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Long story short, someone pulled out in front of me today and hit me. The cop ruled it 100% the other driver's fault.
HOWEVER, the other driver does not have insurance. Nor did the other driver have a valid drivers license (it was suspended). NOR did he have a proper license plate - when the cop ran it, it was for a completely different driver/car.
My question is this: I have insurance, but not collision coverage (my car is old and only worth about $500). What can I do to be reimbursed for the damages? Will I have to sue the other driver directly? The cop gave me a court date appearance and told me to bring any estimates, but my friend mentioned getting a lawyer. Never heard of a lawyer for a simple traffic case.
I'm waiting on a call back from my insurance company with definite answers, but in initial talks it didn't seem like they would be willing to do much without collision coverage, even though I was at fault.
Your insurance isn't likely to do anything so you can try small claims court but it may not be worth the time or effort (particularly given the value of the vehicle).
Your insurance isn't likely to do anything so you can try small claims court but it may not be worth the time or effort (particularly given the value of the vehicle).
Man! I really hope that that is not the case. The value of my vehicle shouldn't be a factor, only the cost to repair and get it back to it's pre-accident form, since it was not my fault!
Just mindin' my own business...and he just haaaaaaaaaad to attempt that left hand turn.
Yes you can hire a lawyer for traffic issues, however since you said your car is only worth $500, it's likely you might end up paying more for an attorney to represent you in court than what the car is worth.
Also chances are the damage your car sustained are more than the value of your car...which in case the insurance co. will total your car. They may even offer to give you less than that and allow you to keep the car. In which case if your car isn't damaged really bad, then fix whatever it needs to keep moving (safely of course...if it's structurally unsound, it's time to ditch it) and press forward.
Why is your insurance co. being evasive? Yes I know they're the spawn of Satan (next to judges, lawyers and some doctors) but at a minimum they should be at least arranging to come out to you and do an assessment of the damage. Maybe it's time to find someone new to insure you while telling your current insurance co. to kiss off?
Do you not have "uninsured motorist" on your insurance plan? If so, what's the deductible?
Did the other driver receive a citation or even get hauled off to jail for breaking the law? Sounds like they should have had, at the minimum, a good old fashioned beat down.
Yes you can hire a lawyer for traffic issues, however since you said your car is only worth $500, it's likely you might end up paying more for an attorney to represent you in court than what the car is worth.
Also chances are the damage your car sustained are more than the value of your car...which in case the insurance co. will total your car. They may even offer to give you less than that and allow you to keep the car. In which case if your car isn't damaged really bad, then fix whatever it needs to keep moving (safely of course...if it's structurally unsound, it's time to ditch it) and press forward.
Why is your insurance co. being evasive? Yes I know they're the spawn of Satan (next to judges, lawyers and some doctors) but at a minimum they should be at least arranging to come out to you and do an assessment of the damage. Maybe it's time to find someone new to insure you while telling your current insurance co. to kiss off?
Do you not have "uninsured motorist" on your insurance plan? If so, what's the deductible?
Did the other driver receive a citation or even get hauled off to jail for breaking the law? Sounds like they should have had, at the minimum, a good old fashioned beat down.
I'm not sure why the insurance company is being evasive. They did arrange for my car to be taken to a shop to be evaluated/get an estimate for the damages, but not longer after that they said that "they just noticed that there is no collision coverage on the car". They said that an assigned claims agent would be in touch with me regarding next steps in the next day or so.
Even though the other car was fine, the cop made the uninsured have their car towed from the scene because it's illegal to drive without a license.
He finished my paperwork and let me go before the other driver so I'm not sure what his fate was. I would think he should have gotten more than a slap on the wrist!
I'm not sure why the insurance company is being evasive. They did arrange for my car to be taken to a shop to be evaluated/get an estimate for the damages, but not longer after that they said that "they just noticed that there is no collision coverage on the car". They said that an assigned claims agent would be in touch with me regarding next steps in the next day or so.
Even though the other car was fine, the cop made the uninsured have their car towed from the scene because it's illegal to drive without a license.
He finished my paperwork and let me go before the other driver so I'm not sure what his fate was. I would think he should have gotten more than a slap on the wrist!
He should be cited for driving without a license.
Do you have uninsured motorist coverage on your policy?
I'm not sure why the insurance company is being evasive. They did arrange for my car to be taken to a shop to be evaluated/get an estimate for the damages, but not longer after that they said that "they just noticed that there is no collision coverage on the car". They said that an assigned claims agent would be in touch with me regarding next steps in the next day or so.
Stay after them. There's is nothing in it for them so they will not pursue. Just remember squeaky wheel gets the grease. It costs them time/money to process your requests so they will do something to shut you up.
Long story short, someone pulled out in front of me today and hit me. The cop ruled it 100% the other driver's fault.
HOWEVER, the other driver does not have insurance. Nor did the other driver have a valid drivers license (it was suspended). NOR did he have a proper license plate - when the cop ran it, it was for a completely different driver/car.
My question is this: I have insurance, but not collision coverage (my car is old and only worth about $500). What can I do to be reimbursed for the damages? Will I have to sue the other driver directly? The cop gave me a court date appearance and told me to bring any estimates, but my friend mentioned getting a lawyer. Never heard of a lawyer for a simple traffic case.
I'm waiting on a call back from my insurance company with definite answers, but in initial talks it didn't seem like they would be willing to do much without collision coverage, even though I was at fault.
Anyone know how this works?
Nope...sounds like all the advice you got is going to cost more than your vehicle. Maybe you can do what they do in Cuba...appeal to the other driver and approach it on a personal level...who knows...They might have a cousin who has a body shop and can fix things up to some degree...barter...who knows the doink without insurance might be a reasonable person...who knows...a polite private conversation with them might be helpful....but you are lucky...500 dollar cars are disposable...sounds like one poor person running into someone slightly less poor.
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