What is a car accident claim worth in Virginia?
Every rule below is quoted from Virginia law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.
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 Virginia, and the Virginia rules that raise or lower what you collect. $21,079 was the average injury claim paid in Virginia in 2022.
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Averages come from NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report. State rules are quoted from Virginia law on this site, each with a link.
What claims paid in Virginia
Injury claims in Virginia averaged $21,079 each in 2022.
Car and property damage claims averaged $5,428.
| Injury claim paid by the at fault driver's insurance | $21,079 |
|---|---|
| Car and property damage | $5,428 |
| Medical payments coverage, paid by your own policy | $4,954 |
| Collision coverage, paid by your own policy | $5,627 |
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 Virginia
If you were partly at fault
Virginia uses contributory negligence, one of the strictest fault rules in the country. If you are even slightly at fault for the crash, you cannot recover any money from the other driver, unless a narrow exception like last clear chance applies.
“the fact that such employee may have been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar a recovery, but the damages shall be diminished by the jury in proportion to the amount of negligence attributable to such employee”
The other driver's policy limit is the ceiling
The minimum liability limits are $50,000 for one injured person, $100,000 for two or more people injured or killed in one crash, and $25,000 for property damage.
“$50,000 because of bodily injury to or death of one person in any one accident and, subject to the limit for one person, to a limit of $100,000 because of bodily injury to or death of two or more persons in any one accident...$25,000 because of injury to or destruction of property of others in any one accident”
If the other driver has no insurance
Insurers must include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on every liability policy, matching the driver's liability limits.
“no policy or contract of bodily injury or property damage liability insurance relating to the ownership, maintenance, or use of a motor vehicle shall be issued or delivered in this Commonwealth...unless it contains an endorsement or provisions undertaking to pay the insured all sums that he is legally entitled to recover as damages from the owner or operator of an uninsured motor vehicle”
The deadline that ends the claim
You have two years from the crash to sue for your injuries.
“every action for personal injuries, whatever the theory of recovery, and every action for damages resulting from fraud, shall be brought within two years after the cause of action accrues”
What a lawyer takes if you hire one
Virginia has no dollar or percentage cap on personal injury contingency fees. The fee has to be reasonable, and the method for figuring the contingent fee must be put in writing.
“A contingent fee agreement shall state in writing 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, litigation and other expenses to be deducted from the recovery”
Sources on this page
Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.
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.