Vehicle and Liability Claims
ORIM administers the State Motor Vehicle Self Insurance Account (SMVIA). This program provides automobile liability self-insurance coverage to state employees who drive any of the state's 43,000 owned or leased motor vehicles on state business. The program operates like an automobile insurance company.
For instructions on reporting a vehicle liability accident see Post Accident Procedures for State Drivers (Word). The STD 270-Vehicle Accident Reporting Form (PDF) is also available for online completion.
Should a state employee be involved in an accident, ORIM staff will perform an investigation to determine which party is at fault. If the state employee is at fault, ORIM staff will evaluate the claimants damages and negotiate a settlement with the claimant. If a claim becomes litigated, the state employee will be represented by the Office of the Attorney General or, if the employee is employed by the Department of Transportation (DOT), by the DOT Legal Division. In either case, the attorney's receive their direction from ORIM staff.
For claimants, attorneys, insurance carriers, etc, please visit the State of California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board website and follow the information to Government Claims on how to properly report a motor vehicle claim against the State of California.
Car rentals: ORIM does not adjust claims for rental car accidents. State employees involved in automobile accidents in rental cars should review the Commercial Car Rental Contract Information at the Office of Fleet and Asset Management (OFAM) website.
In accordance with State Administrative Manual (SAM) Section 8777.1, ORIM provides vehicle damage recovery services to state agencies that own motor vehicles. When a state owned motor vehicle is damaged as a result of negligence on the part of a third party, ORIM will initiate action to recover from that party the cost to repair or replace the damaged state motor vehicle.