A documented Texas car accident claim rests on paper created early: the crash report number, scene photographs, medical records, repair estimates and a dated log of every insurer contact. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) says to tell your own company as soon as possible, since most companies set filing deadlines. The lawsuit deadline is a different clock, generally two years.
The short version
- Begin the file at the scene. TDI lists time, date, exact location, weather, road conditions, photographs and the officer’s name and badge number as things to record.
- Tell your own insurer promptly. The deadline for that notice comes from your policy, and TDI notes that most companies have one.
- Do not mix up the clocks. The insurer’s 15-day acknowledgment duty (Insurance Code § 542.055) is separate from the two-year limit for suing (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003).
- The officer’s report is bought, not downloaded. TxDOT sells it for $6, or $8 if certified, before a small online surcharge, and only people the law names receive the full report.
- Local detail matters. In Sugar Land the city sends report requesters to TxDOT’s portal, and a lawsuit generally belongs in the county where the crash happened.
What should I do first to start a claim after a Texas crash?
Get medical care, call police when anyone is hurt, photograph and note the scene, exchange details with the other driver, and report to your own insurer. Texas Transportation Code § 550.026 requires an immediate call to police after a collision that injures or kills someone or leaves a vehicle undrivable.
Under Transportation Code chapter 550 (checked 16 Oct. 2026), that call goes to the city police when the crash is inside a municipality. Section 550.023 adds a duty to give the other driver and any injured person your name, address, vehicle registration number and liability insurer’s name.
TDI’s auto insurance guide (checked 16 Oct. 2026) turns that into a checklist: note the time, date and exact place, record weather and road conditions, take pictures, get the officer’s name and badge number, and report a hit-and-run to police, because uninsured motorist coverage will not respond to one that was never reported. The roadside order is laid out on our page about steps at a crash scene.
You do not need to settle fault at the roadside. Describe what happened, and keep guesses out of the notes.
What belongs in a car accident claim file?
Keep the crash report, scene photographs, witness names, medical records and bills, repair estimates, proof of missed pay, your policy declarations page and a log of insurer contacts. Each proves something different: what happened, what it cost, and what each insurer said and when.
The table ties every item to its purpose and its source.
| Document | What it shows | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Officer’s crash report (CR-3) | The investigating officer’s report, with parties and insurers. | TxDOT online purchase system: $6 regular, $8 certified (TxDOT, checked 16 Oct. 2026). |
| Scene photographs and notes | Vehicle positions, damage, weather and road conditions. | Your phone; TDI recommends pictures and notes of time, date and place. |
| Officer name and badge number | Lets you follow up on the report. | Ask at the scene (TDI auto guide). |
| Medical reports and bills | Injury, treatment and cost. | Your providers; TDI says to send the insurer copies if you were hurt. |
| Repair estimates, total-loss papers | Property damage amount. | Body shop and the insurer’s adjuster. |
| Declarations page | Your coverages: liability, PIP, medical payments, collision, uninsured/underinsured. | Your insurer; TDI describes each coverage. |
| Contact log | Who said what, when, under which claim number. | You, written the same day. |
The log pays off when a payment stalls or an offer looks low, because a dated entry is stronger than a recollection. For the images, see which crash scene photographs help most; for the records, see how far an adjuster’s access to your medical file reaches.
How do I get my Texas crash report?
Purchase it from TxDOT’s Crash Report Online Purchase System. The full report goes only to people the law lists, such as drivers, owners of damaged property and the insurers involved; everyone else receives a redacted copy. The price is $6, or $8 if you want it certified, and TxDOT says its online system adds a minimal surcharge.
TxDOT’s crash records page (checked 16 Oct. 2026) states that TxDOT holds the state’s crash records and that the public cannot view reports online; the page lists the $6 and $8 prices. Eligibility follows Transportation Code § 550.065, which lists a person involved, a driver, the owner of a damaged vehicle or property, a person with a liability policy on the vehicle, and the insurers.
Under § 550.062 the investigating officer’s filing deadline is the tenth day after the collision, so it may not exist the next morning. Write down the crash number the officer gives you. Our walkthrough of obtaining a report in Houston and Texas covers the request step by step, and the article on bystanders who saw the crash explains what the report may omit.
When must I tell my own insurance company about a crash?
As soon as you reasonably can. No single statute fixes a reporting day for policyholders; the policy supplies its own notice condition, and TDI warns that most companies have deadlines. Once the insurer receives written notice of a claim, Insurance Code § 542.055 gives it 15 days (30 business days for an eligible surplus lines insurer) to acknowledge a first-party claim.
Use the number on your insurance card, as TDI suggests, explain what happened, answer questions fully, forward the police report when you have it, and say if you were hurt. On coverage, TDI says personal injury protection is built into every Texas auto policy and can be declined only in writing.
The 15-day duty reaches first-party claims only. Insurance Code chapter 542 (checked 16 Oct. 2026) limits “claim” for that subchapter to first-party requests, those an insured makes for payment the insurer owes directly to the insured. A demand on the at-fault driver’s insurer is a third-party claim and does not run on that timetable. Our article on when an attorney helps with an insurer explains the split, and the one about an insurer that stops responding follows what happens after a missed step.
How long do Texas drivers have to take a crash claim to court?
Generally two years after the claim arises. Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.003 sets the period for personal injury; where the injury ends in death, it runs from the date of death. The statute names exceptions, so confirm your own date with an attorney, especially in a fatal crash.
Section 16.003(a) begins with a carve-out for Sections 16.010, 16.0031 and 16.0045 and includes personal injury among the suits covered, while § 16.003(b) treats death cases separately (Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 16, checked 16 Oct. 2026). Keep that date in the claim file even while an adjuster is still working, because the insurance process and the suit deadline are different things.
Claims involving government vehicles add notice: § 101.101 gives a governmental unit the right to notice no later than six months after the incident, ratifies city charter periods, and sets that notice aside when the unit already had actual notice of a death or injury. Our article on school bus collisions works through that rule, and the one on suing after a Sugar Land wreck deals with the two-year limit itself.
How does fault change what I can recover?
Texas uses proportionate responsibility. Under Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 33.001, a claimant found more than half responsible recovers nothing, so a share of blame near that line can decide a case. That makes evidence of the other driver’s conduct central to the claim file.
The rule appears in Civil Practice and Remedies Code chapter 33 (checked 16 Oct. 2026). Percentages are argued in negotiation and, if a suit is filed, decided on the evidence in that case. Photographs, the report and witness names support your account of where the vehicles were, and the article on kinds of damages in a car case shows what else the file should support.
Because of that, a recorded statement deserves thought. Our article on the adjuster’s first phone call sets out the choices, and contesting a share of blame shows how percentages are fought.
What changes if the crash happened in Sugar Land?
The Texas rules are the same, but the records and courts are local. The City of Sugar Land sends crash-report requesters to TxDOT’s portal, and venue follows the crash location. Fort Bend County’s civil case services sit in Richmond.
The firm’s single office is in southwest Houston; the points below describe Sugar Land only.
- Police records. The city’s Accident Reports page (checked 16 Oct. 2026) says CR-3 reports go only to listed people, among them a driver, passenger, pedestrian, owner of damaged property and an insurer, and links to TxDOT’s purchase system.
- Crash volume. TxDOT’s 2024 table of crashes in cities and towns lists Sugar Land at 2,189 reportable crashes, 7 fatal crashes and 8 deaths for calendar year 2024 (reports processed as of 9 April 2025).
- Courts. Section 15.002(a)(1) of the venue chapter ties venue to the county of the events behind the claim. The Fort Bend County Clerk’s contact page (checked 16 Oct. 2026) lists civil cases among services at the Justice Center, 1422 Eugene Heimann Circle, Suite 11005, Richmond.
- Local data. The city’s home page advertises a community crime map drawing on police report data from Sugar Land and nearby jurisdictions.
Venue has exceptions and transfer motions, so where a particular suit belongs is a question for counsel. For injuries there, see our pages on Sugar Land collisions and injury claims from that city, plus the article on intoxicated-driving figures near Sugar Land.
What if the other driver has no insurance?
Your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage may respond. TDI says it pays when you are hit by a driver with no insurance or too little, or by a hit-and-run driver you reported to police. Read your declarations page before you need it.
A 1 April 2026 Houston Public Media story put the uninsured share of Texas car owners near 12 percent and described a study by Texas Appleseed with the United Way put Harris County above 14 percent (Houston Public Media, 1 April 2026). Policies must carry the coverage unless a named insured rejects it in writing, under Insurance Code chapter 1952 (checked 16 Oct. 2026).
For the file, save the other driver’s plate, name and policy details, and note if the driver left. Our article on claims on your own uninsured coverage explains the process, and the page about drivers who flee covers unknown parties.
When should I stop handling the claim alone?
Consider counsel when you are injured, fault is disputed, an offer arrives before treatment ends, or an insurer misses a step. A settlement is final, so a release signed early can limit what you recover later.
A Houston Public Media story is no substitute for reading your own policy. Pull the declarations page, note the uninsured motorist line, and send the crash details through the contact form. How long such a case runs and the Houston driver FAQ cover what comes next.
Bring the file; our list of items for a first meeting mirrors the table above, and the piece on insurer tactics after a wreck shows why dated records help. The wider picture is on our Houston car accident page and in the guide to what drives claim value.
Frequently asked questions
What is a car accident insurance claim?
It is a request for payment under an insurance policy after a crash. A first-party claim goes to your own insurer under coverage you bought, such as collision or personal injury protection. A third-party claim goes to the at-fault driver’s insurer. The chapter 542 timetable applies to the first kind only.
How long does a car accident claim take to settle?
There is no fixed length. An injury claim often waits until treatment shows what the injury will cost. Statutory steps exist for first-party claims, beginning with the 15-day acknowledgment duty in Insurance Code section 542.055.
What happens when damages exceed the at-fault driver’s limits?
The liability limit caps what that insurer pays. Your own underinsured motorist coverage may cover part of the gap, up to its limit, and the at-fault driver may remain personally responsible. TDI describes the Texas minimum as 30/60/25: $30,000 for injuries to one person, $60,000 total per accident, and $25,000 for property.
Do I have to report a car accident to my insurer in Texas?
Your policy decides, and most policies expect prompt notice. TDI says most companies have deadlines for filing and advises reporting as soon as possible.
Can I get the police report before I file a claim?
Often, but not always right away. Transportation Code section 550.062 gives the officer ten days after the collision to file it, and eligible people can then buy it from TxDOT. Give your insurer the crash number in the meantime.
Should I let the other insurer record my statement?
Think before agreeing. Under section 33.001 a claimant found more than half responsible recovers nothing, and a recorded statement is evidence on blame.
Does the deadline change if a government vehicle hit me?
It can. Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 101.101 lets a governmental unit insist on notice within six months of the incident, subject to an exception for actual notice, and a city charter may set its own period. The two-year suit deadline in section 16.003 still has to be checked separately.
About the authors
Sam A. Maida, Jr.
Owner and Managing Attorney
Sam A. Maida, Jr. has represented injured Texans in the greater Houston area since the firm opened in 1993.
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Bernard G. Johnson III
Litigation Managing Attorney
Bernard G. Johnson III is a board certified trial lawyer licensed in Texas since 1996 and a graduate of South Texas College of Law.