charge a daily rate comes from California's towing and storage lien rules, which are not covered on this page. Whether the daily rate is lawful, whether the accrued charges can be challenged, and what happens if the bill passes what the car is worth are all questions for a lawyer who can look at the paperwork you were given.

What you can do

1. Call the lot today and ask for a written, itemized statement: the daily rate, the total owed to date, and the exact documents it requires to release the car. Ask them to email it. This costs nothing and it fixes the number in writing.

2. Ask the lot, in writing, what the total will be if you collect the car on a specific date, and confirm that charges stop at pickup. Every day of delay is money.

3. Write to your insurer and ask, in writing, whether your policy covers towing and storage for this loss, and ask for the answer in writing. Reference Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, §§ 2695.5(b) and 2695.7(b).

4. If your insurer does not answer, file a complaint with the California Department of Insurance. Under Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2695.5(a), a licensee has 21 calendar days to furnish the Department a complete written response.

5. Do not sign anything that releases the lot or agrees to the amount before you understand it, and do not hand over the title or your registration paperwork.

6. Ask a local attorney whether the amount charged is enforceable, whether small claims court is a realistic route for any excess, and what notice the lot must give you before it can move to sell the car. Most lawyers offer a brief initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts with someone who handles these cases in your area is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. No single statute sets the deadline here. The clocks running right now are the daily storage charge and the insurer response periods in Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, §§ 2695.5(b), 2695.5(e) and 2695.7(b). A storage facility's steps toward selling a stored vehicle run on their own schedule, which depends on the notices it sends and when it sent them. Because every one of those deadlines turns on your paperwork and your dates, have a local attorney review them this week rather than waiting to see what happens.