Paying for care at Oakland Accident Care
Auto insurance, MedPay, PIP, and liens accepted. The clinic does not bill health insurance or workers’ comp. We check your policy before your first visit, and what you owe is confirmed in writing before your first visit.
Request a call back and the clinic calls you within 30 minutes during clinic hours; outside clinic hours, first thing the next morning.
Every coverage the tool can show, written out
This is the same information the tool uses, in its usual order. If the tool does not run in your browser, read down this list and skip what does not fit your crash.
Why this order: coverage on your own policy that does not depend on fault can pay first; rideshare insurance is primary by law; liability insurance depends on a decision about fault; and underinsured motorist coverage applies only after the at-fault driver’s limits are paid.
1. Coverage on your own policy
Your MedPay (medical payments coverage)
It is on your own policy and pays medical expenses for you and your passengers, no matter who was at fault, up to your policy’s limit. The Department of Insurance says it “can pay for immediate medical care, no matter who is at fault,” which is why it is listed first.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
Your PIP (personal injury protection)
Like MedPay, PIP is part of your own policy. The Department of Insurance guide describes MedPay but not PIP, so your policy’s wording decides what your PIP pays for and when.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
MedPay on the car you were riding in
The Department of Insurance describes medical payments coverage as paying “if you or your passengers are injured,” no matter who is at fault. If the car you were in has MedPay, it may cover you as a passenger.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
MedPay on a household member’s policy
The Department of Insurance notes that medical payments coverage can be bought for “you and your household members.” If someone you live with has MedPay, check whether it includes you.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
2. If you drive for, or rode in, a rideshare app
Your personal auto policy (app off)
California’s rideshare insurance rules start when a driver logs on to the app. With the app off, your own policy applies as it would for any driver, and the rest of this list reads the same as for any crash.
Source: Public Utilities Code § 5433(c).
Rideshare insurance for “app on, waiting”
From log-on until you accept a ride, state law requires rideshare insurance that is primary, with at least $50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for injury or death and $30,000 for property damage, plus $200,000 of excess coverage. That is liability coverage for harm the driver causes to others; the Department of Insurance notes that liability coverage does not pay for your own injuries. Whether your personal policy covers you with the app on depends on its wording and on whether you added coverage for rideshare driving.
Sources: Public Utilities Code § 5433(c); California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
Rideshare insurance for “ride accepted”
From the moment you accept a ride request, state law requires rideshare insurance that is primary and $1,000,000 for death, personal injury and property damage. It is liability coverage: it pays for harm the driver causes to others, not the driver’s own injuries. The uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage the rideshare company must provide starts only when a passenger gets in.
Sources: Public Utilities Code § 5433(b)(1); Public Utilities Code § 5433(b)(2); California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
Rideshare insurance for “passenger on board”
While a passenger is in the car, state law requires rideshare liability insurance that is primary and $1,000,000. The rideshare company must also provide uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, primary over any other uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. The policy’s terms say whom it covers.
Sources: Public Utilities Code § 5433(b)(1); Public Utilities Code § 5433(b)(2).
The rideshare company’s insurance
While you are in the car, state law requires rideshare insurance that is primary and $1,000,000 for death, personal injury and property damage. As liability coverage, it pays for injuries the rideshare driver is legally responsible for. If the other vehicle’s driver was uninsured, underinsured or unknown, the rideshare company must provide uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, primary over any other such coverage. Rideshare insurance cannot be made to wait for a personal auto policy to deny the claim first.
Sources: Public Utilities Code § 5433(b)(1); Public Utilities Code § 5433(b)(2); Public Utilities Code § 5433(d); California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
3. The other driver, or the driver you rode with
The other driver’s liability insurance
It pays for injuries that driver caused. That depends on fault, and fault can be shared: the police, the insurance companies or the courts decide each driver’s share. California’s minimum for policies issued or renewed since January 1, 2025 is $30,000 for one person and $60,000 for two or more people per accident.
Sources: California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide; Vehicle Code § 16056(a)(2).
The liability insurance of the driver you rode with
If the driver of the car you were in caused or shared in causing the crash, that driver’s liability coverage may pay for your injuries. The Department of Insurance notes that liability coverage does not pay for injuries to the policyholder or the people in their household.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
4. Uninsured and underinsured drivers
Your uninsured motorist coverage
It pays for injuries to you and the people in your car when an uninsured driver is at fault. California insurers must include it in every auto liability policy unless the policyholder turned it down in a signed, written agreement. The law covers the policyholder and relatives in the same household “while occupants of a motor vehicle or otherwise,” so it is not limited to being in a car, and it covers anyone riding in the insured car. Its payment may be reduced by what MedPay paid, and it cannot be held up waiting on decisions under other liability policies.
Sources: California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide; Insurance Code § 11580.2(a)(1); Insurance Code § 11580.2(b); Insurance Code § 11580.2(e); Insurance Code § 11580.2(h).
If the driver is unknown (hit-and-run)
Uninsured motorist coverage can apply when the driver can’t be identified, if all three are true: the injury came from physical contact with you or with the vehicle you were in; the crash was reported within 24 hours to the police department of the city where it happened (outside a city, the sheriff or the CHP); and a sworn statement is filed with the insurer within 30 days.
Source: Insurance Code § 11580.2(b).
Your underinsured motorist coverage
If the at-fault driver’s liability limits are lower than your own uninsured motorist limits, your underinsured motorist coverage may add to what their policy pays. It applies only after the at-fault driver’s liability limits have been paid out, and what it pays is reduced by what that driver’s insurance paid.
Source: Insurance Code § 11580.2(p)(2)–(4).
5. Also worth knowing
Health insurance
The Department of Insurance says health insurance usually pays for your immediate medical care, and the health insurer then typically tries to get that money back from auto insurance (this is called subrogation). Oakland Accident Care does not bill health insurance.
Source: California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide.
A time limit for uninsured motorist claims
Within two years of the crash, one of these must happen: a lawsuit is filed against the uninsured driver, you and your insurer agree on the amount owed, or you start arbitration by written notice to your insurer sent by certified mail.
Source: Insurance Code § 11580.2(i)(1).
Your policy and your case details decide the final answer. Confirm with your insurer or attorney.
Sources
- California Department of Insurance, Automobile Insurance guide. https://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/105-type/95-guides/01-auto/auto101.cfm
- Insurance Code § 11580.2. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=INS§ionNum=11580.2
- Public Utilities Code § 5433. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PUC§ionNum=5433
- Vehicle Code § 16056. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=VEH§ionNum=16056
All sources were read in full and last checked September 30, 2026. The Department of Insurance guide is Form 101, revised February 5, 2025. Public Utilities Code § 5433 is quoted as amended by SB 371, effective January 1, 2026.
Related: MedPay after a car accident, hit by an uninsured driver, medical liens for accident care, rideshare driver injuries, the accident insurance glossary, and Oakland’s High Injury Network lookup. En español: ¿Quién paga mi atención?