What if I get caught in an accident with no insurance?

by beezysmith » Fri Jul 10, 2009 07:08 am

So I wrecked my car that I'm still making payments on. But I had no insurance at the time of the work. I got an estimate to get it fixed and its about $8000+. I don't have good credit to take out a loan or make enough money to pay to get it fixed. I need help!

Total Comments: 48

Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 07:13 am Post Subject:

Hello Beezysmith,

  • Which state are you from?
  • Who is responsible for the accident?

If you are not at-fault then you could have the responsible driver's insurer take care of the repair expenses.
Please let us know the answers of the above questions and we would take-up the issue from there.

~ Jeremy

Posted: Fri Jul 10, 2009 11:22 am Post Subject:

I need help!

Yep, you sure do...as Jeremy said if another party was at fault for the accident then you 'might' be alright. If you were at fault you have a lot of trouble.

Is your vehicle a total loss? What is your vehicle worth? If you don't know post the yr/make/model/mileage and options and I'll look up the value.

Are you sure you didn't have insurance? Leinholders will force collision and comp on vehicles they have a note on, and tack that premium on your note. It's very expensive but they do it all the time. Have you got a letter from them in the past saying if you don't prove that the vehicle is insured they will put insurance on it?

When did your policy lapse and why? What happened in the accident? Were other vehicles/people involved? Did you hurt anyone?

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 03:30 pm Post Subject: I NEED HELP TOO!

I am in the same boat as Breezysmith. I still owe money on my car and rolled it a few times. I didnt have insurance because of bad times. My car loan company sent me proof of insurance applications all the time and then about a year and a half ago they stopped. Does that mean they had insurance on my car? If so can I tell them I wrecked it without them suing me? I LOVE my car but now it is just a heap of scrap metal, no way to fix it, and the payments are killing me especially now that I cant drive it. I was the only vehicle invovled and the only person in the car. An 18 wheeler pushed me off the road in a rain storm and then I hydroplayned and you know the rest. I need help, idk if this will effect my credit score and seriously dont want to be sued.

Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:23 pm Post Subject:

Does that mean they had insurance on my car?

Probably, but they've added that cost to your note.

If so can I tell them I wrecked it without them suing me?

Have you been making your payments? Or did you neglect to pay for those as well? If you're making your payments then they probably will just have the carrier they have insuring your car pay them directly and HOPEFULLY that will satisfy your note with them.

I LOVE my car but now it is just a heap of scrap metal, no way to fix it, and the payments are killing me especially now that I cant drive it.

So, you quit paying for insurance over a yr and a half ago, but you did make your car payments?

I was the only vehicle invovled and the only person in the car. An 18 wheeler pushed me off the road in a rain storm and then I hydroplayned and you know the rest.

No contact though between you and the truck right?
You're very lucky to be alive, but also that you didn't damage someone elses car, or injure someone, then you would be on the hook for that as well, your lein holder did NOT add any liability coverage to your note you can bet on that. Most likely only collision and comp...

I need help, idk if this will effect my credit score and seriously dont want to be sued.

Well honey, how do you think this won't affect your credit score? Your lein holder sends you letters for months, you just ignor them. You have no insurance on the property that THEY own....Doesn't your state require insurance? How can your plates be current? Don't you have to show proof of insurance when you renew them? Contact your lein holder immediately, ask them if they put collision and comp on the car.

I don't mean to sound harsh, but seriously, if you couldn't afford the ins. on this car, you should've sold the car and bought something you could afford. Honey, you're not just endangering yourself but every other person on the road when you drive like this...

Let us know what your lein holder has to say

Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 06:27 pm Post Subject: forced ins

My daughter-in-law was in a crash, which someone else cause the person who owned the car must not have paid the ins because they denied her claim now her bank where she got her loan says that the forced ins they put on it will not cover it but she has been paying her payment and the forced ins what can she do

Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2010 06:43 pm Post Subject:

Sounds like several failures are involved here. Allowing the lender to put insurance on the vehicle is a very costly mistake. Your daughter-in-law/so should have carried their own insurance on their vehicle. As such, while it may cover a total loss to the vehicle, the Actual Cash Value of the vehicle is probably LESS than the loan balance.

There is no reason why the lender's insurance would not cover the damage to the vehicle if it is less than a total loss -- except for the fact that it's a third party claim, not a first party claim. It may cover losses caused by an "uninsured" third party, but your daughter-in-law will have to find out for sure.

It's not entirely clear what's at stake here.

The at fault party, ultimately, is responsible for your daughter-in-law's damages. Without insurance, that probably means having to file a lawsuit against them. If the damages are less than the small claims limit in your state (for example, it's $7500 here in California), she can have the case heard there. If it exceeds the limit, then you would have to sue in the higher local court (Superior in most states, Municipal or Supreme in others).

Your daughter-in-law needs to contact the lender's insurance company and ask for an explanation of the coverage that applies to her loss, and the reason the claim is being denied or not paid in full.

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 02:57 am Post Subject: totaled vechicle no insurance

It has been over 3 years since I totaled this vechicle now a company is coming after me for payment, I assumed the loan company had uninsured insurance on it as it showed up payed off on credit report, they set up court date which I showed up to and the company never showed but later contacted me by phone saying they would set up another date unless I wanted to settle the debt of which I said no I havent heard from them, think this will be the end of them? What is statue limitations on something like this?

Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2011 06:35 am Post Subject:

The statute of limitations on debt collections can vary from state to state, but is generally 4 years from the last payment.

If you were sued, and you showed up for trial but the plaintiff failed to appear, your case should have been dismissed (default judgment in favor of the defendant), not continued. Was it dismissed by the judge? If it was, the plaintiff has to refile the case, pay all new fees, new service on you, etc. That's another $500-$600 in California.

Most such cases end up working the other way -- the creditor/plaintiff appears, the defendant is a no-show, and the court awards a default judgment to the plaintiff. Then they show up with an order to seize your property or garnish your wages.

On your credit report, if your loan was not repaid in full, it probably shows as a CHARGE OFF -- which is NOT the same as being paid off. A charge off simply takes the unpaid debt off the lender's balance sheet as an asset, and allows them to proceed against the debtor in civil court (or to sell the debt to some other party that will try to sue the debtor). So was your loan PAID OFF or was it CHARGED OFF??

If you have proof that the loan was paid off (not charged off), then the next time someone sends you a collection letter about the same debt, you make a written demand to validate the debt, and enclose a copy of what you have that shows the debt paid off. If you are subsequently sued, then you answer the complaint stating that there is no cause of action because there is no debt, and you show up for the first hearing with your documentation in hand, show it to the judge and ask for summary judgment WITH PREJUDICE. If granted, you cannot be sued again for the same debt. EVER.

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 01:16 am Post Subject: So what happens to the car payments?

In similar situation (wrecked a car, no insurance), though we actually thought we did have insurance (lots of misunderstanding/ miscommunication). Please don't tell me off as in many responses; I know we're unsafe idiots already, etc., and we feel terrible. My question I need answered is: If you total a car you are making payments on but have no insurance at the time of the crash, what happens with your payments? I assume you will still owe the same amount to your financing company and thus keep making payments, but I'm not sure. And yes, I see that car companies will contact you if your insurance lapsed, but it has only been three months, so they probably don't know yet about the not having insurance thing (neither did we!).

Thanks for any help!

Posted: Thu Feb 10, 2011 01:39 am Post Subject:

I assume you will still owe the same amount to your financing company and thus keep making payments, but I'm not sure

Probable... but the lien holder usually has the right to collect the full amount at any time. I can't see why they would want to do this though. As long as the payments are being made I'd think they would keep the loan going. It's just that they no longer have anything to protect their interest.

When your insurance lapses the lien holder is usually informed and they place insurance on it. Was this not done? This insurance usually pays them in the event of a loss. They are usually informed very quickly, within weeks. So I'd think they should know over the period of 3 months.

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