Your State Farm car policy, in plain words
What to do if you crash
You have no task to do today. Keep this list for the day you have an accident or a loss. State Farm calls these your duties as the you, your spouse, and family living with you, plus anyone driving your car with your permission. Missing them can reduce or deny a claim.
- Tell State Farm as soon as you reasonably can. Give your name, the names and addresses of everyone involved, when and where it happened and what happened, and the names and addresses of any witnesses. You can call the claims number on your insurance card or declarations page or your own agent.
- Send every legal paper right away. If someone makes a claim or sues you over the crash, forward every demand, notice, summons, and court paper to State Farm immediately. Do not wait.
- Cooperate and let them inspect. Help with settlements and evidence, attend depositions or hearings if asked, and let State Farm inspect and test your car before it is repaired. Provide records, receipts, and invoices they ask for.
- Protect the car and report theft to police. Keep a damaged car from further harm (State Farm pays reasonable expense you report), and if the loss is a theft, make a prompt police report.
- Do not pay or promise anyone on your own. Except at your own cost, do not voluntarily pay others or promise to pay them unless the policy allows it. Let State Farm handle it.
Timing matters. "As soon as reasonably possible" and "immediately" are the policy's own words. A late report or a court paper you sat on can put a claim at risk.
Two things void a claim, no matter your coverage: lying about anything that matters on a claim, and refusing to cooperate with State Farm's investigation. Both let State Farm refuse to pay. Honesty and cooperation protect your coverage.
What you are covered for
Your policy can include the coverages below. This booklet explains what each one does. Whether you actually bought each coverage, and the dollar limit, is on your Declarations page. Read this next to that page.
covers harm you cause to other people, not to you or your own car pays for injuries and property damage you cause to other people in a crash. State Farm also hires and pays lawyers to defend you if you are sued. Your limit is on your Declarations.
PIP: pays your and your passengers' costs after a crash, no matter who was at fault pays reasonable medical and funeral costs, 80% of lost income from work, and the cost of help with tasks you cannot do while hurt. You have it unless you rejected it in writing.
Medical Payments pays reasonable medical costs (and funeral costs) from a crash. First treatment must be within 1 year, and care is covered for 3 years. Funeral costs are capped at $3,000 per person, within your Declarations limit.
covers you when an at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough to pay pays what you are legally owed for injuries or damage caused by an at-fault driver who has no insurance, or not enough. You have it unless you rejected it in writing. One rule to remember: get State Farm's written OK before you accept a settlement from the other side.
pays for damage to your car that is not from a collision pays for damage to your car that is not a crash: theft, fire, hail, flood, vandalism, hitting an animal, a falling object.
pays for damage to your car from hitting something or rolling over pays for damage to your car from hitting or being hit by another vehicle or object, or from your car rolling over.
Both take a the amount you pay first on a claim before State Farm pays the rest. The dollar amount is on your Declarations. For a car you just bought, if no deductible is shown yet, it is the lowest one on your policy or $500, whichever is less.
If a pet is hurt in the crash, Comprehensive and Collision also pay vet costs for a cat or dog injured in a covered loss. If the pet dies, they pay to replace it. The pet must be riding in the covered car. State Farm pays up to $1,000 per animal and up to $2,000 per loss.
Bought a new car? Act within 20 days. A car you just buy is covered automatically at first, but that free coverage ends after the 20th day. Within 20 days of buying a car, ask State Farm to add it to your policy so it stays covered.
Emergency Road Service helps when your car will not go. It pays for up to 1 hour of labor at a breakdown, towing to the nearest repair shop, a winch-out, and delivery of gas, oil, a battery, or a tire. It also pays up to 1 hour of locksmith work if your key is lost, stolen, or locked inside.
Car Rental and Travel Expenses pays a daily amount for a rental while your car is not drivable from a covered loss. It can also pay for transport, lodging, and meals if a covered loss strands you far from home. The caps are on your Declarations.
Death, Dismemberment and Loss of Sight and Loss of Earnings coverages pay set benefits if a crash causes death, a serious injury, or keeps you from working. These apply anywhere in the world. The benefit amounts are on your Declarations.
What gets a claim denied
These are the everyday situations, inside your control, where the policy will not cover you. There are more exclusions in the full policy, but these are the ones that catch normal drivers.
Not covered: driving for a rideshare or delivery app, or carrying passengers for pay. Sharing gas costs with friends is still fine.
Not covered: renting or leasing your car to others, including peer-to-peer car sharing.
Not covered: racing or any speed, hill-climbing, or jumping contest, or driving on a track built for racing.
Not covered: damage you cause on purpose, to anyone or to your own car.
Not covered: normal wear and tear, freezing, or a mechanical or electrical breakdown. Car insurance pays for sudden events, not for age or a part that simply failed.
Coverage also stops at the border. Your policy works in the United States and Canada. It barely reaches Mexico. See the Mexico note under "More detail" before you drive there.
Where your real numbers are
This booklet defines the rules, but the numbers that decide how protected you are live on your the one- or two-page summary mailed with this booklet that lists your cars, coverages, limits, deductibles, and premium. Have that page next to you and check for these:
Good to know: if the Declarations does not show a coverage, you likely do not have it. If a limit looks low for your situation, you can ask your agent to change it before you ever need it.
If you disagree on the payout for your car: when you and State Farm cannot agree on what your car damage is worth, either side can ask in writing for an appraisal. You each hire your own appraiser, and the two pick a third. An amount signed by any two of them settles it. You pay your own appraiser and split the third.
More detail, if you want it
Deadlines and time windows
There are also deadlines to sue State Farm if you ever disagree: for Medical Payments, within 2 years and 1 day of the crash; for Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist and car-damage coverages, within 2 years and 1 day of when the dispute starts. Texas law also makes State Farm answer a written claim within 15 business days (45 days if it needs more time) and pay within 5 business days once it agrees.
Driving in Mexico — read before you go
This policy barely covers Mexico. It reaches only accidents within 50 miles of the United States border, and Mexican authorities may not honor it at all. In Mexico, a crash can be treated as a crime, not just a civil matter.
Buy car insurance from a licensed Mexican company before you drive there. State Farm's own booklet gives this warning.
Renewal, cancellation, and refunds
Your policy runs in 6-month periods and renews when you pay the renewal premium. You can cancel by giving State Farm advance notice of the date you want it to end.
If State Farm cancels, it must give you notice: at least 10 days in the first 59 days of the policy or if you did not pay, and at least 60 days otherwise. Any premium you already paid for time you will not use is refunded, usually within 15 business days.
The full list of exclusions
Beyond the everyday ones above, the policy also does not cover a car damaged by fungi or mold, a nuclear reaction or radiation, or war. It does not cover a car seized by police in a drug case you are convicted in. It does not cover using your car in a "car business" such as selling, repairing, or storing vehicles, or valet parking, though there are some exceptions for you and family. It also does not cover radar detectors or removable media and the data on it.
This is a summary. If a specific situation matters to you, the exact wording is in your full policy booklet, and Texas law controls how it is read.