What if the Other party Doesn't Have Insurance?
Getting into an auto accident can be very overwhelming and many questions you may have don’t arise until later. One of those main questions is, “What if the other party in the auto accident doesn’t have insurance?”
Well, there are a few different ways to approach this. Let’s start at the most basic one:
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Seek Compensation
When an auto accident occurs, typically the driver at fault will use their insurance to help pay for the damages. In the off chance that you get into an accident where the person at fault does not have insurance, the money must come from somewhere. This may even mean that the money will come right out of the vehicle owner’s pocket. As this is a very large sum, loans may be required as well as debt, where the “debtor” owes the “creditor” money over a certain period of time in order to pay the money required.
Your Own insurance May Provide Assistance
Some insurance companies will sometimes help out with auto accident payments. For example: If you as the driver who is not at fault gets into an accident with someone who does not have insurance and they are at fault, your own insurance may pay for you themselves. This does not mean that the person without insurance, and at fault, won’t have some sort of consequence or payment to be made, this just makes it easier on you to fix the damages while everything else is getting sorted out.
The main stipulation with this is that you need evidence that the driver does not have insurance. Evidence can include:
- Photos
- Videos
- ID of the other driver
- Phone numbers
Lawsuit
As lawsuits are on the more extreme end of dealing with an uninsured driver, this is more of an opinion-based approach. If the situation does arise where you feel that making a claim to your insurance about an uninsured driver, you will need to check a few things:
- Make sure you have all evidence required and at the ready.
- Be sure that your insurance has Uninsured Motorist coverage on its policy.
- Speak with a lawyer to go over what compensation is needed based on damage.
- Work to do the previous steps immediately, don’t wait.
Having the support of a lawyer and those involved in the accident will be key to beginning to file a claim against the uninsured driver. As all of these steps vary in different degrees of severity, it is prudent to assess the situation and take the best course of action based on your needs as well as the damage received in the accident.
As roughly 12% of drivers are uninsured, this isn’t a super common thing to happen, but it does happen, so knowing the proper course of action will help you sort things out in the long run.
Contact Us
If you’ve been involved in an auto accident and need help gathering evidence, our experienced team can assist you. To schedule a free case consultation, contact us today at 888-813-3188.
