How Can You Find Another Driver’s Insurance After a California Crash?
A person involved in a California crash can start with the insurance information exchanged at the scene under Vehicle Code § 16025. If that information is missing, other options include the investigating agency’s collision report. An eligible individual involved in a reportable crash can also file a California DMV Financial Responsibility Information Request using Form SR 19C.
California requires drivers and vehicle owners to maintain financial responsibility and carry evidence of it in the vehicle. Insurance is the most common form. When the other driver’s financial responsibility is an insurance policy, identifying the insurer and policy information after a crash is an important early step.
Key Takeaways for Finding Car Insurance After a Crash
- California Vehicle Code § 16025 requires drivers involved in a crash to exchange specified identifying and financial-responsibility information at the scene.
- When financial responsibility takes the form of insurance, the exchange includes the insurer’s name and address and the policy number.
- A collision report from the investigating agency can contain useful identifying information, but not every report includes complete or verified insurance details.
- An eligible person involved in a reportable crash can use DMV Form SR 19C to request financial-responsibility information. The request costs $20 and takes approximately 30 days to process.
- If litigation is filed, California Code of Civil Procedure § 2017.210 permits discovery of certain insurance-agreement information from the opposing party.
What Insurance Information Should Drivers Exchange at the Crash Scene?
California Vehicle Code § 16025 requires each capable driver involved in an accident to exchange specified information with other involved drivers or property owners present at the scene.
The required exchange includes:
- Driver’s name and current residence address
- Driver’s license number
- Vehicle identification number and registered owner’s address
- The insurance company’s name, address, and policy number when financial responsibility is an insurance policy
The statute makes the insurer and policy number part of the required exchange, not just common practice. If the other driver provides this information at the scene, it gives the injured person a starting point for confirming coverage.
When the required information is unavailable at the scene, other records can help identify potential coverage.
Can a Police or CHP Collision Report Help Identify Insurance?
A car collision report from the investigating agency can contain driver, vehicle, and other crash information recorded during the investigation. If law enforcement investigated the crash, an involved person can request the resulting report from the agency that handled it.
A collision report records information gathered at the scene and during the officer’s investigation. It does not independently verify that every listed policy was active at the time of the crash. Not every crash receives a law-enforcement report, and not every report contains complete insurance details.
For crashes investigated by the Los Angeles Police Department, eligible requesters can obtain a traffic collision report through the LAPD’s report-request process. For crashes investigated by the California Highway Patrol, a qualifying Party of Interest can request the report through the CHP’s crash-report system. The requesting process depends on which agency investigated.
How Can You Request Insurance Information From the California DMV?
An eligible person involved in a reportable California crash can request financial-responsibility information from the DMV using Form SR 19C, the Financial Responsibility Information Request. The DMV limits this information to qualifying individuals with a proper interest in the accident, such as an involved person or that person’s attorney.
What Is the Difference Between DMV Form SR 1 and SR 19C?
California DMV requires a separate SR 1 traffic-accident report within 10 days of a crash involving injury, death, or property damage exceeding $1,000. The SR 1 is required regardless of fault and is separate from any report filed with law enforcement or an insurer.
The SR 19C serves a different purpose. It requests financial-responsibility information, an uninsured-motorist certificate, or a copy of an SR 1 accident report from DMV records. The SR 19C requires a nonrefundable $20 fee for each document requested. DMV instructions advise allowing approximately 30 days for processing.
The SR 19C does not give the public open access to any person’s insurance records. Eligibility depends on involvement in the crash and the information provided with the request.
What If You Know the Insurance Company but Not the Policy Number?
If the insurer’s name is known but the policy number is not, the injured person can contact the company to report the crash or ask how to submit information about a potential claim. The insurer determines what policy or coverage information it can verify or disclose based on the identifying details provided.
The insurer determines what identifying information it needs to locate or verify a potentially applicable policy. The insurer’s response depends on the information available and applicable disclosure rules.
What If You Still Cannot Confirm the Other Driver’s Insurance?
When scene information, collision reports, and DMV records do not resolve the coverage question, additional steps depend on the specific circumstances. Options include reviewing the injured person’s own uninsured-motorist coverage or pursuing the matter through litigation.
Code of Civil Procedure § 2017.210 allows a party in litigation to obtain discovery of the existence and contents of an insurance agreement under which a carrier may be liable to satisfy or reimburse a judgment.
That discovery can include the identity of the carrier, the nature and limits of coverage, and whether the carrier disputes coverage. The statute provides that this disclosure does not by itself make the insurance information admissible at trial.
Our car accident lawyers can review available crash records, DMV information, and applicable coverage when an injured person cannot confirm how the other driver was insured.
What Happens If the Other Driver Is Uninsured?
Recovery after a crash with an uninsured driver depends on the coverages actually purchased on the injured person’s own policy. California insurers must offer uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage with an automobile liability policy, but a consumer can decline it by signing a waiver.
There are several relevant coverage types that a person’s own policy may include:
- Uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, which addresses bodily injury caused by an at-fault uninsured driver when the coverage applies
- Underinsured motorist coverage, which can apply to bodily injury losses when the at-fault driver’s liability coverage is insufficient, subject to policy terms
- Uninsured motorist property damage coverage, which is a separate coverage with its own requirements and limits
Whether any of these coverages applies depends on the specific policy purchased, the facts of the crash, and the applicable terms and conditions.
A direct car accident claim against the responsible driver is one legal option. However, a judgment against an uninsured driver does not by itself establish that the defendant has assets available to satisfy it. The practical value of any recovery path depends on the facts, available coverage, and the defendant’s financial circumstances.
FAQs About Finding Another Driver's Car Insurance
Can I find someone's car insurance with only a license plate number?
No. A license plate number alone does not give the public access to another person’s insurance records. An eligible person involved in a reportable California crash can request financial-responsibility information from the DMV through the SR 19C process. That process requires additional identifying information beyond the plate number.
What if the other driver gives me an expired insurance card?
An insurance card does not by itself prove that coverage was active at the time of the crash. The insurer can verify whether the identified policy was in effect on the collision date. DMV financial-responsibility records can provide additional information when available. Keeping a copy of whatever the driver provides preserves a reference point.
Can my insurance company help identify the other driver's insurer?
In some situations, a person’s own insurer may have resources or databases that help identify the other driver’s carrier. The availability and extent of that assistance depends on the policy, the company’s procedures, and the information the policyholder provides. Contacting the insurer to report the crash is a reasonable early step.
Does the California DMV keep insurance information for every registered vehicle?
No. The DMV SR 19C form itself states that the department does not maintain insurance records for all vehicles registered in California. The information available through the SR 19C process depends on what has been reported to the DMV and the records associated with the specific crash or vehicle.
What if the driver who hit me was not the owner of the car?
The driver’s insurance status and the vehicle owner’s insurance can raise separate coverage questions. Which policy applies depends on ownership, permission, policy terms, exclusions, and the specific facts. Both the driver’s and the owner’s coverage may need to be evaluated.
When Insurance Information Remains Unclear After a Crash
Identifying applicable insurance after a car crash can require comparing information from the scene, collision reports, DMV records, and direct contact with insurers. When coverage remains uncertain, formal discovery through litigation adds another avenue.
M&Y Personal Injury Lawyers offers free consultations with no obligation. We review available records and coverage information when an injured person needs help determining what insurance applies.
Our phones are answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 866-864-5477. Clients do not owe attorney fees unless compensation is recovered.
