Dealer told us 30 days to add new car to insurance — turned out to be wrong. Now we have a claim.

Ugh, something similar happened to my cousin — not an accident, but she got pulled over and found out her new car wasn't actually on the policy yet because of a miscommunication like this. The grace period thing is 100% an insurance policy question, not a dealer question. The dealer has zero authority to tell you what your insurer will or won't cover. That's just a sales guy talking out of turn. Doesn't make it your fault, but it's important to understand where the actual rule lives.

First thing I'd do: get everything in writing from your insurer before you say too much. Adjusters are going to look for any reason to deny or reduce the claim, and 'you were outside the automatic coverage window' is a very clean reason for them to do exactly that. Don't volunteer extra information in recorded statements. Be careful.

So from the inside — the automatic new-vehicle coverage window is spelled out in your actual policy documents, usually in the definitions or the 'newly acquired auto' section. It's almost always either 14 or 30 days depending on the carrier, but the policy is the binding document, not anything a dealer says. That said, the fact that the other driver was at fault is huge. Their liability coverage should be the primary source of recovery for your damages regardless of whether your own policy was active on that car. That's the angle I'd be pushing hard right now.

Please make sure you've actually been seen by a doctor if there's any chance you were injured — even minor soreness. Adrenaline masks a lot right after a crash. I've seen people brush off neck and shoulder pain that turned into real problems weeks later. Get it documented now while it's clearly connected to the accident. Don't wait until it gets worse.

Bottom line: the dealer told you something wrong. That's on them morally, but probably not legally enforceable in any useful way. What matters now is (1) the other driver is at fault — work their insurance hard, (2) talk to a PI lawyer before you sign or settle anything, and (3) pull out your actual policy and read the 'newly acquired vehicle' section yourself tonight. Stop relying on what anyone told you verbally.

Quick question — did the dealership give you any paperwork at all that mentioned the 30-day figure, or was it purely verbal? And did you receive your policy documents before the accident? Asking because the answer changes things a bit in terms of what you can actually point to.