Why storage fees are the first thing to watch
After a crash, police or the other driver's insurer often call a tow company, and your car ends up in a tow yard you didn't choose. Most yards charge storage every day the car sits there, on top of the tow itself. A claim that takes a week or two to sort out can quietly turn into a large storage bill, and someone has to pay it.
The good news: in California, when towing and storage are reasonably necessary after a covered loss, the insurer has to pay reasonable charges. The catch is the word reasonable, and the fact that storage payments don't have to continue forever.
What California rules say
California's Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations (Title 10, §2695.8) cover this directly. In plain terms:
- The insurer pays reasonable towing and storage. Where towing and storage are reasonably necessary to protect the vehicle from further loss, the insurer must pay reasonable towing and storage charges you incurred (§2695.8(k)).
- You get notice before storage payments stop. The insurer has to give you reasonable notice before it stops paying for storage (§2695.8(k)). Once that notice comes, every extra day in the yard may be on you.
- You choose where the car is repaired. An insurer can't require that your car be repaired at a specific shop (§2695.8(e)(1)). That includes where the car goes after the tow yard. See choosing your own shop.
Whose insurer pays depends on the claim. If the other driver was at fault, their insurer handles it under their liability coverage. If you file under your own collision coverage, your insurer pays and your deductible applies.
What to do in the first 48 hours
- Find out where the car is. Get the tow company's name, address and phone from the police report, the tow driver or your insurer.
- Open the claim right away and give the adjuster the tow yard's details. Ask in writing until what date storage will be covered.
- Choose your repair shop and tell the adjuster. The sooner the car leaves the tow yard, the smaller the storage bill.
- Get your things out of the car if you can, and photograph the car at the yard.
- Keep every receipt for towing, storage and release fees, and send copies to the adjuster.
If the car may be a total loss
Storage keeps running while the insurer decides whether to repair or total the car. Ask the adjuster to move the car out of the tow yard to the repair shop or the insurer's own storage lot while the decision is made. When a car is close to the line, a full estimate after teardown matters. Read what a fair total loss settlement includes.
How we help
For repair clients we tow the car to our shop for free, including from a tow yard, and we deal with the adjuster about storage and release paperwork. Once the car is at GV Auto Collision, it stops collecting tow yard fees. If you're not sure what happened after the accident, start with what to do after an accident.
General information, not legal advice. Every claim and policy is different. Regulation quoted: California Code of Regulations, Title 10, §2695.8.