Car accident in NJ: At fault driver has no insurance (health insurance, deductible)

[CometV6787]

No injuries- the individual drove through a red light. At the time of the incident, the at fault driver presented an expired insurance card. My insurance company did a plate check (police report not yet available) and contacted the insurance company of the at fault driver who claims that the vehicle owner's policy expired back in August and was never renewed. My car is currently being repaired (4k worth of damage) using my own collision insurance, but as it's my own insurance I will have to shell out my deductible.

My question is- do insurance companies pursue financial damages from at fault drivers with no insurance? What affect would any of this have on the future cost of my own insurance policy? Perhaps someone has experienced this before.

[captne76]

From what I know & several friends experiences, your insurance has coverage of what is called uninsured drivers and that covers situations like this. In other words even if you have no collision/comp coverage the uninsured drivers coverage will cover repairs to your vehicle.

As far as effect on your rates my guess is the usual parameters apply, meaning if the other driver was found at fault, issued a summons, etc., then you would not get "dinged" for any increases. I'm not in that business but that's just my 2 cents.

[rscalzo]

All vehicles registered in New Jersey require three types of mandatory insurance:

• Liability insurance pays others for damages that you cause if you are responsible for an accident. It does not cover medical expenses
• Personal injury protection (PIP) pays medical expenses if you or other persons covered under your policy are injured in an automobile accident. Often called No Fault coverage, it pays your medical expenses if you were or were not at fault
• Uninsured motorist coverage protects you if you are in an accident with someone who doesn’t have proper insurance coverage

[MJJersey]

Because no one was injured, you are really just dealing with collision insurance. You are correct in that you will have to pay your collision deductible. I have not experienced this, but my guess is that your insurance company is very happy with taking the deductible from you and not wasting time trying to get it from the other driver. I think your only option of getting your deducible back is to sue the person yourself.

[focus282]

As captne76 mentioned, the "uninsured/under-insured" portion of your policy should cover this. I would speak with your insurance claim rep about this. I would also push to have them refund your deductible b/c you weren't at fault.

My cars were hit while parked a few years back and my insurance company was able to get me my deductible back, though, it did take some time.

[jrsydevil82]

You will pay your deductible, then your insurance carrier will try to pursue the other driver. We have systems we use to run additional checks to look for any current coverage. If no coverage is found, they will try to pursue the other driver directly, however; if he or she did not have any coverage, chances are they will have no money to pay you.

The chance of your rate increasing is up to your carrier. Every insurance carrier has different policies when it comes to this. Contrary to what another poster said, we do not take 'joy' in charging you a deductible, we actually do what we can to find coverage. The deductible doesn't even come to the insurance company, it goes to the shop. It's not like we adjusters make more money by paying less on a claim.

You should really be asking your adjuster these questions. That's what he/she is there for.

[bradykp]

Originally Posted by CometV6787

No injuries- the individual drove through a red light. At the time of the incident, the at fault driver presented an expired insurance card. My insurance company did a plate check (police report not yet available) and contacted the insurance company of the at fault driver who claims that the vehicle owner's policy expired back in August and was never renewed. My car is currently being repaired (4k worth of damage) using my own collision insurance, but as it's my own insurance I will have to shell out my deductible.

My question is- do insurance companies pursue financial damages from at fault drivers with no insurance? What affect would any of this have on the future cost of my own insurance policy? Perhaps someone has experienced this before.

this is why you purchased "undinsured motorist" coverage, and NJ is a no-fault state.

[CometV6787]

My uninsured motorist coverage only pays damages I am legally entitled to recover due to bodily injury or death. That's what my policy says anyway. Thanks for the replies though.

Originally Posted by jrsydevil82

You should really be asking your adjuster these questions. That's what he/she is there for.

Absolutely, but I wanted to get a little third party feedback first to perhaps uncover something that I hadn't thought of yet.

[Kracer]

Under Nj no fault, if it is still in place, my experience has been that if you have minimum coverage, no collision, etc and your insurance co has no obligation to pay for your damages, they will not go after the other insurance company.

I just had liability and personal insurance, got hit, the other drivers fault, my insur co stood by with its hands in its pockets because it was no skin off their nose. the biggest help was the NJ dept of insurance, investigation divison. they got me money from the other guys insurance company because that company tried its best to cheat me and they weren't smart about it. I ate their lunch!

NJ state told me to cash the initial check despite the statement that cashing the check would eliminate any further claims.... the state told me to write.."this check being cashed under protest". Who knew???

My lesson was that auto insurance companies have a gold mine nickel and diming customers. If you have the least bit of interest and do not roll over in the face of an insurance giant, you stand a good chance of getting satisfaction. They aren't necessarily smarter than you but they have time on their side and take forever dragging out your claim, pain and anxiety until you cave.
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Always have pictures, pictures, pictures, document every phone call, get the police report and decode all their codes. Ask the same question of differenrt people at the insurance company and when you get a different answer, make like a bulldog on a bone and follow that thread.

[jrsydevil82]

Just to be clear, NJ no fault only applies to injuries. If you are injured in an accident, no matter who is at fault, your medical bills go through your own auto insurance, unless you elected health insurance primary.