I had taken over use of my brothers car while he was incarcerated and was unaware that the registration and insurance were both expired. Some guy ran a red light and hhit into me totaling the car. There's also the issue that my license was suspended for a while but 3 days before the accident my suspension was up but I still hadn't paid the restoration fee to the dmv, so I'm not 100% sure on if I had a license or not. Anyway my question is can I still file a claim against the otger guys insurance? Will they still pay for the car even though I was driving totally illegally? Please help! I've been asking friends and I'm getting a lot of mixed responses. By the way I'm in Pennsylvania.

You are going to be lucky if you don't end up in jail yourself... and trust me... they ARE going to go after that...

No you did NOT have your license yet... it was still suspended until AFTER you paid the fees. That's on you.. In Virginia that alone can get a year in jail. They put people in jail every day for that, straight from the courtroom.


Driving on no insurance is on you... and driving with an expired registration is on you.

They aren't goijg to pay you... because it isn't your car.

The police officer that came said he wasn't going to fine me for not having a license, because my suspension was up. And when the insurance guy came to the tow lot to investigate he told the tow truck guy to have me call him because he was going to pay for my car but I'm sure he doesn't know the registration was bad. But he was aware of no insurance and no license

You need a lawyer or you may end up in jail. He can answer your questions on how to file, if you can, on your brother's behalf. Your brother may be able to collect from the other driver but I'm sure any settlement would be offset by your bone-headedness.

Weren't you aware that insurance payments are made monthly? Who did you think was paying them if your brother is in jail?

And with no license, weren't you aware that even with insurance, it wouldn't have covered you anyway?

When they find out the car isn't yours... they aren't going to do anything... and its clear its not titled OR registered to you. They ARE going to know that when they run the VIN or tha tags... both are part of any claim..

They WILL work with the actual owner... which will get interesting because they are in jail. Unless of course you have your brothers power of attorney.

Can my brother file a claim?

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Originally Posted by ayemmgee

Can my brother file a claim?

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Certainly... he is the owner of the vehicle. If you have a power of atttorney.. you could do it on his behalf.

If the other driver's insurance is aware that the accident was the fault of their policyholder, then it should be immaterial whether the car was registered, insured or your license was suspended. However, if the other carrier is aware your license was suspended, they could try to use that to show you were at fault.