Deductibles
Your auto insurance deductible, explained
A deductible is the share of a covered repair your policy makes you pay. You pay it to the shop at pickup — and if another driver was at fault and their insurer accepts liability, you usually do not pay one at all.
What a deductible is
Your deductible is a fixed amount you agreed to when you bought the policy. On a covered claim, your insurer pays the repair cost minus that amount, and you cover the rest.
It applies per claim, not per year. Two separate accidents mean two deductibles.
The amount is on your declarations page, the summary sheet your insurer sends with the policy. It is listed separately for each coverage, which matters further down this page.
When you pay it, and who you pay
You pay the deductible to the repair shop, not to your insurance company. It comes due when the car is finished and you pick it up.
In most claims the insurer pays its share to the shop directly. Your deductible is simply the part of that same bill the insurer did not pay.
Getting the damage looked at costs nothing. Sending photos for a free written estimate commits you to nothing, and knowing the repair number early makes every conversation with your adjuster easier.
If the crash just happened, start with what to do after a car accident in California and come back to the money question after.
Not at fault
Do you pay a deductible if you didn't cause the crash?
Route 1 — claim against the other driver's insurer
If the other driver is liable and their insurer accepts liability, you file against their liability coverage. Liability coverage carries no deductible for you, so there is nothing to pay out of pocket.
The catch is control. Their insurer decides when it accepts liability, and it may investigate first while your car sits.
Route 2 — claim through your own collision coverage
If they dispute fault or you do not want to wait, you can use your own collision coverage. You pay your deductible, the car gets repaired, and your insurer goes after the other side for the money.
That last part is called subrogation, and it is the reason this route does not have to cost you the deductible permanently.
Subrogation, in plain English
Subrogation means your insurer steps into your shoes and collects from the at-fault side after it has already paid for your repair. You are not part of that fight; your insurer runs it.
Your deductible goes into that demand along with everything else your insurer paid. If the recovery comes through, your deductible is normally returned to you.
A partial recovery changes the math. If fault is shared or the other insurer settles for less than the full amount, you typically get back a proportional share rather than the whole deductible.
It is not fast. Subrogation runs on the other insurer's schedule and can continue for months after your car is back in your driveway. Ask your adjuster to confirm in writing how they handle deductible reimbursement.
What if the other driver had no insurance?
Then it depends on which coverage responds. Uninsured motorist property damage and collision coverage are different coverages with different deductibles.
Your declarations page shows which ones you carry. Your adjuster can tell you which one they opened the claim under, and that answer decides what you owe.
Two deductibles
Collision and comprehensive are not the same deductible
Collision deductible
Applies when your car hits something or something hits it: another vehicle, a pole, a guardrail, a curb, a rollover.
This is the one most people mean when they say "my deductible," and it is the one that comes up after a wreck.
Comprehensive deductible
Applies to damage that is not a collision: theft, vandalism, fire, falling objects, storms, and animal strikes.
Most glass damage lands here. A rock off a truck on the 405 is usually a comprehensive claim, not a collision one.
The two amounts are listed separately and are often not the same. Checking the wrong line is how people talk themselves out of a claim they could have filed cheaply.
Some policies carry a lower glass deductible, or none, for windshield work. That is an option you buy, not something California requires, so read your declarations page instead of assuming. What the job itself involves is covered on auto glass repair and replacement.
About shops that offer to "waive" your deductible
You will run into this. A shop offers to waive, cover, eat, or match your deductible so the repair costs you nothing out of pocket.
The money still has to come from somewhere. It comes out of the estimate sent to your insurer, either as an inflated bill or as line items billed and never performed.
California treats that as insurance fraud. It is not a discount, and the customer is not a bystander in it, because your name is on the claim that gets submitted.
The exposure is real: a denied claim, a canceled policy, and in serious cases a criminal referral. It also tells you something about the repair, because a shop finding that money inside the job is finding it somewhere.
F1 Collision Center charges the deductible your policy sets. We do not discount it, and we do not build it into the estimate.
If a shop or an insurer pressures you on any of this, the California Department of Insurance consumer line is 800-927-4357.
Choosing your own shop does not change your deductible
California Insurance Code section 758.5 says your insurer may recommend a shop but cannot require you to use one. It must pay the reasonable cost of repair at the shop you choose.
It also cannot raise your deductible or cut your coverage because you chose your own shop. Your deductible is set by your policy, not by the address where the car gets fixed.
You should also receive a document called the Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights when you open a claim. For what happens after you pick a shop, see how we handle insurance claims, or read what the repair itself involves on collision repair in Van Nuys.
Four minutes
How to find out what you will actually pay
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Pull your declarations page
It is the summary sheet from your insurer. Your insurer's app or website almost always has a copy of it.
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Read both deductible lines
Collision and comprehensive are listed separately. Note both amounts, because the claim may not run through the one you expected.
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Ask your adjuster who is paying
Your collision coverage or the other driver's liability coverage. That answer decides whether you owe a deductible at all.
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Get the damage written up
Send photos or bring the car to 14332 Oxnard Street, Van Nuys, CA 91401. The repair number and your deductible together are what tell you where you stand.
Questions
Deductible questions people actually ask
Do I have to pay a deductible if the accident wasn't my fault?
Usually not, if you claim against the at-fault driver's liability insurance and their insurer accepts liability. Liability coverage carries no deductible for you. If you go through your own collision coverage instead, you pay your deductible up front and your insurer pursues the other side for it.
When do I pay my deductible?
At pickup, once the repair is finished. You pay it to the repair shop, not to your insurance company, and the insurer pays the rest of the approved bill.
Can a body shop waive my deductible?
No shop can make your deductible disappear. Covering, waiving, or matching it means the amount gets padded back into the estimate sent to your insurer, which California treats as insurance fraud, and the customer whose name is on the claim is exposed too. F1 Collision Center charges the deductible your policy sets.
Will I get my deductible back?
If you used your own collision coverage and your insurer recovers from the at-fault side through subrogation, your deductible is normally reimbursed. A partial recovery or shared fault usually means a proportional refund rather than the full amount, and it can take months. Ask your adjuster how they handle it.
Damaged car? Start with a photo.
Text or upload photos of the damage and we'll come back with a preliminary estimate and next steps — usually the same day. Prefer to talk? Call. A person answers during shop hours.