If another driver caused the crash, ask their insurer before you pay for repairs and rides

Your car is out of action after a crash, the repair has no date, and every day without it costs rides, a rental or a shift. It is easy to start paying for all of it yourself and sort out who owes what later.

If you think another driver caused the crash, file a claim with their insurer, in writing, and tell your own insurer too, before you pay for the repair or a rental yourself.

This page cannot tell you who was at fault; the insurers work that out from the evidence. It is for a driver whose own car was hit. It is not for a crash you caused, a hire car you were driving when it happened, or an injury claim; there is an emergency guide here called I was just in a car accident for the first hours and the injury clocks, and a page called Get safe, then get facts for what to collect at the scene. In the UK, read the section called In the UK before you agree to any free car.

What the other driver’s insurer is for

Many people suggest claiming from the insurer of the driver who caused the crash, rather than paying and waiting. One person suggests filing through your own insurer first if you have collision cover, which then recovers its costs from the other side. One person points out that the other insurer does not simply handle it for you: if you have no collision cover, you have to chase the claim yourself.

The Texas Department of Insurance, in advice last updated in April 2025, says the other driver’s insurance “should pay for your car repairs, medical bills, and a rental car. Still, there’s no guarantee they will pay.” It says to take a picture of the other driver’s insurance card and driver’s license at the scene, to file a claim with the other driver’s insurer when you get home, to let your own insurer know, and to send the police report to the other insurer if police came. The North Carolina Department of Insurance says a driver’s property damage liability coverage pays for damage to other people’s property caused by that driver, including “the repair or actual cash value (ACV) of another individual’s automobile”.

These are two states’ pages. Michigan is one state where it works differently: its Department of Insurance and Financial Services says that under its no-fault law, a driver 50% or more at fault can be sued for up to $3,000 of damage to the other vehicle that insurance does not otherwise cover, and that if you carry collision coverage you can recover only your deductible that way. In Michigan, ask your own insurer before you claim from the other driver. Fault rules, limits and deadlines differ by state, so your state’s department of insurance is the place to ask how it works where you live and how long you have to claim.

What your own policy may do

The Texas Department of Insurance says that if you have collision coverage it will pay your repair costs, and that your insurer will try to recover what it paid from the other driver’s insurer; if it gets anything back, you might get your deductible reimbursed. The North Carolina Department of Insurance lists, as an extra you can buy, rental reimbursement: coverage that can pay transportation expenses up to a rate and total set in the policy. Whether you have it is in your policy, and your insurer can say.

One caution from the North Carolina Department of Insurance, in its section on uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage: the insurance company will not provide coverage if you or your legal representative settles the bodily injury or property damage without the company’s written consent. Other states and policies word this differently, so before you accept money from the other side or sign anything, ask your own insurer whether doing so affects your cover.

Some people suggest hiring a lawyer who works on a contingency basis (no fee unless there is a payout) to push the claim; one person warns that after fees the client may be left with little, and another that you should not speak to your own insurer first. This page does not weigh the lawyer question, and it does not follow the second one: Texas says to let your own insurer know. The Texas Department of Insurance says that if an insurer will not pay, a next option is legal help. It also says it can help with complaints against insurance companies, and that if you complain about the other driver’s insurer, the company must write back explaining why it is denying a claim or paying a certain way; your own state’s department of insurance is the place to ask about complaints where you live. In the US, LawHelp.org and the Legal Services Corporation point to legal help by state.

If money is short while you wait

The claim can take time, and rent, food and work do not wait. Call 211 in the US for help with a bill or a meal, and say what happened. There is a page here called Tell the landlord before the rent is late about telling your landlord before the rent is late. People disagree about stop-gaps like gig work, plasma, bikes or buying a cheap car; whether any suits you depends on your distance, your health and your area, and this page leaves them out.

In the UK

The UK Financial Ombudsman Service says that after a motor accident that was not your fault there are three main ways to pursue a claim against the at-fault driver: claim on your own motor policy if you are covered, recover your costs from the other driver’s insurer directly, or use a ‘non-fault service’, which usually means a separate accident management company arranges the repairs and a hire car under a credit hire agreement.

That last route looks free, so read what it is. The Ombudsman says there is no payment or excess to pay upfront, but you enter into an unregulated agreement for the hire car and repairs with a daily rate payable later; the company then tries to recover the cost from the at-fault driver’s insurer, and if that insurer refuses, for example where it thinks the accident was your fault or disputes the amount, “the consumer then might be held responsible for covering these costs.” It adds that a complaint about the service under such an agreement is usually not something it can consider. It also says that if you try dealing with the other driver’s insurer directly and are unhappy, it usually cannot look into a dispute with that insurer, though it can look at a complaint about your own insurer. It says a call to make a claim is sometimes forwarded to an accident management company that does not explain who it is. Ask who you are speaking to. It can look at whether the insurer or broker that referred you to credit hire warned you of the risks.

So in the UK, ask your own insurer what it will do and what it covers before you agree to any hire car, and ask any company offering one whether you would be stepping outside your policy, what the daily rate is, and what you would owe if the other insurer does not pay. Citizens Advice in England and Wales (the consumer service on 0808 223 1133), Citizens Advice Scotland, Advice NI in Northern Ireland and MoneyHelper (0800 011 3797) give advice. This page covers no particular UK nation’s rules on fault or deadlines.

Who this page is not for

If you were driving a rental when the crash happened, the rental agreement, your own cover and any card benefits decide who pays, and this page does not cover them. If the crash was your fault, or the insurers say it was, the first claim is not the other driver’s. If anyone was hurt, put that first: the emergency guide and a doctor come before any claim, and an injury claim has its own deadline, which the emergency guide gives. The emergency guide also says whiplash and concussion can start hours or days after a crash, and to get a lawyer or an adviser if you are pushed to sign or accept money before you know how badly you are hurt. So before you sign anything the other insurer sends for the car, ask what the paper covers. Outside the US and UK, your own country’s rules apply.