What a demand letter after a car accident actually is

A demand letter is a dated written package sent to the at-fault driver's liability insurer. It lays out how the crash happened, what the Vehicle Code says the other driver did wrong, what your injuries were, what treatment cost, what work you missed, and the total number you will accept to close the claim.

It is not filed with a court. Nobody gets served. It goes in the mail, and the adjuster has to respond to it.

Liability: a short factual narrative, the traffic collision report number, the agency, the Vehicle Code sections violated, and any independent witness.

Injuries and treatment: every provider, the dates, what they found, and what they did, in the words the records use.

Money: medical specials billed against actually paid, wage loss with the employer and rate, property damage, and general damages.

Proof: lettered exhibits, with the records and bills tabbed so the adjuster can verify every figure without calling you.

Code of Civil Procedure section 999.1 sets out what a pre-litigation time-limited demand has to contain in a California auto case: a policy-limits demand, a clear deadline, a place and manner of acceptance, and medical records or bills supporting the injuries claimed.

A demand written to that standard matters later. If the carrier sits on a properly formed demand within limits and a judgment comes back higher, the insurer's own exposure changes. Adjusters know this, which is exactly why a compliant demand gets read differently from a letter that just asks for money.

After you are done treating, or after your doctor tells you where you have ended up. Send it earlier and you are guessing at your own damages, and the number you write is the ceiling for the rest of the negotiation.

Do not let the two-year personal injury deadline sneak up while you wait. Demand letters do not pause it. If the deadline is close, the demand and the lawsuit have to move in parallel.

Expect an acknowledgment, then a first offer that is low. That is normal, not an insult. The counter is where the money is, and it is won by pointing at exhibit letters and paid amounts rather than by arguing about how you feel.

If the carrier goes silent or the offer stays unserious, the next move is filing. A lawsuit turns a claim the adjuster can ignore into a docket with dates on it.