Your car policy, in very simple words
What to do if you crash
You have nothing to do today. Keep this list for the day you crash or lose your car.
These are the steps State Farm asks you to take. Miss them, and they can pay you less, or nothing.
- Call State Farm as soon as you can. Use the number on your insurance card. Tell them your name. Tell them who else was there. Tell them when and where it happened. Give the names of any people who saw it.
- Send every legal paper right away. Someone may make a claim or sue you. If they do, send State Farm every letter and court paper. Do not wait.
- Help State Farm and let them look. Help them settle the claim. Go to any hearing they ask you to. Let them check your car before it is fixed. Give them the papers they ask for.
- Keep your car safe. Stop more damage to the car. State Farm pays you back for that. If your car was stolen, tell the police fast.
- Do not pay anyone on your own. Do not promise money to anyone. Let State Farm handle it.
Do it fast. A late call can hurt your claim. So can a court paper you sat on.
Two things can kill any claim, no matter what you bought:
- You lie about the claim.
- You will not help State Farm look into it.
Do either one, and the claim stops counting. State Farm can then pay nothing.
Be honest and help them.
What you are covered for
Your policy is made of parts. Each part is one kind of cover.
This guide says what each part does.
Your Declarations page holds two things. It shows which parts you bought, and how much each one pays.
Read this guide next to that page.
In a crash, you may hurt other people. This part pays for that harm.
It pays for their hurt and their broken things.
State Farm also pays for a lawyer if someone sues you.
On your card this is called the part that pays for harm you cause to other people, not to you or your own car. How much it pays is on your Declarations.
This part helps you and the people in your car. It helps even if the crash was your fault.
On your card it is called PIP: pays your and your riders' costs after a crash, no matter whose fault it was, or PIP. You have it unless you said no in writing.
It pays your doctor bills. It also pays for lost work.
You get 8 of every 10 dollars of pay you lose. Example: you lose $1,000 of pay, so you get $800.
Medical Payments pays doctor bills and funeral bills after a crash.
Your first care must start within 1 year. Care is paid for 3 years.
Funeral bills are paid up to $3,000 for each person.
Example: a funeral costs $4,000. This part pays $3,000. That is the top amount.
Some drivers have no insurance, or too little.
Say a driver who caused your crash cannot pay. This part pays you what they should have paid.
On your card it is called covers you when the driver at fault has no insurance or not enough to pay.
You have it unless you said no in writing.
There is one rule to know. Get State Farm's OK in writing first.
Do this before you take money from the driver who hit you.
Two parts pay to fix your own car.
pays for damage to your car that is not from a crash pays when it is not a crash. That means theft, fire, hail, flood, or hitting an animal.
pays for damage to your car from hitting something or rolling over pays when it is a crash. That means you hit something, or your car rolls over.
To fix your own car, you pay a set amount first. This is your the amount you pay first on a claim before State Farm pays the rest.
Then State Farm pays the rest.
Example: your deductible is $500. A repair costs $2,000.
You pay $500. State Farm pays the other $1,500. Your amount is on your Declarations.
Emergency Road Service helps when your car will not go. It pays to tow it, start a dead battery, or bring fuel.
It pays up to 1 hour of work to unlock your car.
Car Rental pays for a rental car while yours is fixed. It can also help if a crash leaves you far from home.
It can pay for a ride, a room, and meals. The top amounts are on your Declarations.
Two more parts pay a set amount after a bad crash. They pay for death, a bad injury, or lost work.
These work anywhere in the world. The amounts are on your Declarations.
What gets a claim denied
These are the everyday things that are not covered. You control all of them.
These are not covered:
- Driving for a ride app or a food app. Carrying people for pay.
- Renting your car out to other people.
- Racing, or any speed or jumping contest, on any track.
- Damage you cause on purpose, to anyone or to your own car.
- Old or worn parts, or a part that just breaks.
Still fine: sharing gas money with friends. Car insurance pays for sudden crashes, not for age.
Your coverage also stops at the border. It works in the United States and Canada.
It barely reaches Mexico. Read the Mexico note under "More detail" before you drive there.
Where your real numbers are
This guide tells you the rules. But the numbers live on your the one- or two-page sheet mailed with this guide that lists your cars, coverages, limits, deductibles, and price.
Keep that page next to you. Look for these things:
Good to know: a part not on that page? Then you likely do not have it.
You can ask your agent to add it. Do it before you ever need it.
More detail, if you want it
Dates and time limits
Just bought a car? Tell State Farm within 20 days. Then your new car stays covered.
Time limits to sue State Farm:
Texas law also sets rules for State Farm:
If State Farm pays you, then takes over your right to collect
Say State Farm pays you for a crash. And say the driver who hit you should really pay for it.
You have a right to get that money back from them. State Farm takes over that right.
They can only take back what they paid you. This rule is called when your insurer, after paying you, takes over your right to collect from whoever caused the loss.
There is one exception. Say a friend drove your car with your OK.
Then this rule does not apply to car-damage cover for them.
State Farm calls this rule "General Terms 15." That name lets you find it in your full policy.
Driving in another state, or in Mexico
Another state. Your policy works in the United States and Canada.
Another state's law may ask for more than your policy has. Then your policy is read up to that state's lowest legal limit.
State Farm calls this rule "General Terms 3." That name lets you find it in your full policy.
Mexico. This policy barely covers Mexico.
It reaches only crashes within 50 miles of the United States border. Mexico may not honor it at all.
In Mexico, a crash can be a crime. It is not just a money matter.
Buy car insurance from a Mexican company before you drive there. State Farm's own guide gives this warning.
Renewal, cancel, and refunds
Your policy runs 6 months at a time. It renews when you pay again.
To cancel, tell State Farm the date you want it to end.
If State Farm cancels, they must warn you first. In your first 59 days, they give at least 10 days.
They also give 10 days if you did not pay. They give at least 60 days the rest of the time.
They also pay back money for time you will not use. That refund usually comes within 15 business days.
The full list of things not covered
The everyday ones are above. The policy also does not cover a car hurt by mold.
It does not cover a car hurt by a nuclear event. It does not cover war damage.
Say the police take your car in a drug case. If you lose that case, the car is not covered.
It does not cover using your car for a "car business." That is a job selling, fixing, or parking cars for pay.
A few of these have exceptions for you and your family. The policy also does not cover radar detectors.
It also does not cover removable media, or the data on it.
This is a short list. For the exact words, read your full policy.
Texas law says how the words are read.