Can You Recover Loss of Use After a Car Accident in California?

What CACI No. 3903M says

CACI (California Civil Jury Instructions) are the instructions judges give juries in civil trials; the Judicial Council of California approves and publishes them. CACI No. 3903M, “Loss of Use of Personal Property (Economic Damage),” tells the jury that the plaintiff must prove “the reasonable cost to rent a similar” item “for the amount of time reasonably necessary to repair or replace” it. In a car case, the item is the vehicle. The instruction dates from September 2003 and appears in the 2026 edition.

The authorities listed with the instruction draw a useful line: “loss of use” is different from “loss” of the car. In their example, a stolen car, the value of the lost use is the rental value of a substitute vehicle, while the value of the car itself is its replacement cost (Collin v. American Empire Insurance Co. (1994)).

How loss of use is measured

The claim is a rental rate multiplied by a number of days. The rate is what a vehicle like yours reasonably rents for: if your vehicle is a work truck, the comparison is a similar work truck, not an economy car. For a repairable car, the California Supreme Court has said recovery is “generally to be determined with reference to the period of time reasonably required for the making of repairs” (Valencia v. Shell Oil Co. (1944)), so the dates matter: when the car reached the shop, when repairs were approved, and when it was ready.

The period can be shortened if you could have avoided part of the loss. Under CACI No. 3931, a plaintiff cannot recover property losses the defendant proves could have been avoided with reasonable efforts or expenditures, judged by the circumstances at the time. As the court said in Valencia, though, when spending money is necessary to minimize damages, that duty “does not run to a person who is financially unable to make such expenditures.”

If your car is totaled

When a vehicle is destroyed, the property claim is generally its market value just before the crash (CACI No. 3903K), and loss of use is added for the time reasonably needed to replace it. In Reynolds v. Bank of America National Trust & Savings Assn. (1959), the California Supreme Court found “no logical or practical reason” to treat destroyed property differently from property that can be repaired, and CACI No. 3903M applies the same “repair or replace” measure.

When an insurer pays cash for a total loss, the amount is based on the actual cost of a “comparable automobile,” including applicable taxes and one-time transfer fees, and that standard also applies when an insurer evaluates a third party’s total loss (10 Cal. Code Regs. § 2695.8(b)). Keep the valuation report, and note when you were paid and when you bought a replacement.

Do you have to rent a car to claim loss of use?

Not necessarily. CACI No. 3903M measures the loss by the reasonable cost to rent a similar vehicle; it does not say you must have rented one, and the authorities listed with it describe the measure as the rental value of similar property the owner “can hire” while deprived of the use of their own.

In practice, a claim backed by rental receipts is easier to prove, and an insurer may dispute days you did not rent. If you borrowed a car, used rideshares, or went without, record the dates and what you did instead, and get written quotes for a similar vehicle.

Loss of use, repair costs, and diminished value

Loss of use is one part of a property claim. The other part pays for the damage itself, under CACI No. 3903J, and loss of use is recovered in addition to it. Your own policy can work differently: the instruction’s directions note that an insurer may write its policy to pay either the repair cost or the loss in value, but not both. That limit governs claims under your own coverage; a claim against the driver who caused the crash follows the jury instruction. The measures:

• Repairable car: the reduction in the car’s value or the reasonable cost of repair, whichever is less.
• Repaired but worth less: the repair cost plus the difference between the car’s value just before the crash and its value after repairs, often called diminished value, up to the car’s pre-crash value.
• Destroyed car: its market value just before the crash (CACI No. 3903K).

How insurers handle rentals after a crash

There are usually two possible sources of payment. Under your own policy, rental reimbursement is optional coverage, which the California Department of Insurance describes as paying for a rental while your car is being repaired after a covered accident; check your declarations page for daily and total limits, and if your insurer pays, it may seek reimbursement from the at-fault driver’s insurer. Against the other driver, loss of use is part of a third-party property-damage claim, and California’s minimum property-damage liability coverage is $15,000, or $25,000 for a policy issued or renewed from January 1, 2035 (Vehicle Code § 16056), which may have to cover your repairs or total loss and your rental.

California’s Fair Claims Settlement Practices Regulations set deadlines and conduct rules for insurers. An insurer generally must accept or deny a claim within 40 calendar days after receiving proof of claim, or explain in writing what more it needs (10 Cal. Code Regs. § 2695.7(b), (c)(1)). When liability and damages are reasonably clear, the at-fault driver’s insurer may not recommend that you claim under your own policy to avoid paying (§ 2695.8(d)), and no insurer may require you to use a particular repair shop (§ 2695.8(e)).

What to keep

Good records make the claim easy to prove. In Tustin, request the collision report from the agency that responded: the Tustin Police Department for collisions it handled on city streets, or the California Highway Patrol’s Santa Ana Area, which patrols freeways including Interstate 5 and State Route 55. Then keep:

• Key dates: the crash, shop drop-off, repair approval, and the day the car was ready, or, for a total loss, the payment and replacement dates
• Rental agreements and receipts, or written rental quotes for a similar vehicle
• Repair estimates, final invoices, and any total-loss valuation report
• Every message with each adjuster, especially about delays in approving repairs or a rental
• What you used instead: a borrowed car, rideshare receipts, or transit costs
• Photos of your vehicle and records showing how you used it, such as for work

Small claims, or part of an injury claim?

If your only loss is property damage, small claims court may be an option. The California Courts self-help site says individuals can generally sue for up to $12,500 there ($6,250 for a business), and you cannot have a lawyer with you in court. No one may file more than two small claims anywhere in California in a calendar year that ask for more than $2,500 (Code of Civil Procedure § 116.231).

If you were also hurt, plan before you settle the property claim, because injury and property claims have different deadlines and insurers often settle property damage first. Ask for loss of use when you resolve the property claim, not afterward, and before you sign a property-damage release, confirm that it covers property damage only.

Deadlines

Settlement talks with an insurer do not, by themselves, extend a filing deadline. The main deadlines:

• Property damage, including loss of use: generally three years to file a lawsuit, under Code of Civil Procedure § 338(c)(1), which covers an action “for taking, detaining, or injuring goods or chattels.”
• Personal injury: generally two years, under Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1.
• A public agency’s vehicle or road: a written claim is generally due within six months, for damage to personal property as well as injury (Government Code § 911.2).
• Your own policy: it sets its own notice and cooperation duties, which can come due much sooner.