Following a car crash in Nevada, your next steps are critical. Filing a car insurance claim is necessary for reasons beyond safety and injury. It could be more complex than you think. Knowing what to do is essential to protect your rights and secure the appropriate financial recovery. Knowing how to handle the claims process is crucial, whether the incident occurs in the crowded city of Las Vegas or more expansive rural environs. This guide explains the critical steps you should follow to effectively file an accident car insurance claim in a structured way.

Immediate Steps to Protect Your Claim

What you do immediately after a motor vehicle accident is critical to protect your claim and ensure the insurance process runs smoothly. Here are some steps to consider:

Prioritize Safety and Seek Medical Attention

Safety should always come first. Arrange for medical help as soon as possible. Even if the injuries appear minor, you should get checked by a medical professional, as some injuries may not show symptoms for hours or days after the accident.

Contact Law Enforcement for an Official Report

The next step after ensuring safety is to contact the police. An impartial, official document like a police report is vital for recording any incident. It helps to jot down the particulars of an event, including the date, time, place, and parties involved. It also gives a preliminary assessment of the collision.

This official document is valuable evidence for your insurance claim and supports your version of events.

Diligently Collect Evidence at the Scene

After calling the police, you should gather evidence at the car accident scene. This will help your claim. This entails:

  • Carefully sharing information with every other driver involved, including full name, contact details, driver’s license number, and name and policy number of the insurance

  • Gather vehicle details, including the make, model, year, and license plate number

  • Taking the witnesses' contact information

  • Using smartphones to have comprehensive visual documentation — Take plenty of pictures and videos of the accident scene with your phone or camera. Take shots from various angles of the vehicles, the road, traffic signals, and skid marks. This visual evidence provides irrefutable proof of what happened.

  • Not admitting fault while gathering information, even if you think you were partly responsible. The statements made at the scene can adversely affect your claim.

If you follow these procedures at the scene of an accident in Nevada, your insurance claim will be much stronger.

Understanding Fault and Liability in Nevada Car Accidents

In Nevada, accident victims automatically seek damages from the at-fault party’s insurer since Nevada follows an at-fault or tort insurance system. However, it is also possible to pursue damages from your insurer. This fundamentally differs from “no fault” states, where each driver’s insurance typically covers initial medical expenses. Therefore, demonstrating fault is essential to any successful claim.

Determining fault in car accidents falls under the modified comparative negligence rule. Outlined under NRS 41.141. Under this law, as a plaintiff, you can still recover damages if you were partially at fault for the accident, as long as your percentage of fault was not more than 50%. If you are determined to be 50% or less at fault, your total recoverable damages shall be reduced in proportion to your percentage of fault. On the other hand, if it is determined that your fault is 51% or greater, you are barred from recovering damages from the other party.

What Does Nevada’s Comparative Negligence Ruling Mean for Your Insurance Claim?

You could pursue a third-party claim against the liable driver’s insurance policy if you are not or only partially at fault. You can recover your expenses related to property damage, medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and more. Nevertheless, if the driver responsible has no or inadequate insurance, or if there is a disagreement about fault, you may have to use your first-party insurance policies, depending on your policy. These include uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage or collision coverage.

Car Insurance Policy and Coverage Options

A critical part of handling a car insurance claim is understanding the coverages your policy provides and the value of those coverages. Many wrongly assume that obtaining a minimum liability insurance policy is enough protection against loss from expensive accidents.

A typical Nevada car insurance policy usually contains:

  • Bodily Injury Liability (BI)

  • Property Damage Liability (PD).

BI liability insurance pays for other people’s medical bills and lost wages and compensates them for the pain and suffering you are at fault for. Nevada's minimum BI coverage is often expressed as 25/50, meaning $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. These minimums could meet the legal requirements, but they can be used quickly in serious accidents, putting your personally held assets at risk.

Property damage liability, with a minimum of $20,000, covers damage you cause to another person’s property. It is a good idea to bump your amount above the minimum when you factor in the sudden cost of car repairs and multi-car collisions.

In addition to those required coverages, there are different optional coverages you may want to consider for your protection, namely:

  • Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) coverage — UM/UIM coverage is critical. This pays for your and your passengers’ injuries and damages if the at-fault driver does not have any insurance or their coverage is not enough to cover your damages. With so many motorists without insurance, having UM/UIM can prevent you from taking on hefty out-of-pocket expenses.

  • Medical Payments (MedPay) — pays for reasonable medical costs for you and your passengers, regardless of who was at fault. There is a limit, but the specific amount may vary. You will have access to MedPay money quickly to pay for urgent medical expenses. MedPay pays for the deductible, co-pay, and other costs considered medical but not covered by health insurance.

  • Collision and comprehensive coverages — Collision coverage pays for damage to your car when it collides with another vehicle or object, regardless of fault. This is essential to fix or replace your vehicle, especially if it is new, financed, or valuable. Conversely, comprehensive coverage takes care of damage to your car due to theft, vandalism, or a collision with an animal.

If you add liability, UM/UIM, and MedPay collectively, they are often called “full coverage” car insurance. While the term “full coverage” does not refer to a single policy type, choosing these combined coverages and limits above state minimums brings you strong financial protection against an accident's potential substantial financial consequences.

Reporting a Car Accident and Initiating Claims

An important first step after your car accident is promptly informing all applicable insurance providers. Generally, you must notify your insurer of the incident as soon as possible, usually within a few days, even if you do not intend to file a claim under your policy. This notification ensures adherence to the terms of your policy. If another driver is at fault, you must report it to that driver's insurance company to make a third-party claim. When talking to insurers, do not speculate or admit fault. Stick with the documented details gathered at the accident scene.

Knowing the difference between first-party and third-party claims is essential to the insurance process.

A first-party claim is a claim you make to your own insurance company with which you have a contract. Suppose your vehicle is damaged in an accident:

  • If you have collision coverage, you will file a first-party claim with your insurance company to pay for the repairs, subject to your deductible amount

  • If you have MedPay coverage, you will file a first-party claim for your medical expenses

  • If the driver who caused the accident is uninsured or underinsured, you would make a first-party claim under your own UM/UIM coverage to recover for your injuries and damage to your property.

On the other hand, a third-party claim is brought against the at-fault driver’s policy. In Nevada, which has a fault system, this is the primary avenue for recovering damages if another party was at fault. You seek compensation for damage to your car, injury, medical bills, lost wages, pain, mental anguish, and other losses directly from the other driver’s insurer through a third-party claim. When you talk to your insurer about the accident, most negotiations and information exchanges about your personal injuries and property damages will occur with the at-fault driver’s insurer.

How To Deal With Insurance Adjusters When Filing Your Insurance Claim

After making a car insurance claim, you will primarily deal with an insurance adjuster. The insurance adjuster has several responsibilities as part of the claim process, including:

  • Investigating the accident

  • Evaluating the evidence

  • Preliminarily determines fault

  • Estimates the extent of the damage to the property and people

  • Formulates a settlement offer

When you give information to an insurance adjuster, whether your insurance company's representative or the at-fault driver’s insurance representative, provide comprehensive documentation properly organized to allow for a speedy claims process. Strong evidence will significantly bolster your position.

Although you are expected to cooperate factually with the adjuster’s investigation, you must also understand the implications of specific requests, especially recorded statements.

When you make a first-party claim, your insurance adjuster will generally take a recorded statement from you. When making this statement to your insurer, it is essential to stick to the verifiable facts, not speculate, and not admit fault. However, exercise extreme caution if the other party’s insurance adjuster asks for a recorded statement. You are not obligated to provide a recorded statement to the at-fault driver’s insurance company. If you do so without an attorney present, it could hurt your case. Your wordings can be scrutinized for inconsistencies or admissions that may be used to diminish or deny your claim. Because of this, you should seriously consider having a lawyer before giving a recorded statement to a third-party insurer. An attorney can explain your legal rights and help protect your interests during this critical investigation.

Negotiating a Fair Settlement for Your Nevada Car Accident Claim

A fair settlement of your car accident claim will not happen simply by accepting the insurance company’s first offer. To recognize the full value of your claim, your car accident attorney will first investigate the damages related to property damage and medical expenses. This would include lost income and non-economic damages for your pain and suffering.

Before beginning your negotiations, carefully examine all documents related to your claim, including repair estimates, medical bills, and lost wages. Never feel pressured to accept the initial offer you receive. It is usually a starting number, and insurers anticipate negotiation.

If an initial offer is deemed inadequate, the proper action would be to provide a reasoned counteroffer supported by all essential documents. You should aim for this to be presented in writing, indicating the category of each damage, the amount you seek, and the evidence for the amount.

For instance, if the initial offer is low for your medical bills, show all your medical records and bills to show the amount you need compensation. Similarly, pain and suffering could be subjective, so providing medical records of your injuries and detailed personal accounts of how the accident has affected your life will help you.

Negotiations require persistence and politeness at all times. Be ready to explain exactly why your proposed settlement amount is fair and needed to fully compensate you for all the damages you have suffered. Recognizing the totality of your economic and non-economic damages is essential to effectively advocating for a just resolution to your car accident claim.

Negotiating Your Car Accident Settlement

Most insurance claims are handled correctly. Nevertheless, claimants should remember the concept of “insurance bad faith.” In a nutshell, insurance bad faith refers to an insurance company:

  • Unreasonably denying a valid claim

  • Unreasonably delaying a claim

  • Conducting a flawed or incomplete investigation

  • Making an unreasonably low settlement offer in breach of contractual and implied duties of good faith and fair dealing

Examples of bad faith include refusing to pay a claim without a proper investigation, without a reasonable basis, offering substantially less than the claim’s value, or failing to respond appropriately and substantially to communications from the claimant.

If you are a policyholder or third-party claimant, you have rights that protect you against unfair claims practices. You should keep a record of all your exchanges with an insurance company if you want to show that they acted in bad faith. Note the date, time, and name of the rep you spoke to and what was discussed in the summary. If needed, this precise documentation can help in a court case.

You could be entitled to policy benefits if an insurance company denies or delays a claim. Insurance bad faith victims could recover more than just the policy benefits wrongfully withheld. You may also recover damages for emotional distress, economic damages for the delay or denial, and punitive damages. The signs of bad faith and your corresponding rights are important.

After looking at the evidence, if you believe your insurer refuses to pay fairly, you would be best served by consulting with an attorney skilled in Nevada insurance law.

Nevada's Statute of Limitations

If you are involved in an accident in Nevada, an essential legal consideration is the statute of limitations that prescribes the time limit for filing a lawsuit. NRS 11.190, the statute of limitations for a personal injury claim following a car accident, is two (2) years from the accident date. In most cases, if you sustained injuries, you have two years from the date to file a lawsuit in court.

Generally, the statute of limitations for property damage claims, like damage to your vehicle, is three (3) years. These deadlines are non-negotiable (definite). If you fail to file a lawsuit by the deadline, you will likely lose your right to pursue compensation for any losses, even if your claim has merit.

If there was a minor accident where both drivers had clear liability and the damages were minor, you may handle it alone. However, there are plenty of cases where you should consider hiring a car accident attorney, even if it is not necessary. If you have been seriously injured and require extensive medical care or expect long-term effects, legal counsel is essential to ensure all your damages are appropriately assessed. Furthermore, an attorney can effectively challenge their position if you dispute fault for the accident, or the at-fault driver’s insurance company is uncooperative or offering a low settlement. It is best to confer with an attorney in complicated scenarios involving uninsured/underinsured motorist claims, bad faith insurance issues, or simply over-complicating the claims process.

A Nevada car accident lawyer can help you in many ways, particularly:

  • They can ensure that you have all documentation gathered and filed correctly

  • They can provide you with an accurate appraisal of the true worth of your claim, including future medical bills or lost earning capacity, which are often overlooked

  • They can protect your rights against aggressive insurance adjusters, communicate with them, and negotiate a fair settlement. If negotiations do not work, they will take your case to court. This gives peace of mind and maximizes your chances of fair compensation.

Find a Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

The road to recovery from a car accident can be complicated. However, by learning about each step of the insurance claim process, you can navigate it better. Proactive engagement is key from collecting evidence at the scene to understanding your policy's terms and Nevada's at-fault system.

If you are injured in a car accident, protect your rights and secure maximum recovery. Engage experienced personal injury attorneys at the Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney Law Firm today at 702-996-1224 for a free consultation.