D.C. Pre-Litigation Insurance Disclosure, Required Documentation & 30-Day Policy-Limit Response

A written claim plus the required documents activates the statutory route

D.C. Code § 31-2403.01 provides a pre-litigation route to documentation of insurance limits after a vehicle accident. The claimant must make a written claim for compensation or damages and provide the applicable documents under subsection (b) or (c). The right reaches an insurance agreement under which the insurer may satisfy all or part of the claim, or indemnify or reimburse payments made to satisfy it. The statute expressly includes accidents involving bicyclists. Source: § 31-2403.01(a), (h).

Do not treat an unsupported request for limits as the complete statutory submission. Send an organized request with an attachment index, retain exactly what was sent, and preserve evidence of receipt. These recordkeeping steps are recommendations, not additional statutory conditions.

For an injury claim: the six statutory items

Subsection (b) calls for the following information and documents in writing:

1. The accident date.
2. The name and last known address of the alleged tortfeasor, meaning the person alleged to be legally responsible.
3. A copy of the vehicle accident report, if any.
4. The insurer’s claim number, if available.
5. The claimant’s health care bills and documentation of income loss, if any, resulting from the accident.
6. Records of health care treatment for the claimant’s injuries caused by the accident.

Source: § 31-2403.01(b)(1)-(6). Preserve the qualifications “if any” and “if available”; do not invent a report or claim number. The treatment-record requirement concerns accident-related injuries. It should not be rewritten as an express statutory demand for an unrestricted lifetime medical authorization.

For a death claim: use the separate ten-item list

Subsection (c) applies when the claim is brought by an estate or a beneficiary of a person whose death resulted from the accident. It requires the following in writing:

1. The accident date.
2. The alleged tortfeasor’s name and last known address.
3. A copy of the accident report, if any.
4. The insurer’s claim number, if available.
5. The death certificate issued in D.C. or another jurisdiction.
6. Letters of administration appointing the estate’s personal representative in D.C., or a substantially similar document from another jurisdiction.
7. The name of each beneficiary, if known.
8. Each known beneficiary’s relationship to the decedent.
9. Bills for the decedent’s accident-related health care treatment, if any.
10. Records of treatment for the decedent’s injuries caused by the accident.

Source: § 31-2403.01(c)(1)-(10). Do not silently substitute the ordinary injury list for this list. When an estate-appointment document is unavailable, obtain advice about satisfying the requirement rather than assuming it is waived.

The insurer must respond in writing within the statutory 30-day period

Subsection (d) says that after receipt of the subsection (b) or (c) documents, the insurer must respond in writing within 30 days of receipt of the subsection (a) request. Keep the request, attachment index, delivery record and any later supplemental delivery together. An incomplete submission can create a dispute about whether the statutory conditions have been met; this guide does not decide that dispute. Source: § 31-2403.01(a)-(d).

A practical request should ask the insurer to identify any claimed missing item promptly and specifically. That request is useful administration, not a separately stated statutory deadline for an incompleteness notice.

Disputed applicability does not erase the limits-disclosure requirement

Subsection (d) requires disclosure of the coverage limits of all policies regardless of whether the insurer contests a policy’s applicability to the claim. Read that direction with subsection (a), which describes agreements under which that insurer may satisfy, indemnify or reimburse the claim. An insurer’s coverage position and its disclosure duty are different questions. Source: § 31-2403.01(a), (d).

Ask the responding insurer to address each potentially responsive agreement it provides, including any relevant additional layer. Do not describe the statute as requiring one insurer to discover and certify every policy issued by every other carrier. Investigation of the driver, owner, employer and other potentially responsible parties remains important.

Documentation of limits is not the same as a complete policy

The express entitlement in this section is documentation of applicable coverage limits. The section does not expressly require production of every complete policy and endorsement. You may request those documents as well, but distinguish the statutory limits request from a broader voluntary request or any separate legal basis for obtaining the contract. Source: § 31-2403.01(a), (d).

For each response, record the insurer, policy identifier, coverage type, stated limit and any stated coverage dispute. Mark information not supplied as unknown, rather than assuming a missing policy does not exist.

Disclosure is not an admission of coverage or liability

The required disclosure does not admit that the claim is covered and does not waive policy terms or the insurer’s potential coverage or liability defenses. Subsection (f) protects the insurer and its employees and agents from civil or criminal liability for making the required disclosure. Disclosure alone also does not make the insurance information admissible at trial. Source: § 31-2403.01(e)-(g).

Suggested request wording

I make a written claim for compensation or damages arising from the vehicle accident identified below. Under D.C. Code § 31-2403.01, I request documentation of the applicable coverage limits for each insurance agreement under which your company may satisfy all or part of this claim or indemnify or reimburse payments made to satisfy it. The attached index identifies the documents supplied under subsection (b) or, for a death claim, subsection (c). Please provide the written response required by subsection (d), including the limits of policies whose applicability your company disputes. Please identify specifically any item you contend is missing.

Adapt this language to the actual claim, identify the claimant and insurer, and attach the applicable documents. The wording is an educational example, not a government form or assurance that an incomplete submission meets the statute.

Follow up without inventing a penalty or surrendering a deadline

For a late or incomplete response, preserve the delivery record and send a written follow-up identifying the missing limits information. Consider the insurer’s complaint process, the D.C. insurance regulator, and legal advice about available enforcement. Section 31-2403.01 does not itself specify a fixed daily penalty or an express attorney-fee award; do not import another state’s remedy. Source: complete § 31-2403.01.

Do not assume that requesting disclosure suspends a filing, notice or policy deadline. This guide addresses the statutory disclosure route, not all limitation periods or enforcement causes of action. The cited text was reviewed October 22, 2026; the publisher reports a code publication current through October 14, 2026.