Six Situations Where the Rule Starts on Your Side

The test for an at-fault accident in California is demanding on its own: at least 51 percent of the legal cause, plus injury or more than $1,000 in damage. On top of that test, 10 CCR 2632.13 lists situations where the insurer has to start from the assumption that you were not principally at fault. Knowing them tells you when a finding against you deserves a second look.

When the car wasn't moving

Lawfully parked. If your vehicle was lawfully parked when it was hit, you are presumed not principally at fault. There is one catch written into the rule: a car that rolls away from a parked position is treated as still under the control of whoever last operated it. A handbrake left off is not the same as being parked and struck.

When someone else hit you

• Rear-ended. The presumption applies when your car was struck in the rear and you were not convicted of a moving violation in connection with the accident.
• Only the other driver was convicted. If the other operator was convicted of a moving violation for the accident and you were not, the presumption favours you.
• Hit-and-run. Damage caused by a hit-and-run driver is presumed not your fault if the accident was reported to the legal authorities within a reasonable time. The regulation does not put a number of days on "reasonable," so report it promptly and keep the report number.

When nobody could have steered the outcome

• Animals, birds and falling objects. An accident resulting from contact with any of these carries the presumption.
• A hazard you couldn't reasonably avoid. A solo-vehicle accident principally caused by a hazardous condition that a driver using reasonable care would not have noticed, or could not have avoided, is presumed not principally at fault. The regulation's own examples include black ice.

Rebuttable, and one that isn't

These presumptions are rebuttable. An insurer with real evidence the other way, such as a dashcam showing you reversed into the car behind, can still reach a principally-at-fault finding. What it cannot do is skip the presumption and treat the accident as yours by default.

One presumption in the regulation is conclusive rather than rebuttable. Where Insurance Code section 488.5 applies, which covers certain on-duty accidents by peace officers, CHP officers, firefighters and some federal officers, the driver is conclusively presumed not principally at fault.

Why this matters beyond one renewal

A principally-at-fault accident affects your driving safety record and can cost you Good Driver status for three years: one point if only property was damaged, outright disqualification if someone was hurt. A presumption that should have applied is therefore worth raising quickly. The insurer must give you written notice of an at-fault finding, and you have 30 days from receiving it to ask for reconsideration. The full test is on our page about what makes an accident principally at fault.

If one of these situations describes your accident and your price still reflects it, ask for a quote and tell us exactly what happened.