Accident with uninsured motorist

[Rusty Shackleford]

Anyone ever been in a car accident with an uninsured motorist? Were you able to collect any damages? I'm facing this situation; curious what others have experienced.

 

[User 1019]

An uninsured motorist backed into me in a parking lot about 15 years ago. He produced a fake card for the police officer who took the report, but had cancelled the insurance after getting the card to skirt mandatory insurance laws. I wound up having to pay my deductible and the insurance company went after him. They eventually caught up to him and sued him for the money. Every now and then, I'd go to the mailbox and get out a random $100 check they'd collected from him. That went on for a number of years until I was finally paid up.

 

[fossywriter8]

Had a drunk lady total my parked car once. She didn't have insurance, and her friend, who owned the car she was driving, also didn't have insurance yet (it had recently been purchased).
That was around 1997 or '98. Have never seen any money from it.

 

[Twirling Time]

I got T-boned in college by a girl who let her insurance lapse. My parents tried to pursue it, but in the state I went to college in, not having a pot to pish in was a legal defense.

 

[Starman]

It depends on the insurance laws in your state. In most no-fault states you can collect from your own auto insurance carrier, although often it does bad things to your rates.

Also unless you carry Cadillac-level full replacement coverage, your policy may pay off only on the current blue book value of the car, meaning you could be under water. About 15 years ago I got rear-ended sitting at a red light -- 100.000% legally not at fault -- by a dumb old bench yacking on a cell phone, and I ended up paying $1800 in out of pocket costs while I never got a dime out of her.

 

[Twirling Time]

Gap coverage is your friend.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

The clear solution to this is hire a few big men and have them pay a visit to their residence.

 

[bigpern23]

When I was a kid, we got rear-ended by a drunk driver in a hit and run. When the cops showed up and asked about it, they recognized the description of the vehicle as a local alcoholic/druggie who lived down the road. Went to his house and found him and two other drug addicts passed out in the damaged vehicle, with open containers, drug paraphernalia and feces (yes, you read that correctly) all over the floor.

My mother had some neck and spinal injuries, while my sister and I were somehow fine. Pretty sure we never got a dime out of it. Our insurance covered my mom's medical costs (with a deductible, of course), but we got nothing from the driver. He died a year or two later in a one-car accident resulting from DWI.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

So basically... I'm screwed. Figures. Why do I have insurance if not having it and causing an accident comes with no penalty?

 

[Oggiedoggie]

Have you talked to your insurance agent?

 

[Amy]

Why do I have insurance if not having it and causing an accident comes with no penalty?

That is a question for the student loan default thread.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

I was in a head-on collision with an uninsured motorist a few years ago. Lady pulled right out in front of me, claiming she couldn't see me -- though no other car or truck was blocking me from her view at the time. One of her coworkers saw the wreck and tried to say it was my fault, that I was going too fast. The speed limit where the wreck happened is 35, and I was going 30 -- going up a hill, no less. She turned into my lane, so I had no way of avoiding her without putting my car in a ditch or hitting someone else.

Her car had very little damage ... my hood folded up like an accordion and it did some damage to the engine as well. I tried to get her insurance info from her, but never got anything -- and neither did the cop who, I would later learn, saw the whole thing happen. Lady and her husband wanted me to take my car to some shifty-looking shop where some guy did repairs out of his garage. I met him once and didn't like the vibe I got from him, so I left and called my insurance company. They were mad at me because I didn't take my car where they wanted me to get it fixed. Said I could have saved them $1,000 if I had gone to their guy. Told the husband no chance that was happening because I didn't feel I could trust their guy to fix my car the way it should have been. It took about a month and a half after the wreck, but the man and wife eventually forked over the $2,000 to get it fixed.