What is the deadline to file a car insurance claim after a car accident?

The sources give no one national deadline for filing a car claim. The Texas Department of Insurance says to file a claim as soon as you can [1]. Call your own insurer to report the accident, even if the other driver was at fault [2]. Your policy may also set its own time limit for notice, so read it.

A court deadline is a different thing from a claim deadline. It is the time you have to sue. It depends on your state. In Washington, for example, an action for injury to personal property must start within three years [3]. Other states set other times, so check yours.

If you are talking with an insurer without a lawyer, some states make the insurer warn you before a time limit runs out. In Washington, that notice must come 30 days before the limit for your own claim and 60 days before for a claim against another driver's insurer [4].

Open your policy and find the section on what to do after a loss. Then look at your state insurance department's claim page for your state's rules. The sources here do not give the time limit to sue in your state, or the notice time in your policy — "Don't know yet".