Car Accidents – Obtaining insurance information of the at fault (negligent) driver
There are several ways to obtain insurance information from the negligent driver and/or owner of the motor vehicle that hit you and caused injury. You can simply ask the person for their insurance information. The police office who responds to the scene will usually issue a Florida Driver Exchange of Information which lists their auto insurance information. Sometimes, the police officer will simply issue a card (usually the size of a driver’s license) which will have a case number on it. You will need to follow up with the police department to get more insurance information if this is the case. Other times, the police officer will issue a Florida Short Form Traffic Crash Report or a Long Form Crash Report.
Both the driver exchange of information and the short (and long form) crash report’s list the driver’s auto insurance information. If the driver does not appear to have insurance, you can obtain their insurance coverage, by mailing your request to:
Bureau of Financial Responsibility
2900 Apalachee Parkway , Room A212, MS-98
Tallahassee , Florida 32399-0585 .
You must provide us the Bureau with a copy of the complete crash report, front and back, or the driver exchange form. If you do not have these forms, they will request them for you. These forms will provide the department with the necessary information needed to expedite your request. You may fax the crash report to them at 786.235.0793. Please allow ten working days for their research and reply.
There are also services which, for a fee, will attempt to locate insurance information of the at fault party. If the services are unable to locate insurance information, they will not charge you. However, it usually costs much less to mail or fax the Bureau.
What type of automobile insurance coverage is required for a person causing a crash?
What should I do if I am involved in an automobile crash?
If I am approached by the at-fault party regarding releases, what should I do?
