Collecting From The Insurance Company

A car accident insurance claim in San Jose runs on two tracks: the at-fault driver’s insurer and your own policy. California is an at-fault state, so the negligent driver’s liability coverage pays first.

Alexander Law Group, LLP stands between seriously injured people and the insurance companies trying to close their claims cheaply. We take over every call, letter, and demand.

Call (408) 289-1776 to speak with a San Jose car accident insurance lawyer by phone or Zoom at no cost.

How Alexander Law Group, LLP Handles Car Accident Insurance Disputes 

Alexander Law Group handles insurance disputes by building each claim so the insurer sees the real cost of refusing to pay. We document the injury, pin down every policy, and put reasonable demands in writing.

When an insurer ignores those demands, that record may expose it to liability beyond its policy limits.

Richard Alexander and Todd Falzone lead our work on serious car accident claims in Santa Clara County. Our practice focuses on cases where the harm outruns the coverage.

Collecting Beyond a $30,000 Policy

George Liu, a San Jose State senior, suffered a spinal cord injury that left him paraplegic after a crash on Calvert Drive in San Jose.

The at-fault driver’s insurer refused to pay its $30,000 policy limit. The insurer made no offer until trial, then agreed to pay $4.5 million on the fourth day.

Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and every case turns on its own facts.

What We Take Over From Day One

Many callers already feel worn down by the phone calls. Once we step in, our firm takes on this work:

• We notify every insurer involved and route all contact through our office.
• We gather the policy declarations pages for each driver, vehicle owner, and employer.
• We collect medical records and bills and track every health plan lien.
• We send written, time-limited demands that give each insurer a fair chance to settle.
• We file suit in Santa Clara County Superior Court when an insurer refuses a reasonable offer.

How Does the Insurance Claims Process Work After a San Jose Car Accident?

The insurance claims process after a San Jose car accident works through two separate tracks. A third-party claim goes to the at-fault driver’s insurer. A first-party claim goes to your own insurer under the coverage you bought.

California is an at-fault state. The driver who caused the crash, and that driver’s liability policy, pays for the harm. California’s minimum liability limits are $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage under Vehicle Code Section 16056.

The table below shows which coverage pays for what after a California car accident.

Coverage Type	Whose Policy	What It Pays For
Liability	The at-fault driver’s	Your injuries and property damage, up to the limits
Collision	Your own	Repairs to your car, minus your deductible
Medical Payments (MedPay)	Your own	Medical bills for you and your passengers, regardless of fault
Personal injury protection (PIP)	Not sold in California	California does not use no-fault PIP coverage
Uninsured motorist (UM)	Your own	Your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance
Underinsured motorist (UIM)	Your own	The gap when the at-fault driver’s limits fall short

Many people search for PIP after a crash because other states require it. In California, MedPay fills a similar but smaller role.

Notice Deadlines vs. the Lawsuit Deadline

Your policy sets its own deadline for reporting a crash, often described as prompt notice. Read that section of your policy. The deadline to file an injury lawsuit against the at-fault driver is generally two years under Code of Civil Procedure Section 335.1.

Dealing With the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance Company

Dealing with the at-fault driver’s insurance company means dealing with a business that owes you nothing directly. That insurer’s contract runs to its own driver. The adjuster’s job is to protect the company and keep your payout low.

Adjusters often sound friendly because friendliness produces useful statements. A casual remark about feeling better or a guess about your speed may end up in the claim file as evidence against you.

Duty to Defend and Duty to Indemnify

The at-fault driver’s insurer owes its driver two main duties under California law. The duty to defend means it must provide and pay for a lawyer when you sue its driver. The duty to indemnify means it must pay a covered judgment or settlement up to the policy limits.

Those duties explain why a reasonable demand within the limits carries so much force. If the insurer refuses it and a jury later returns a larger verdict, the insurer may face responsibility for the excess.

When Several Insurers Share a Claim

Crashes involving several at-fault drivers bring several insurers into the claim at once. Each one argues that another driver caused most of the harm. We deal with every carrier at the same time, so one early settlement does not weaken claims against the rest.

Commercial Vehicles Carry Larger Policies

A crash with a commercial truck changes the insurance picture. Federal rules in 49 CFR 387.9 set interstate minimums from $750,000 to $5,000,000, depending on the cargo. Those cases often involve the trucking company, the driver, a broker, and several layers of coverage.

Using Your Own Insurance After a Car Accident

Using your own insurance after a car accident starts with prompt notice to your insurer, even when the other driver caused the crash. Your policy likely requires you to report the crash and cooperate. Your own coverage may also pay certain costs faster than the other driver’s insurer.

Your policy may help in several ways, and it may also ask for things in return:

• Collision coverage may repair your car now, then seek repayment from the at-fault driver’s insurer.
• MedPay may cover early medical bills without waiting for a fault decision.
• UM and UIM coverage may pay when the other driver’s coverage is missing or too small.
• Your insurer may request records or an examination under oath, a formal recorded interview under the policy.

Your insurer owes you a duty of good faith that the other driver’s insurer does not. That duty becomes the foundation of a bad-faith claim when your insurer treats you unfairly.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage in California

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage in California pays for your injuries when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little. Insurance Code Section 11580.2 requires insurers to include this coverage unless you waived it in writing. Your declarations page shows your UM limits.

How Do UM and UIM Claims Differ From Third-Party Claims?

A UM or UIM claim is a first-party claim against your own insurer. That insurer steps into the at-fault driver’s shoes and may dispute fault and damages. When you and your insurer disagree, Section 11580.2 sends the dispute to arbitration rather than a jury trial.

Section 11580.2 also sets specific requirements for these claims:

• Within two years of the crash, you must sue the at-fault driver, reach an agreement with your insurer, or formally start arbitration.
• A hit-and-run claim generally requires physical contact with the unknown vehicle.
• A UIM claim usually requires collecting the at-fault driver’s full policy limits first.
• Your UIM benefit generally drops by the amount the at-fault driver’s insurer paid.

Missing one of these steps may end the UM claim even when your injuries are serious. We track each requirement from the first week of the case.

When Insurance Companies Act in Bad Faith

Insurance companies act in bad faith when they unreasonably deny, delay, or underpay a claim they owe. California implies a covenant of good faith and fair dealing in every insurance policy. An insurer that breaks it may owe damages far beyond the policy limits.

The Crisci Standard for Third-Party Claims

In Crisci v. Security Insurance Co. (1967), the California Supreme Court held an insurer liable for a judgment above its limits. The insurer had unreasonably refused a settlement offer within those limits. That rule protects the at-fault driver, and in practice it pressures insurers to pay reasonable demands.

You generally have no direct bad faith claim against the other driver’s insurer. The claim belongs to its driver, who may assign it to you after an excess judgment.

First-Party Bad Faith and Your Own Insurer

Your own insurer owes you good faith directly on UM, UIM, MedPay, and collision claims. When it acts in bad faith, you may recover the benefits owed, emotional distress damages, and brand fees. Brandt fees, from Brandt v. Superior Court (1985), cover the attorney fees you spent collecting the benefits.

Punitive damages may follow in egregious cases under Civil Code Section 3294. They require clear and convincing evidence of malice, oppression, or fraud.

Where Insurance Code Section 790.03 Fits

Insurance Code Section 790.03 lists unfair claims practices, like misrepresenting coverage or failing to settle when liability is reasonably clear.

The statute does not create its own private lawsuit. Its standards still help show what reasonable claim handling looks like, and you may report violations to the California Department of Insurance.

One of our clients suffered a below-knee amputation after a car struck her in a crosswalk.

The insurer refused its $100,000 policy limit before suit, then paid the $100,000 plus $2.55 million more, for a total of $2.65 million. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome, and every case turns on its own facts.

If an insurer has already stalled or denied your claim, call (408) 289-1776 and let us review the file.

What are Common Insurance Tactics Used to Minimize a Claim?

Insurance companies use a familiar set of tactics to minimize car accident claims in San Jose. Each tactic aims to lower the value of the claim before you understand what it is worth. Knowing them in advance takes away much of their power.

Watch for these moves from any adjuster, including your own:

• A lowball first offer made before your doctors know the full extent of the injury.
• A request for years of past medical records, aimed at finding a pre-existing condition to blame.
• A recorded statement framed as routine, where small wording choices later undercut the claim.
• Long stretches of silence while the insurer claims its review is ongoing.
• Pressure to settle quickly, often with a deadline attached to the offer.

California’s Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations generally require an insurer to accept or deny a claim within 40 days of receiving proof of it. An insurer that drags past that point without a good reason hands you evidence for a bad faith claim.

Why You Shouldn’t Accept the First Settlement Offer

Accepting the first settlement offer usually means taking less than the claim is worth. First offers arrive before anyone knows the full cost of the injury. A settlement requires a signed release, and once you sign, the claim ends.

Before we recommend any settlement, we confirm these points:

• Your doctors have a clear picture of your long-term prognosis.
• We have found every policy that may apply, including umbrella and UIM coverage.
• We know the amount of every health plan, Medi-Cal, or Medicare lien.
• The offer accounts for future surgery, therapy, and lost earning capacity.

A Release Is Final

A release generally covers every injury from the crash, known and unknown. California courts enforce these releases as written. A second surgery a year later does not reopen a settled claim.

Liens Come Out of the Settlement

Your health plan, Medi-Cal, or Medicare may claim repayment from your settlement for the bills it paid. A number that looks fair on paper may shrink once those liens come out. We negotiate liens as part of the final numbers so you know what you keep.

Types of Accidents

• Auto Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• SUV Accidents
• Motorcycle Accidents
• Bicycle Accidents
• Collecting from the Insurance Company

Get a Free Consultation

If you or a member of your family has suffered a catastrophic injury, please contact us by email or call 888-777-1776 to discuss your rights and the legal care that we can provide.