uninsured motorist rear ended me

I was driving in the rain, and out of now where this kid rear ends the back of my Mercedes. I called the cops and we exchanged info, they took a report, etc.

I heard the kid say to his mom on his cell phone "Am I on the insurance, and she said "no". I then told the cop that I heard the kid say he did not have insurance, and he said "well, the insurance card you gave me expired 12/2015". I had just received my new insurance card and it was sitting on the kitchen table. I told him I had proof at home at 5 minutes from the accident, and he said "well, technically you do not have valid insurance right now either", and that was that.

So anyway, my question is this. The kid had his mom's insurance information which I took down and gave to my insurance company. He obviously does not have insurance, so therefore it is an uninsured motorist case. I can't file a claim against the mother's insurance right? She was not the one driving.

I am afraid my rates will go up even though this wasn't my fault. I have uninsured motorist coverage and will have to pay the $250.00 deductible. Does anyone know if my rates might go up?

Thanks, Abner

P.S. I have no intention of trying to work this out with the kid that hit me. He was driving an ancient old clunker, and he was about 18, therefore I assume he won't be good for the money, nor will it be worth it to me to try and chase him down to collect.

 

Unless you're insured by that company that says they have "accident forgiveness" I'd say you can count on a rate increase. There's always the prospect of a civil suit.

 

Very few states allow for excluded drivers and even fewer companies are inclined to offer the option unless they are legally obligated to (such is the case in CA)In order for a driver to be excluded from coverage the police holder has to specifically sign a form excluding that person. Then, the insurance company will absolutely not cover any damage that arises from an accident where the excluded driver was behind the wheel.

A lot of people simply don't add their teenage drivers. They are still covered. If I borrow your car, with your permission, I have permissive use of the vehicle and I'm covered. You don't need to call the insurance company to let them know. I'm just automatically covered.

So, 1, it's very likely that the kid does have coverage. If the policy was in force at the time the fact that he wasn't specifically added to the policy doesn't change the coverage. Auto coverage follows the auto, not the driver. Drivers are added for rating and underwriting purposes.

If the kid IS excluded as an operator then your UI coverage will kick in because the driver is known. Whether that will cause a rate increase depends upon your state as each state has different things they allow companies to do for rating purposes. Generally speaking, however, it shouldn't increase your rate if the other driver was 100% at fault. That goes wonky if you live in a contributory negligence state. In that case, he might be found 80% at fault and you hold the other 20% which means that his liability (or the UI coverage on your policy) would pay for 80% while the other 20% is covered by your collision coverage, if that's the case then yeah, you'll likely see a rate increase.

But even if you do live in a contributory negligence state, the rate increase is proportionate to the amount of liability you shared in an accident.vso you don't get the same rate increase for being 20% at fault that you get for being 100% at fault.

In short, yes, no and maybe. There are a lot of variables at play. We saw a rate increase when my wife backed into another car in the parking lot of the grocery store. It sucked because it was legally all her fault. However, the rate increase wasn't terrible and we offset it by both taking a safe driver course online.

 

I do not know much, but I know the cop was wrong on the insurance. You did not have proof of insurance at the scene; you had insurance. He just did not want to deal with the paper work.

 

If I were in your shoes, I would contact your insurance company and give them the insurance info on the other car. Let them hash it out with the other company. That is part of what you are paying them to do.

 

The affordable care act should have taken care of the uninsured motorist.

 

Thanks everyone!

Your comments help. I did promptly report the accident to my insurance company. I think I am just going to eat the $250.00 deductible and be done with it. My instinct is to go after the other drivers insurance company, but I just don't have the time to screw around with them. Hopefully my rates won't go up since it was his fault 100% and a police report was taken.

Thanks everyone! It figures this would happen two payments away from paying off my car.

Abner

 

This happened to us last year. My sons were in our car at a stoplight when an uninsured drunk driver hit a car (not ours) but then it spun around and got us. Long story short- our insurance paid our repair and they went after him. I'm in NC, not sure if that's everywhere or not.

 

Not if they live at home! I'm the proud owner of 3 teenage son drivers and in both IL and NC every licensed driver at that addy has to be listed whether or not they do any driving (only 1 of our sons even has a car- makes no difference)

 

It sounds to me like you're assuming the kid and the mom know what they are talking about. Wait for your insurance company to tell you he's uninsured.

 

Yes, in NY as well. But that doesn't stop a lot of people from simply not calling their insurance company to add their teenage drivers to evade the rate increase. If those drivers get into an accident they are still covered (even if their parents never formally added them) and the company will add the drivers to the policy. Also you run the risk of having your policy nonrenewed.

 

That is part of why you have insurance. It your insurance company's job to go after the other insurance company.

 

Good News!

My insurance company will pay for all every thing and will waive the $250.00 deductible! Plus, the adjuster said my rates would not go up because the accident was 100% not my fault. Of course, a rental car will be provided for up to 30 days, so I take my baby in tomorrow.

Have a good rainy day! It's pouring out here.

Abner

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Abner,


Glad to hear everything turned out OK.


I was rear ended in my 2-week old Subaru. My insurance company arranged to have my car fixed, zero cost to me, and they did all the communicating with the other driver's insurance company.


Make sure that your car repair company checks for hidden damage.

 

Thanks! Yeah, I took my car to the most expensive auto body shop that is certified to work on my particular make of vehicle (since it is zero cost to me). They do a complete tear down of the rear exterior/bumper area to identify any hidden damage from the rear ending, including the frame. Then the insurance adjuster goes directly to the shop so they can work out a deal for the repairs. They even had an enterprise rental car waiting for me. I prefer not to use the insurance companies "preferred" shops. Sometimes these preferred shops cut down on costs by using non OEM parts, for example.

It figures someone would hit your car after only having had it two weeks. That is the way things go sometimes. My car should be ready next week some time.

 

We got a new-to-me car 2 weeks ago and my husband hit a deer. Day before yesterday he hit a deer with our OTHER car!? Those $1000 deductibles add up fast, but with 3 teen son drivers, it's almost unaffordable to insure everyone otherwise.

 

Oh damn!!!!!! Ouchie! When it rains it pours.

 

you'll really feel sorry for me when I tell you our frig went out the same day- I didn't discover it until the following day and everything had to be pitched. So yes, it's raining over here.

 

OMG!!!!!!!!!! Hopefully your unlucky streak is over for a good long time. What else can go wrong?