What is a car accident claim worth in Tennessee?

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

Tennessee · At fault1 yearto 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 Tennessee, and the Tennessee rules that raise or lower what you collect. $22,787 was the average injury claim paid in Tennessee 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 Tennessee

Injury claims in Tennessee averaged $22,787 each in 2022.

Car and property damage claims averaged $6,285.

Average amount paid per claim in Tennessee, 2022. Source: NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report.
Injury claim paid by the at fault driver's insurance$22,787
Car and property damage$6,285
Medical payments coverage, paid by your own policy$3,032
Collision coverage, paid by your own policy$6,629

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 Tennessee

If you were partly at fault

Tennessee uses modified comparative fault with a 50 percent bar. You can recover money as long as your share of fault is less than the other driver's. If your fault is 50 percent or more, you recover nothing.

“We therefore hold that so long as a plaintiff's negligence remains less than the defendant's negligence the plaintiff may recover; in such a case, plaintiff's damages are to be reduced in proportion to the percentage of the total negligence attributable to the plaintiff.”

McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52 (Tenn. 1992)

The other driver's policy limit is the ceiling

Tennessee drivers must carry at least $25,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 per accident, and $25,000 in property damage coverage, or a single combined limit of $65,000 per accident.

“A split-limit policy with a limit of not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for bodily injury to or death of one (1) person, not less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) for bodily injury to or death of two (2) or more persons in any one (1) accident, and not less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for damage to property in any one (1) accident”

Tenn. Code 55-12-102(12)(D)(i)

If the other driver has no insurance

Tennessee auto policies automatically include uninsured motorist coverage matching your liability limits, unless you reject it or choose lower limits in a signed, written form.

“Every automobile liability insurance policy delivered, issued for delivery or renewed in this state...shall include uninsured motorist coverage”

Tenn. Code 56-7-1201

The deadline that ends the claim

You have 1 year from the crash to sue over your injuries. This is shorter than most states.

“Actions for libel, injuries to the person, false imprisonment, malicious prosecution, or breach of marriage promise”

Tenn. Code 28-3-104(a)(1)

What a lawyer takes if you hire one

Tennessee has no dollar or percentage cap on personal injury contingency fees. The fee has to be reasonable, and the contingent fee agreement must be in writing and signed by the client.

“A contingent fee agreement shall be in a writing signed by the client and shall state the method by which the fee is to be determined, including the percentage or percentages that shall accrue to the lawyer in the event of settlement, trial, or appeal”

Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 1.5(c)

Sources on this page

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

  1. McIntyre v. Balentine, 833 S.W.2d 52 (Tenn. 1992)
  2. Tenn. Code 55-12-102(12)(D)(i)
  3. Tenn. Code 56-7-1201
  4. Tenn. Code 28-3-104(a)(1)
  5. Tenn. Sup. Ct. R. 8, RPC 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.