I Wasn't Driving. Can the Accident Still Count Against Me?

Fault follows the person behind the wheel

Two rules decide whether an accident counts against someone in California. The DMV's point count gives a point for a traffic accident in which the operator is deemed responsible. And under the rating regulation, an insurer may treat a driver as principally at fault only if that driver's actions were at least 51 percent of the legal cause of an accident that caused injury or death, or property damage that was a total loss or over $1,000. A passenger isn't operating anything, so neither rule is aimed at you.

The DMV report works the same way. Each driver involved in a reportable collision files an SR-1; passengers don't.

When your own policy gets involved

Being a passenger can still bring your policy into the picture if you're hurt:

• Medical payments coverage, if you carry it, may pay your medical bills as a passenger in someone else's car, depending on the policy.
• Uninsured motorist coverage can protect you if the at-fault driver had no insurance. California's definition of who is insured under it includes the named insured, a spouse and relatives living in the household "while occupants of a motor vehicle or otherwise", which reaches beyond your own car.
• The at-fault driver's liability coverage is normally the first place an injured passenger's claim goes when another driver caused the crash.

Whether a claim you make as a passenger affects your price later varies by insurance company. Ask before you file, and keep the police report and medical records together.

The exception: when the driver is on your policy

If you were riding in your own car, or a household car on your policy, and a household member listed on that policy was driving, the accident is that driver's. Because that driver is rated on your policy, an at-fault accident on their record can change what the policy costs at renewal, even though you never touched the wheel.

What to tell your insurer

If you'll claim anything under your own policy, report it promptly and say plainly that you were a passenger, who was driving, and whose car it was. If you won't claim, ask your insurer whether it wants to hear about it anyway, because notice conditions differ between policies, and answer honestly if an application asks about accidents in a car you own or by drivers on your policy.

Wondering whether a recent crash will touch your renewal? Tell us what happened and we'll give you a straight read.