What happens legally if I was involved in an auto accident and the other person didn't have insurance?

Question

my insurance company had a collection agency go after them, but now the person has moved to canada. What happens now?

I know in indiana they only have 2 years to bring a legal claim against them so what happens after 2 years they come back what then?

well my understanding is that they did have insurance but it only covered them. And they apparently had the ticket dismissed in court. I guess they had insurance but their insurance company said they didn't I don't really know but they had their vehicle fixed. I just know that for personal property damages the statue is 2 years. I just didn't know if they would pursue it any further since the person moved out of the country.

It was a side swipe accident and the cop said that it was "no fault" accident I asked a friend and they said if it went ot court then my insurance would have to prove it was her fault and since there were no witnesses it would be next to impossible to prove fault

Answer 1

There are too many different things you've mentioned here to really answer this properly. I'll try though.

If the person did not have insurance (whatever the reasons may be) and your insurance company paid out for your damages, they can still subrogate (get the money back) directly from the other party. They will, if they decide it's worth the expense, file a legal action against him before the two years are up.

If this is a disputed liability situation and there are no witnesses, it may not be a claim they can recover for. If there's valid insurance, they can decide to go after his insurance company and file arbitration. The arbitration decision will be binding. But again, if he uninsured and liability is disputed, your insurance company may not want to spend the money on a long shot.

You need to discuss this with your insurance company.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I would assume most states require this as part of your insurance coverage, but you should have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage as part of your own coverage. Where I live, for example (Minnesota), one is required to carry at least $25k in uninsured/underinsured coverage as part of an automobile insurance policy. This is to protect you in case you have an accident involving someone who has no insurance or someone who carries the minimum coverage allowed by law (which is usually never enough in case something happens!) and is past their coverage limits .

I am assuming that you were not at fault or at least that the other person had a much higher degree of fault, otherwise your insurance company would not be pursuing a claim. I am also assuming that your insurance company has paid you for the damage. If this person moved to Canada, there is no way to really collect the debt unless they move back to the US at some point. At this point, since your insurance company is trying to collect the money from them, your claim has most likely been "subrogated", that is, a claim you have against that person has been assigned to the insurance company, which means it's their problem now, not yours. Usually when you purchase insurance, you give the insurance company the right to subrogate your claim, which means they own the claim and you don't anymore. It allows them to collect it or sue it out and it takes the problem out of your hands, one of the conveniences you buy when you buy insurance.

This is probably one of those circumstances where the insurance company won't see a dime from the other motorist. The other motorist fled to another country, which makes it nearly impossible to sue out. Yet another reason to have insurance ;)

Answer 4

all you can do is sit back and wait for that person to get in trouble here in the US. If all u used was ur insurance company it must not be that bad, if it is you need to get a lawyer and put it in the system. But the only way they'll get caught is if there in the US and it won't even be a priority issue. Take ur loss and move on, its just to bad there are people out there like that. Good luck

Answer 5

Depending on the cost to repair the damage, the insurance company may just pay for the repairs, and move on. Extraditing or going through the court system in another country may cost more than the amount they would ever recover.

Answer 6

This actually happened to me, a dumb broad ran a stop sign and hit my car. The cop told me she didn't have insurance and that The STATE would take away her drivers license. So what she'll still drive. I had to pay my deductible because of her and your insurance company goes after the other in my case the lady never paid a dime and filed bankruptcy. To top it off I get points on my drivers license becuase of her and another stupid driver who ran a red light on my ex-husband due to too many claims B****. If this has happened to you good luck.

Answer 7

The uninsured party will be ticketed, at the very least and is open to lawsuits for any damage. You're ok, assuming no injuries, if and only if you have uninsured motorists coverage on your policy.

BTW: Uninsured motorist coverage is THE ONLY part of the auto insurance package that protects YOU from the idiocy of others. All other coverages protect you from yourself.

Answer 8

your insurance company would try to recover costs through litigation. the jurisdiction would be in the location that the accident happened and it would be the responsibility of the other driver to appear in court. if the other person doesn't comply or ignores the suit, a warrant would be issued for their arrest and if they ever tried to re-enter the US, there's a good chance they'd be arrested on the spot. they still would be liable for the damages.

Answer 9

That's why you carry Uninsured Motorist Coverage. Your insurance company pays for your damages, then it's their problem to go after the other schmuck.

Answer 10

What do you mean 'legally'?
This, pal, is what is known as LIFE. I'm sure you want them drawn and quartered but sometimes $hit just doesn't work out that way. Time to move on.