What is a car accident claim worth in Alabama?

Every rule below is quoted from Alabama law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.

Alabama · At fault2 yearsto sue for injuries

The short answer

Nobody can price your claim from a web page, and any site that gives you one number is guessing. What we can show you is real: the amount insurers actually paid per claim in Alabama, and the Alabama rules that raise or lower what you collect. $21,144 was the average injury claim paid in Alabama in 2022.

Six questions, no sign up

Nothing you pick is sent anywhere or saved. The answer appears on this page.

Was anyone hurt?
Who caused the crash?
Does the other driver have insurance?
How bad is the car?
Did anyone miss work?
Did police write a report?

What claims paid in Alabama

Injury claims in Alabama averaged $21,144 each in 2022.

Car and property damage claims averaged $7,066.

Average amount paid per claim in Alabama, 2022. Source: NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report.
Injury claim paid by the at fault driver's insurance$21,144
Car and property damage$7,066
Medical payments coverage, paid by your own policy$3,328
Collision coverage, paid by your own policy$6,727

These are averages of every claim insurers closed, from the largest to the smallest. A claim with a hospital stay sits far above the average, and a fender bender sits far below it.

What changes the number in Alabama

If you were partly at fault

Alabama follows contributory negligence, not comparative fault. If a person hurt in the crash did anything even slightly careless that helped cause the crash, that person can be completely blocked from recovering any money, no matter how careless the other driver was.

“contributory negligence is a complete defense to an action based on negligence”

John R. Cowley & Bros., Inc. v. Brown, 569 So. 2d 375, 381 (Ala. 1990) (quoting Rowden v. Tomlinson, 538 So. 2d 15, 18 (Ala. 1988))

The other driver's policy limit is the ceiling

Every driver in Alabama must carry liability insurance of at least $25,000 for one person's injury or death, $50,000 total per crash for injury or death, and $25,000 for property damage in one crash.

“of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) because of bodily injury to or death to one person in any one accident”

Ala. Code § 32-7-6(c); see also § 32-7A-4

If the other driver has no insurance

Alabama insurance companies must include uninsured motorist coverage in every auto policy unless the driver rejects it. This coverage pays when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough insurance.

“the named insured shall have the right to reject such coverage”

Ala. Code § 32-7-23(a)

The deadline that ends the claim

A person hurt in a car crash in Alabama generally has 2 years from the date of the crash to file a lawsuit for their injuries.

“All actions for any injury to the person or rights of another not arising from contract and not specifically enumerated in this section must be brought within two years.”

Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l)

What a lawyer takes if you hire one

Alabama does not cap personal injury contingency fees at a set percentage. Instead, Alabama's Rule of Professional Conduct 1.5 says a lawyer cannot charge a clearly excessive fee, and any contingency fee agreement must be in writing and state how the fee is calculated.

“A lawyer shall not enter into an agreement for, or charge, or collect a clearly excessive fee.”

Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(a) and 1.5(c)

Sources on this page

Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.

  1. John R. Cowley & Bros., Inc. v. Brown, 569 So. 2d 375, 381 (Ala. 1990) (quoting Rowden v. Tomlinson, 538 So. 2d 15, 18 (Ala. 1988))
  2. Ala. Code § 32-7-6(c); see also § 32-7A-4
  3. Ala. Code § 32-7-23(a)
  4. Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l)
  5. Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct, Rule 1.5(a) and 1.5(c)

Know My Claim is not a law firm or a government agency, and this page is not legal advice. Laws change, so check the linked source before you rely on a deadline.