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Hurt in a crash in Columbia, with bills you can't cover?

Bills, missed work, an insurer already calling? Here are South Carolina's claim numbers, your crash report and your deadline. Asking for a call is free, and you can say no.

General information, not legal advice. Updated November 10, 2026. Attorney review pending

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On this page
  1. What injury claims cost insurers in South Carolina
  2. Real results from the Columbia area
  3. Unpaid medical bills and uninsured drivers, where you live
  4. What do you need to do?
  5. How to get your Columbia crash report.
  6. South Carolina's time limit is three years, counted from when you knew.
  7. A calm list for the first three days.
  8. A free call-back, not a law firm.
  9. Sources

What claims cost

What injury claims cost insurers in South Carolina

No source we found reports what claims cost insurers inside Columbia itself, so the closest honest numbers are for all of South Carolina. Each figure says what it is and where it comes from.

$1.03 billionin bodily injury liability losses insurers recorded for South Carolina crashes (Table 8B: $1,026,701,416 across 58,248 claims), accidents in 2022Incurred losses: money paid plus the insurers' own estimates for claims still open, plus adjustment expenses. Private passenger auto, separate-limit bodily injury coverage only, so the true total is higher. This is what these claims cost insurers, not what injured people received.Source: NAIC (Table 8B, Bodily Injury Liability 2020-2022, Total Business, printed p. 42).
$17,626average insurer loss per bodily injury liability claim in South Carolina ($17,626.38 exactly), accidents in 2022Incurred losses divided by incurred claims, so it is what a claim cost insurers on average, not what an injured person received. The countrywide figure in the same table is $28,918.86.Source: NAIC (Table 8D, Bodily Injury Liability 2020-2022, Total Business, printed p. 44).
$28,278Many claims are smallerwhat the average bodily injury liability claim cost insurers, 2024Private passenger auto, excluding Massachusetts and most no-fault states; some claims are far larger and many are smaller. It includes insurers' claim-handling costs, so injured people received less than this on average.Source: Triple-I / ISO.
$6.27 billionestimated total economic cost of motor vehicle crashes in South Carolina (about $1,218 per person), 2019A cost estimate for the whole state, whoever paid. Not money paid to injured people. The national average was $1,035 per person.Source: NHTSA (Table 6-1, p. 100).
About these numbers
  • $1.03 billion Incurred losses: money paid plus the insurers' own estimates for claims still open, plus adjustment expenses. Private passenger auto, separate-limit bodily injury coverage only, so the true total is higher. This is what these claims cost insurers, not what injured people received.
  • $17,626 Incurred losses divided by incurred claims, so it is what a claim cost insurers on average, not what an injured person received. The countrywide figure in the same table is $28,918.86.
  • $28,278 Private passenger auto, excluding Massachusetts and most no-fault states; some claims are far larger and many are smaller. It includes insurers' claim-handling costs, so injured people received less than this on average.
  • $6.27 billion A cost estimate for the whole state, whoever paid. Not money paid to injured people. The national average was $1,035 per person.

These are averages and totals across many claims. They describe what insurers and courts have done, not what any one claim is worth. Every case is different, and most claims end in a settlement, which is often far less than a headline verdict. CrashFirst is not a law firm and cannot tell you what your claim is worth.

Real examples

Real results from the Columbia area

Past results do not predict yours.These are real, public results, picked to show a range rather than the biggest numbers. Each turned on its own facts. CrashFirst has no results of its own and does not say you would get anything like them.

The problems here

Unpaid medical bills and uninsured drivers, where you live

When the other side has no insurance, or the bills keep coming before anything is settled, the money problem is real. These are the local numbers we could source.

5.2%of South Carolina people with a credit record had medical debt in collections (median $1,405), Aug. 2026Only counts medical debt that reached collections and sits on a credit file. The national share was 3.0%.Source: Urban Institute (South Carolina row, medcoll = .0523355; medcollpos_p50 = 1405).
2.8%of people in Richland County, SC with a credit record had medical debt in collections (median $978), Aug. 2026Only counts medical debt that reached collections and sits on a credit file. The national share was 3.0%.Source: Urban Institute (Richland County (FIPS 45079), medcoll = .0282406; medcollpos_p50 = 978).
10.3%of South Carolina drivers estimated to be uninsured, 2023The Insurance Research Council estimates this from insurance claims, not from a count of cars. The national estimate was 15.4%.Source: Triple-I / IRC (Estimated Percentage of Uninsured Motorists by State, 2023).
About these numbers
  • 5.2% Only counts medical debt that reached collections and sits on a credit file. The national share was 3.0%.
  • 2.8% Only counts medical debt that reached collections and sits on a credit file. The national share was 3.0%.
  • 10.3% The Insurance Research Council estimates this from insurance claims, not from a count of cars. The national estimate was 15.4%.
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What do you need to do?

I need to... Read
Know what to do right now and in the first 72 hours What to do after a car accident in Columbia, SC
Get the police report How to get a Columbia police crash report
Understand the South Carolina time limit South Carolina statute of limitations
Understand fault in South Carolina Is South Carolina a comparative fault state?
Check insurance minimums South Carolina minimum car insurance
Know whether I must report South Carolina accident reporting requirements
See where serious crashes happen Most dangerous roads in Columbia, SC and the Columbia, SC Crash Report 2026

Crash report

How to get your Columbia crash report.

  1. Find out who responded. The agency may be the Columbia Police Department (CPD), the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the Richland or Lexington County sheriff or another police department. The officer's card or slip will say.
  2. Get the report number from the officer at the scene. If you don't have it, call City of Columbia non-emergency dispatch, (803) 252-2911, and give your name, the date and the place [2].
  3. If CPD wrote it: go to the CPD Records Unit, 1 Justice Square (corner of Lincoln and Washington Streets), Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with a federal or state photo ID. Accident reports are $3.00 each. Phone 803-545-3577 [1] [1].
  4. If the Highway Patrol wrote it: the Department of Public Safety lists the South Carolina DMV collision-report request, which takes requests online, at any SCDMV branch, or by mail with Form FR-50 and a $10 check or money order [3].
How long until the report is ready?

CPD does not list a time frame, and SCDMV says the official copy is not available until it has been received and processed. Call the Records Unit at 803-545-3577 and ask.

Full guide: how to get a Columbia police crash report, with the form, the addresses and the sheriffs.

The deadline

South Carolina's time limit is three years, counted from when you knew.

In most South Carolina injury cases a lawsuit has to be started within three years. The law is S.C. Code Ann. § 15-3-530(5), and § 15-3-535 says such actions "must be commenced within three years after the person knew or by the exercise of reasonable diligence should have known that he had a cause of action." [4]

There are exceptions.

Wrongful death is three years from the death, claims against a state or local government have their own rules, and people under 18 can have extra time. Whether an exception applies to you is a question for an attorney.

Every South Carolina deadline, with the statute text, is on our statute of limitations page. We're not lawyers. This is general information, not legal advice.

First 72 hours

A calm list for the first three days.

Right now

Day 0

Today or tomorrow

Day 0 to 1

Within 72 hours

Day 1 to 3

How CrashFirst works

A free call-back, not a law firm.

You ask for a call-back and a CrashFirst team member phones you about your request. We are not a law firm and cannot give legal advice. Participating attorneys pay CrashFirst a set fee for each connection, fixed when we connect you, and the fee does not change with the outcome of any case. See how we're paid.

Local facts

Crashes in Richland and Lexington counties.

1,086People killed in Richland and Lexington county crashes, 2015 to 2024NHTSA FARS, 2015-2024 analysis
117Traffic deaths in Richland and Lexington counties in 2024NHTSA FARS, 2015-2024 analysis
224Of those killed in 2015 to 2024 were people on footNHTSA FARS, 2015-2024 analysis

Counts differ by source because agencies define crashes differently. Deaths are only part of the picture; many more people are hurt. Our own full analysis: the Columbia, SC Crash Report 2026.

More in Columbia, SC

The state rules

Deadlines, fault and reports for all of South Carolina are in the South Carolina reference.

Keep reading

Sources

Page last updated November 10, 2026. Attorney review pending. General information, not legal advice. Fees, hours and rules change; confirm on the official page. How we source.

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