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Anyone know anything about uninsured motorists?

Question:
If a car is parked and someone hits it and doesn't have insurance, what happens?

The parked car only has liability.

 
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Is this a hit-and-run? Was there a police report filed? Did an officer come to the scene and fill out an accident report?



Here's what a personal injury lawyer said on an edmunds.com forum:

" first, whenever you have an accident, ALWAYS call the police for an accident report...even if no one is cited, you often need an objective report of the accident for the opposing insurance to pay, assuming the other guy is at fault...once you drive away from the scene, anyone can deny they were involved in the wreck...the police report is objective documentation of the accident...even if no ticket is issued, if the officer just writes in that "Vehicle #1 was at fault for failure to yield" it helps your case...too many folks are just plain dishonest and will not report the wreck to their insurance, and it will be up to you to prove to his insurance that the wreck occurred...the accident report will do that...in Georgia, a FAULT STATE (as opposed to no-fault) if you take them to small claims court and receive a judgment, if they do not pay, send the judgment and the report to DMV and the person's license will be suspended until he pays...fairly effective unless he files Chapter 7 bankruptcy...it also pays to carry Uninsured Motorists Insurance (UM) on your policy, because it is no coincidence that the worst drivers, causing the most accidents, will allow their insurance to lapse due to inability to pay...not to sound elitist, but if you drive in the inner city, the poor, who have clunker cars and also have nothing to lose (i.e. judgment proof) will often be uninsured...sad, but true...I believe it is YOUR responsibility to insure your self against what can go wrong, do not depend on the other guy to carry his insurance like the law requires...always have Med-Pay, UM, Rental Car Insurance, maybe even towing if you do not belong to AAA or a Motor Club...I see too many cases where the at-fault is uninsured, my innocent client was injured, client does not have UM, no med-pay to pay doctor bills, no collision to pay auto damage, and they ask me what can we do...I tell them to go to small claims court on their own, and expect to win the case and lose the war...they get mad because the other guy was uninsured, I tell them they need to pay for all the extra coverage so they are protected, stop assuming the other person has the same sense of responsibility to be insured...judgments are rarely collected, unless they have property to file against (the poor usually rent), or a job on the books (ha! ha! ha!) with wages you can garnish... "

 
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Some related FYI from Alabama law:




Section 32-10-2

Duty to give information and render aid.

The driver of any motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to or the death of any person or damage to any vehicle which is driven or attended by any person shall give his name, address and the registration number of the vehicle he is driving, shall upon request exhibit his driver's license to the person struck or the driver or occupant of or person attending any motor or other vehicle collided with or damaged and shall render to any person injured in such accident reasonable assistance, including the transportation of, or the making of arrangements for the transportation of such person to a physician or hospital for medical or surgical treatment, if it is apparent that such treatment is necessary or if such transportation is requested by the injured person.

(Acts 1943, No. 558, p. 548, §3.)




Section 32-10-3

Duty upon striking unattended vehicle.

The driver of any motor vehicle which collides with any motor vehicle or other vehicle which is unattended shall immediately stop and shall then and there either locate and notify the operator or owner of such vehicle of the name and address of the driver and owner of the vehicle striking the unattended vehicle or shall leave in a conspicuous place in or on the vehicle struck a written notice giving the name and address of the driver and/or the owner of the vehicle doing the striking and a statement of the circumstances thereof.

(Acts 1943, No. 558, p. 548, §4.)



Section 32-10-6

Penalty for violation of Sections 32-10-1 through 32-10-5.

Every person convicted of violating Sections 32-10-1 through 32-10-5 or any of the provisions thereof, when such violation involved only damage to property, shall be punished the same as prescribed by law for a Class A misdemeanor; provided, however, that every person convicted of violating such sections, or any provisions thereof, when such violation involved death or personal injury, shall be punished the same as prescribed by law for a Class C felony.

(Acts 1945, No. 427, p. 670; Acts 1985, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 85-918, p. 197.)

 
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Well it depends on if its a hit and run or if you know who it is and they just dont have insurance.

 
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Not a hit and run.........


Now that I know someone knows what they are talking about, I will give the whole story.


I was riding my motorcycle when another motorist came into my lane, to avoid the car (and the one coming head on) I pulled to the far right of the lane. I got into some gravel and low-sided my bike into a vacant parked car. State Troopers and Police were notified.

After I got out of the hospital 2 days later, I went to the scene of the accident which is where the owner of the parked car works. I gave him my name/phone #/address and offered him cash on the spot to release me from liability.

I had no coverage on my bike for other reasons that would take another paragraph to type. So, basically I had no insurance and all he had was liability. So I offered him some money to fix his car ($500 cash).

Here's a pic of his car.



I also told him I was gonna take a few digi pix to document. He agreed. After I talked for about 5 minutes. He said he would like to take it to a body shop and get an estimate first. I agreed. The whole time, he acted like I had done some great injustice to him. I feel that some people wouldn't even care to help but I limped up to his work with broken bones to offer to help.

This was last month. I have called him every week and offered to take it to a body shop and have it fixed. A friend owns one and said that I could make payments to him and go ahead and get this mans car fixed.

The problem is that even after telling this man that I will pay to have his car fixed, he will not take it to my friends body shop. Last night this man got real hostile with me (I'm a Marine, but kept my cool) and finally hung up in my face.

He says he is gonna take it to his insurance because he took it to 4 body shops and they all said it was totalled. He will not allow me to see these estimates.

So, what can I be held liable for?

 
Rep Power: 277

Everything is your liability. You are required to carry a minimum of liability insurance by the state and have violated state law in not doing so. If he takes it to his insurance, then they will pay it and possibly come after you if they think its worth it. Now it depends on how much the damage really costs. If he doesnt have uninsured motorist property damage on his policy, his insurance will pay nothing anyway, and probably wont even care. If he does though sometimes it is easier and cheaper for them to just pay the damage and move on. Other times the company will sue you, or the other person will. If you dont have anything to take, then odds are good that nothing will come of it. Now that doesnt remove your liability for the damages just because you may not have a house or anything else. There have been many cases in which people have had their wages garnished until the damage is paid. If you are sued, you will lose because 1)You broke the law and 2)You showed irresponsibility by not having insurance. If you had some type of documentation that you agreed to pay for the damages you may save yourself, otherwise if they want to, your *** is thiers. My guess, being an insurance agent, is that nothing will come of it. That his company will pay it and with the minimal damage will let it be at that. Honestly, i dont blame him for not taking it to your friends shop, I wouldnt, The last thing you want to do is get screwed on crappy repairs, even though your friend may do great work, he is probably a little skeptical of the quality of repairs. My advice, continue to offer to pay for it on your own. Also, if you intend on trying to get insurance on your bike do it now because nobody will want to insure you if they found out you have an uninsured accident. If he reports to his company then it will be put in a database calle C.L.U.E (Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange)that all companies report to and gather info from. Being that his car is an late 80's early 90's lumina its possible that it could be more to replace that bumper than the car is worth but i doubt it. Basically, you screwed up by not having insurance, but you will probably come out ok on this one and may pay for it either way. Just be glad nobody was in the car, then it would be your ***. It sounds to me like he is probably just trying to scare you. Just keep your cool, and keep offering. Tell him he can take it anywhere he wants to get it repaired. Also, keep in mind, "totalled" is an insurance term. That just means that it costs more to repair it than the car is worth in the blue book, that doesnt mean you cant have it repaired. Try to find out the approximate value in the NADA blue book, if thats cheap enough then just try to offer to pay what the cars worth and not a penny more because thats pointless. If you do that, word it as, I will pay you what the insurance company will pay you and show him the blue book value. If he insists on getting it repaired you could be nice and pay for that, or you could throw the whole "totalled" thing back in his face. Use fancy words like "indemnity" (meaning making whole, or replacing with what was lost with like value) and he will think you know what your talking about. A good line would be "Well Mr. Smith, the insurance company would only indemnify you anyway which is what im offering." Meaning not a penny more than was lost whether its cost of repair or total value. If you use some of these things to your advantage you may scare him in to showing you the estimates. Its up to you. Sometimes being honest screws you. Hope it works out. Ill be happy to answer any other questions.

 
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He says he is gonna take it to his insurance because he took it to 4 body shops and they all said it was totalled. He will not allow me to see these estimates.



if he doesnt let you see the estimates, then how would he expect you to pay for it? thats if hes wanting you to fix it. but since he said he wants to go thru insurance, then thats hard on you. take his^ advice and research on the vehicle. it seems like he is a mad man because he didnt expect the estimates to be so low? that could be one assumption why he wont tell you nor let you see them.


from the pic you posted, its a pos car and looks like it needs rear bumper + paint, and some bending on the trunk/body. IMO, i would guess thats around the $600-+ mark.



if he trys to sue and/or file a civil claim against you, mention to the judge that you were injured and came back after recovery to help fix the mans vehicle. you offered him to bring you an estimate and pay for it but he wont let you see it.

 
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Found out that he only had liability on his car. No uninsured motorist coverage.


I sent him a certified letter today offering my help with the 'reasonable' cost of damages. I figured that way if it goes to court, I can prove that I was trying to compensate the man for the damages.


Thanks for the help. I do have a lot to lose. I am a paid Firefighter and a US Marine. I have a family, house, car, etc. I wish the guy would just accept my offer to have his car fixed or take some cash and be done with this whole mess.

Oh well, you live and learn.

 
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hope everything goes well for you atleast you have a positive outlook

 
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Yeah, good luck. Sounds like what your doing is a good idea. Let us know how it goes.