Towing and Storage Bills Piling Up After Your Georgia Wreck?

Towing and storage fees after car accident Georgia crashes often land on people who are already dealing with injuries and insurance calls. Here is the short answer: the at-fault driver’s liability insurance is the usual payer. Your own collision coverage can also pay first and seek recovery later. While that question is open, the tow yard can keep charging daily storage. This guide explains the order the bills usually arrive and what keeps the total from growing.

What Towing and Storage Fees Are After a Car Accident

A towing fee is the charge to move your vehicle from the crash scene or roadside to a tow yard. A storage fee is the charge to keep it there, usually billed per day.

The meter keeps running while the car sits. A vehicle can stay in storage while the insurance claim is still being decided, and daily charges add up during that time.

Police may call the tow company, or the driver may call one. Either way, ask the yard for the company’s name, its address, and the date your car arrived. Those details make the rest of the claim easier to document.

The tow bill and the insurance claim are separate. A yard can keep storage charges on its books while an insurer is still reviewing the claim. That is why the payment question needs attention early.

Who Pays First: The Tow Yard, Your Insurer, or the At-Fault Driver

The tow yard usually wants payment or a signed release before it returns the car. That is why the payment question comes up early.

There are two main routes. The first is the at-fault driver’s liability insurance, which may cover reasonable towing and storage as part of a property damage claim. The second is your own policy, usually collision coverage, which can pay first and then seek recovery from the at-fault side.

Keep the other driver’s insurance information with your crash file.

Fault drives the final split. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-12-33, a plaintiff’s damages are reduced in proportion to the plaintiff’s own fault. A plaintiff who is 50 percent or more responsible may not receive any damages.

Delay is the costly part. While insurers sort out who pays, storage charges keep growing.

Does Car Insurance Cover Towing and Storage After an Accident?

Car insurance can cover towing and storage. The key question is which policy pays.

Liability coverage on the at-fault driver’s policy can respond to reasonable towing and storage tied to damage to your vehicle. A bill tied to the crash damage is easier to present than one with no clear link to the crash. If that coverage is slow to respond, your own collision coverage may pay the bill. Your deductible and policy terms still apply.

Read your declarations page to see which coverages you carry. It lists your limits and deductibles in one place.

Then ask your insurer, in writing, which coverage it is applying to the tow bill. A written answer gives you a clear record and helps keep the claim from stalling. Your insurer may later seek recovery from the at-fault side, so keep the claim file complete.

How Towing and Storage Fees Are Calculated

Most tow bills are built from a hookup or base charge, distance, after-hours or weekend rates, vehicle size, and a daily storage rate.

Storage is the line that grows. Ask for the daily rate and the exact date storage begins. Those two facts tell you how fast the bill is climbing. Because storage is billed by the day, a car that sits for weeks can cost far more than the tow itself.

Ask for an itemized invoice in writing and check it line by line. Confirm that the hookup is listed, the distance is right, and the storage days are counted from the correct date.

The same tow can cost different amounts from one company to the next. The invoice matters more than a quoted total, so read it closely.

Georgia Rules on Towing Charges and Consumer Protections

That is a different situation from a crash tow, so check which rules apply to your car.

Damages rules matter too. Georgia law treats necessary expenses that follow an injury as a legitimate item in the damages estimate (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-7). Special damages, which actually flow from a wrong, must be proved before they can be recovered (O.C.G.A. § 51-12-2).

You can ask the tow company to explain each charge. You can also ask whether its rates were posted or disclosed to you.

Whether a particular charge is reasonable depends on the facts. Compare the invoice with the crash facts and the photos you took.

Steps That Protect Your Claim and Limit Storage Charges

The steps that help most are documenting the car, reporting the crash, and asking about storage early.

Photograph the vehicle at the scene and again at the yard. Keep every tow, storage, and release receipt, plus your rental receipts.

Georgia’s Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire lists early auto-claim steps. These include notifying police and your insurer, collecting accident and witness information, documenting the scene, and avoiding statements about fault. See its auto claim tips.

Ask the yard to confirm the daily rate in writing. If you have a preferred repair shop, ask whether the car can move there.

Keep a simple log of every call with the yard and each insurer. Write down the date, the person’s name, and what was said.

Georgia’s avoidance rule is a reason to act early. Under O.C.G.A. § 51-11-7, if you could have avoided the consequences of the other driver’s negligence with ordinary care, you are not entitled to recover them.

Rental car costs and lost use belong in the claim file too. Keep the rental agreement and every receipt, so the claim shows what the crash cost you.

Key Takeaways and Next Step

The bills usually come in this order: the tow yard first, then insurers, then the at-fault driver’s claim. Good documents decide how smoothly each step goes.

If you’re juggling a car held at a yard, medical visits, and insurance calls, you’re carrying a lot. Maybe you’re handling it for a family member too. Every day the car sits, the storage bill can keep growing while those decisions wait.

If your car is held at a tow yard while you handle repairs, medical visits and insurance calls, we’re glad to talk it through with you. T. Madden & Associates, P.C. offers a free, confidential initial consultation with no obligation to continue. Reach out through our contact page.

Acting early on the tow bill also helps keep the rest of your claim organized.

Frequently asked questions

This page is general information, not legal advice. Terance Madden is the responsible lawyer for this page. T. Madden & Associates, P.C. has offices in Jonesboro, Atlanta, Decatur, Macon and Augusta. Contact details are on the contact page.