How to Find Out If Someone Has Car Insurance in Clearwater, Florida

Reviewed by Bryan D. Caulfield, Board Certified in Civil Trial Law by The Florida Bar | Updated 9/30/2026

Short answer: After a crash in Clearwater, you can find out if the other driver has car insurance in three ways: ask them at the scene, get the police crash report, which lists each driver’s insurance, or request the policy information from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) with a copy of the crash report. If the driver has no insurance, your own uninsured motorist coverage may pay.

Florida uses a no-fault car insurance system. After a minor car accident, you will work with your auto insurer to pay for your medical expenses and cover your lost income. But after a severe car accident, you may need the insurance information for the at-fault driver.

Using this information, you can file a claim against that driver’s bodily injury liability coverage (if they have such coverage). Florida’s no-fault law allows you to seek compensation from the at-fault driver if you suffer a serious injury.

Here are some of the best ways you can find out whether someone has car insurance in Clearwater and across Florida.

What to Do After a Car Accident

After an injury accident, you need to stop at the accident scene. If you fail to stop at the scene of the accident, prosecutors can charge you with a hit and run. In Florida, punishment for leaving the scene of a crash with injuries can include a prison term of up to five years and a fine of up to $5,000. If anyone suffers a serious injury or dies, the penalties are even more severe.

While at the scene, you must:

• Report the accident to the police if it involves injury, death, or $500+ property damage
• Render assistance to anyone injured in the crash
• Show your driver’s license to the other drivers involved in the crash and to the police if they ask

In most situations, drivers will voluntarily exchange insurance information along with their driver’s licenses. But occasionally, the drivers may sustain injuries that prevent them from exchanging insurance information. The drivers may forget to gather insurance information from each other in the chaos surrounding the accident.

Florida law requires every driver involved in a crash with injuries or property damage to give the other driver:

• Their name and address
• The registration number of the vehicle they are driving
• Their driver’s license, if you ask to see it

Insurance is not on that list. Instead, each driver must show proof of insurance to the investigating officer, and the officer records it in the crash report. If the other driver has not volunteered their information, ask for it, along with the name of their insurance company. Most drivers will share their insurance card, and if they won’t, the crash report will have it.

Before you leave, photograph the other driver’s license plate, driver’s license, and insurance card if they show it. If they refuse, the plate number is enough for police to identify the vehicle and its owner.

Other ways you can get the information if you cannot ask for it include:

Ask the Police for the Information

You can get the other driver’s insurance information from the police officers tasked with investigating the accident. Florida law requires you to call the police after an accident that causes an injury, a death, or $500 or more in damage. In the Clearwater area, the responding agency may be the Clearwater Police Department, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, or the Florida Highway Patrol, depending on where the crash happened. Write down the officer’s name and the report number before you leave.

Officers collect proof of insurance from each driver at the scene. If you have concerns about a confrontation with the other driver, you can ask the officer for help. Officers will usually act as a go-between to minimize the risk of conflict.

Get It from the Crash Report

Florida requires the investigating officers to prepare a full crash report when a crash causes death or injury, involves a driver who fled or was impaired, or leaves a vehicle too damaged to drive. Officers must submit the report within ten days after completing their investigation.

The crash report includes the insurance information from each driver. You can get a copy of the crash report from the Florida Crash Portal operated by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV). For the first 60 days after a report is filed, only the people involved in the crash, their attorneys, and their insurers can get a copy, so you may need to sign a statement confirming you were involved.

Ask FLHSMV for the Information

You can request the other driver’s insurance policy information from FLHSMV after a crash. Florida law releases it only to people involved in the crash, their attorneys, and their insurers.

How to request insurance information from FLHSMV:

1. Buy a complete copy of the crash report, front and back, from the Florida Crash Portal. If police did not write a report, a copy of your Driver Report of Traffic Crash (Self Report) also works.
2. Complete FLHSMV’s Insurance Request Form (HSMV 83392).
3. Mail or fax the form and the crash report to FLHSMV’s Customer Service Correspondence Center. The address and fax number are on the FLHSMV website.
4. Allow ten working days after FLHSMV receives your request for processing.

What If the Other Driver Doesn’t Have Insurance?

If the crash report or FLHSMV shows the other driver had no bodily injury liability coverage, your own uninsured motorist (UM) coverage may pay for losses your PIP does not cover. That can include pain and suffering if your injury meets Florida’s serious injury threshold. UM is optional in Florida, and drivers can reject it in writing, so check your declarations page. Our guide to the pros and cons of uninsured motorist coverage in Florida explains how it works, and what if the other driver doesn’t have insurance covers your options.

What If the Driver Fled the Scene?

1. Call 911 and report the hit-and-run right away.
2. Write down anything you remember: partial plate, make, model, color, and direction of travel.
3. Ask witnesses for their contact information and check for nearby cameras.
4. Notify your own insurer promptly. UM coverage generally applies when a driver cannot be identified.

Using the Insurance Information

You need the other driver’s name and insurer to file an insurance claim. Most insurers do not require the policy number, but having the policy number can often minimize delays.

Next, the insurer will assign an adjuster to your claim. You and your lawyer can then work with the insurer to try to reach a fair settlement based on your injuries.

Contact a Clearwater car accident lawyer for help determining whether another driver has car insurance.

Frequently Asked Questions

Contact the Pinellas County Car Accident Law Firm Of Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers for Help

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes has handled car accident claims for Clearwater and Pinellas County drivers since 1955. For more information, please contact the Clearwater and St. Petersburg car accident law firm of Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers at the nearest location to schedule a free consultation today.

We serve Pinellas County and its surrounding areas:

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers – Clearwater
1875 N Belcher Rd. STE 201,
Clearwater, FL 33765
(727) 591-3354

Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers – St. Petersburg
2560 1st Ave S,
St. Petersburg, FL 33712
(727) 591-3354