my roomate got into a car accident this monday. it was the other drivers fault, he ran a stop sign and hit the back passenger side on the left. it busted out the window, dented the door pretty bad, and our muffler is loose. she was fine, but the car got hit pretty bad.
anyway, he pursuaded her to settle it privately, being that hed got into an accidnet a couple months prior, and his license was suspended. so she wanted to be nice, and agreed as long as he'd pay for the damage. otherwise, he would have gone to jail for a suspended license. she took down all his personal information, including his drivers license number and cell phone and theyve been calling back and forth until she got the estimate. which was $1,418 for parts and labor, and now he doesnt want to pay, but instead repair it himself.
we would rather it be done professionally to insure quality, so she called in a claim for insurance, and it turns out he doesnt have car insurance. what do you think we should do from here?
2006-06-28 11:53:13 · 11 answers · asked by girl 7 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Insurance & Registration
sorry this is so long, i just wanted to make sure to get all the details.
thanks :)
2006-06-28 11:53:42 · update #1
Sorry, but your roommate is a trusting fool. The fact that he was driving with a suspended license should have been a *major* red flag. Letting him do the repair work himself would simply be adding insult to injury.
If she has uninsured motorist coverage, then it should cover the damage. If not, her regular collision should cover it, but she'll have to pay the deductible.
As far as the other driver, she's holding all the cards. Either he pays, or she reports him to the police. He could be facing jail time for driving on a suspended license without insurance. However, don't have her be too quick to jump the gun with reporting him to the cops; he can't pay if he can't work.
2006-06-28 17:50:03 · answer #1 · answered by Flyboy 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
You have an uninsured motorist claim under your roommates policy. There shouldn't be any deductible since the other driver is known. However, this varies from state to state and you need to have your roommate find out with her adjuster.
Let the insurance company handle the repairs and later going after the guy at fault. He will get his just dues.
That's the problem with the high cost of carrying auto insurance these days, people driving without insurance. All too often the bad drivers getting into accidents are the losers with no valid driver's license, suspended license, no insurance, and no financial responsibility to pay for damages they cause.
Be thankful your roommate didn't get injured and that she has insurance to protect herself and her vehicle. Unfortunately, she may never trust anyone enough when involved in an accident and call police, which isn't such a bad thing anyways.
From a senior liability claims rep
2006-06-28 20:09:27 · answer #2 · answered by Kamikazeâ?ºKid 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She must file a police report and claim it on her insurance. The other driver's lack of a license and insurance is HIS problem. His license and tags will be pulled until the damages are paid in most states.
(Obviously the lack of a license hasn't stopped this fool from driving so you're dealing with a basically dishonest person who doesn't give a damn about anyone else. At least when they pull his tags he'll be less likely to drive THAT vehicle.)
If your friend has Uninsured Motorist (UIM) coverage (mandatory in some states) then it will pay for the damage. If not, her collision coverage will pay. In either case, her insurance company will go after the other driver for reimbursement.
If she has neither UIM nor collision coverage she will have to sue him (probably in small claims court) for the damages if he doesn't pay up immediately.
If she wants to be REALLY nice to the other driver, she should DEMAND immediate payment of the damages IN CASH. If he doesn't deliver on that IMMEDIATELY, she should file the police report and insurance claim. I would not recommend that though as the damages are certainly over the state floor for mandatory police reports.
Note to all: If you state doesn't require UIM, buy it anyway!! It's cheap and will protect you in situations like this!!!
2006-06-28 12:53:40 · answer #3 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The whole thing sounds really fishy and it sounds like you are going to have problems with trying to file, but if the other person was put at fault and accepted fault then their insuance company will be held responsible for paying the damages to your car. They should've exchanged insurance information as well too, you will ave to get their company and policy number and call them and file a claim. Also, you might want to call up the police department and give them the name of the officer that was dispatched to the scene. Usually when there is an accident they have to fill out an accident report and give it to both parties involved. If you say the car was totaled then the cars should've been towed and so a police report should've been filed. Regardless, this sounds like you are going to work really hard to prove your case. Good luck
2016-03-26 21:03:15 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Tell your friend to check with her insurance company and see if she has uninsured motorist coverage. Most insurance policies include that, even liability. If you do have to claim it on uninsured motorist insurance, you normally have to have a police report before the insurance company will cover it. Even if she would have called the police when it happened, if he didnt have insurance there is nothing that could have been done.
2006-06-28 12:07:03 · answer #5 · answered by justwondering 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She should immediately report it to her insurance company. Hopefully she has uninsured motorist coverage. If not, she can take the guy to court for the cost to repair her car and her court fees.
I don't know about your state, but in CA- if the damages exceed $750 the law is that the incident must be reported.
Once you mention you are reporting him, he may somehow "find" the money to pay...
Hopefully everything works out for her!
2006-06-28 12:00:48 · answer #6 · answered by bellytail 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
crap.......that happened to me. Only, she spoke no english, was underage with no license. I just bought this 1979 Pontiac Firebird TransAM...and this Biatch....crushed it and put me and my kids in the hospital. I went to small claims court and filed on her. I won...but, it's been over 2 years and I've got nothing for it yet. Now, I have to go file some other kinda form to prevent the driver and the owner of the vehicle from getting a drivers licence renewed or buying plates...or whatever.... Pay the $65.00 and go to small claims court. They claim up to $5000 good luck
2006-06-28 11:59:32 · answer #7 · answered by budgetcasket 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If your friend has insurance (most companies have unisured/underinsured motorist offered). If your friend has this coverage, she can pay a deductible of say $200 to $250 and have her insurance company to pay for repairs.
2006-06-28 12:36:35 · answer #8 · answered by butch 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If they are paying for damages, let it go. If not you might want to consider a lawyer.
2006-06-28 11:59:15 · answer #9 · answered by chief_eagle_wing 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your friend didn't have uninsured motorist coverage? If she did, your insurance will pay for it. If she didn't, she's SOL.
2006-06-28 11:57:12 · answer #10 · answered by geeniusatwurk 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋