OK, last night, I was entering a parking lot, and the entrance has an interior cross-street with stop signs. There was no stop sign from my direction. It was raining HARD. There was a person on the cross street on my left side, and she didn't stop at the stop sign. I hydroplaned and T-boned into her.

Neither of us were hurt. There was extremely minor superficial damage to my truck, however the passenger side of her car was smashed in pretty good, although her car was still in drivable condition. Both vehicles are older (98 Ram vs. 89 Taurus) so neither car would have comprehensive coverage. The cop who showed up said that since it was on private property, it was a no-fault accident, and he was really only there to make sure we exchanged info.

AFTER the accident, when I was going through my paperwork, I realized that my insurance had lapsed (I am a full-time RVer, and the only thing I can figure is my paperwork didn't get forwarded to me)

The accident occurred in Alabama, and my truck is registered in FL.

What happens now?

First no, it was not a no fault accident, it was an accident on private property where the police were not required to do a report.

Well for you, lucky the police did not do a report or you would have gotten a ticket for no insurance.

So you file a claim against their insurance claiming they ran the stop sign on private property and you were not able to stop before hitting them.
*** or you just pay for the repair of your own vechile, since if it really was a no fault ( which it is not) then your would still have to pay since you have liability only.

In a real no fault, you pay for yours, they pay for thiers. And with both being liability only, that means you both pay for your own repairs.

Father Chuck,

I've been told that signs on private property are only suggestions, so you can't really claim that the other driver ran a stop sign. Since she wasn't required to stop at it in the first place. True or not true?

First no, it was not a no fault accident, it was an accident on private property where the police were not required to do a report.

Well for you, lucky the police did not do a report or you would have gotten a ticket for no insurnace.

So you file a claim against thier insurance claiming they ran the stop sign on private property and you were not able to stop before hitting them.
*** or you just pay for the repair of your own vechile, since if it really was a no fault ( which it is not) then your would still have to pay since you have liability only.

in a real no fault, you pay for yours, they pay for thiers. and with both being liability only, that means you both pay for your own repairs.


Must depend on the State - in NYS no-fault refers only to the medical bills. Your medical bills as a result of an accident are paid by your carrier, no questions asked, no need to prove fault. After a certain dollar amount and with certain types of injuries you have a personal injury lawsuit but that's a whole different thing.

Liability/collision still enter into the picture. Insurance companies (hopefully) look at fault and see which company pays for what damages.

I worked 2 "private property" accidents this week - one in a shopping plaza, one at the exit to an apartment complex but on the apartment grounds. Had Police Reports for both of them (but there were claimed injuries).

You were driving without insurance? I'd very quietly pay for my own damages and, as FrChuck said, be very grateful the Police weren't all that interested.

You were driving without insurance? I'd very quietly pay for my own damages and, as FrChuck said, be very grateful the Police weren't all that interested.


My own damages were small enough that I'm not even going to bother fixing them. The truck already had its own fair share of dings and scrapes... it just got another two added to them. I think the hail that fell on us while we were waiting for the police did more damage than the accident did (I found out when the police got there that a tornado had passed directly behind us, only about 1000 feet away :eek: . I had quite the sucktastic night yesterday)

I'm just worried that she may decide to try to go after me for damages somehow. Even though technically she was at fault.

my own damages were small enough that i'm not even going to bother fixing them. the truck already had its own fair share of dings and scrapes... it just got another two added to them. i think the hail that fell on us while we were waiting for the police did more damage than the accident did (i found out when the police got there that a tornado had passed directly behind us, only about 1000 feet away :eek: . i had quite the sucktastic night yesterday)

i'm just worried that she may decide to try to go after me for damages somehow. even tho technically she was at fault.


Well, you can never guarantee what anyone will do and it sounds like it's your word against hers but if she's going to there's little you can do to stop her. I'd wait and see what happens, which is about all you can do anyway.

A tornado passed 1,000 feet away - ? No wonder the Police weren't terribly interested - they had other things on their minds!