What happens if I have an accident and the other person has no insurance?

Answer 1

If the driver who has no coverage is involved in an accident that is his fault, he can loose everything he owns and everything he will make in the future to repay damages he has done to the other party.

Answer 2

Presuming that the collision was the other person's fault, there are a couple of avenues for you to take. First and foremost, obtain a police report. You or the other driver must call the police and have them come to the scene. Ideally, do not move the cars so that the investigating officer can see the relative positions of the cars. However, if the cars are blocking other traffic or otherwise creating a hazard, you may have to move them.

The police officer may not ticket either party if he/she does not believe that a moving violation has been committed. However, that does not mean that the other party was not negligent (careless); a different standard is used to determine that.

Once that is all done, obtain an estimate of the cost of repairs from a reputable body shop. That will be the fundamental basis of your claim. If you have to rent a vehicle while your car is being repaired, that cost is an element of your damages too.

Contact the other party in writing, but do not be impolite or demanding. Explain that you believe that he/she was At Fault for the collision that you seek reimbursement for damages; enclose a copy of the repair estimate. If the other party responds with an admission of fault, they may nonetheless question the reasonable of the damages.

If you cannot come to a compromise (which is to be encouraged), you are free to sue in a court of competent jurisdiction. By that I mean the court that has the power to award the amount of damages that you seek (for example, a County Court or a Circuit Court--the names may be different depending upon the location)

Keep in mind that if you do sue, the burden is upon you to prove that the other party was at fault, as well as the reasonableness of your damages. You do this by verbal testimony (you and any other witnesses to the collision), and you generally have to bring to court as another witness the body shop representative who assessed and quantified the damage to your car. It is usually not enough to merely present the estimate, as the other party does not have the chance to question the person who prepared it. If the party who you sue does not respond to the lawsuit or appear in court to defend as required, generally you win by default.

If the court finds that the other party was at fault and that you have proven your damages, it will enter a judgment in your favor. This is an official finding that the other party owes you a stated sum of money. However, the judgment is not self-executing, meaning that it is not the same as cash-in-hand. You may have to take additional steps to collect upon it, such as attachment of a bank account (if you can find it). Doing this takes additional work by you and the outlay of additional court costs and other expenses. Not all of those amounts may be recoverable from the other party.

Many states have "financial responsibility laws" which require owners/operators of vehicles to maintain insurance. Likewise, if one does not have insurance as required, and a judgment is entered against them stemming from a collision, the driver's license authorities have the power to suspend the person's license and tags until payment of the judgment is made. Often, that is an inexpensive way to coerce payment, altho it often takes some time to accomplish the goal. It is usually necessary that you send a certified copy of the judgment and other paperwork to the motor vehicle authorities with a request for the suspension.

All of this suggests that if property damage alone is involved, it is usually best to reasonably compromise if it is possible to do so.

Answer 3

nonsensicle, deficient question