Three Deadlines, Not One

People assume there is a single deadline after an accident. There are at least three, they run simultaneously, and the shortest one is the one nobody writes down.

1. Your policy's notice requirement

Auto policies require prompt notice of a loss. Not "within a set number of days" in most cases, but promptly — and late notice that prejudices the insurer's ability to investigate can become a coverage argument. This is the short clock. Report the accident to your carrier the same day or the next, even if you are undecided about claiming. Reporting is not filing, and it costs you nothing to preserve the option.

2. The DMV report

Separate from insurance entirely. Under Vehicle Code section 16000, a driver involved in a qualifying accident must report it to the DMV within ten days, on the form provided for that purpose, and a police report does not satisfy the obligation. It applies regardless of who was at fault. The DMV publishes the current form and the applicable damage threshold — check it there rather than relying on a figure from memory.

3. The legal limitation periods

These govern lawsuits, not claims. In California, an action for personal injury is generally subject to a two-year period under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1, and an action for injury to property is generally subject to a three-year period under Code of Civil Procedure section 338. Different facts and different defendants can change the analysis — a claim against a public entity, for example, follows its own much shorter process — which is why this is one to confirm with an attorney rather than assume.

The one that quietly expires

Uninsured and underinsured motorist claims carry their own deadline, commonly described as two years from the date of the accident to settle, file suit or demand arbitration. It runs while you are negotiating with your own carrier, and a friendly adjuster is not a pause button. If a UM or UIM claim is open, put the date in your calendar the week it starts.

Practical rules that keep you safe

• Report to your carrier immediately, always.
• File the DMV report if the accident qualifies, on time, whoever was at fault.
• Write the accident date on the front of your claim folder.
• Do not treat ongoing negotiation as evidence that time is not running.

Not sure whether your accident needs to be reported? Ask us — it is a two-minute answer and the wrong guess is expensive.