[gomez07]

Hi, this is pretty long and confusing but I'm hoping someone will know. I was just rear ended a few days ago during traffic time. The light was green but we all had to stop. The SUV behind us didn't realize it and ended up slamming into the back of our car. She admitted fault and kept telling us that she was sorry and the police ended up taking the report down. The problem is that after he gave us our insurance card I realized I didn't renew it for 2 months. The police didn't say anything to me about it so I didn't notice until we got home. When I tried to renew it they said that with the Progressive local agency, after a period of cancelled insurance, they remove the information off their system so I had to basically get a brand new policy. I've been told by a few friends and family that I need to call her insurance company to get them to pay for the damages to our car since she was 100% at fault for it, but I'm not sure if they will deny it if they realize I didn't have insurance at the time. Any suggestions? :confused:

Also, I would like to add that it happened in Michigan, so I do not know much of the No Fault Law and that I did end up getting insurance back onto the car about 3 hours after the accident, although I do not think that my insurance company will pay for the damages.

[ScottGem]

Don't say anything about your insurance issues. In a rear end collision, the other party is almost always 100% at fault. Contact HER insurance company. Don't say anything about your coverage. Just ask them where you should take your car to have it fixed.

In the interim, get yourself covered and be more careful about montioring your dates.

[excon]

I've been told by a few friends and family that I need to call her insurance company to get them to pay for the damages to our car since she was 100% at fault for it, but i'm not sure if they will deny it if they realize I didn't have insurance at the time. Any suggestions?? :confused:

Hello gomez:

Scott is right. Whether you had coverage or not has NO bearing on the other drivers liability.

YES, call the other guy's insurance company. They might try to play the "you're not eligible for a claim because you weren't insured" game, but you've been here, been advised, and you're not going to buy it.

They'll fix your car.

excon

[ScottGem]

Just a comment on what excon said. They will probably not even know you were not covered. And you are not going to tell them. If they ask who your insurance carrier is, ask them why it matters? Tell them their policyholder was 100% at fault. She admitted it and the police report confirms it, so who you are covered by shouldn't matter.

[gomez07]

Sorry to ask again, but I was just told from my dad that because I did not have insurance, I am technically 100% at fault for the accident since I was not legally allowed to be on the road. Those are what he stated exactly to me. Although he has never been in this situation before, I am just taking any advice into consideration since the damages will be pretty expensive. Anyone know if that could be true?

[ScottGem]

Is your dad an Attorney? You can tell your dad from me, that he does not know what he's talking about.

You have gotten advice from several people in this thread and the other one. ALL the advice says that your insurance status has NO BEARING on fault. What are you waiting for? You should have been on the phone to the other driver's insurance company that same day. The longer you wait to contact them, the more they will wonder about you. CALL THEM NOW!!

Do not tell them what your insurance status was. Even though it has no bearing, they might try to use it to muddy the waters so don't even mention it. Like I said, if asked about it, tell them it doesn't matter since their policy holder was 100% at fault.

If they ask you why you waited, tell them this is the first accident you ever had so you weren't sure of the procedures. Just ask them, point blank, where you should take your car to have it repaired or to for an adjuster to see it.

I had an accident a couple of years ago where I was sideswiped by a car that was going too fast around a snowy curve. I saw them coming and pulled over and stopped, but when they lost control they slid into me. They acknowledged fault, I called their insurer, arranged to meet their adjuster at an approved body shop. He authorized the repair and dropped me off at a car rental to get a loaner while my car was in the shop. The loaner was charged directly to them.

CALL THEM NOW!!

Once more, her insurance company doesn't know whether you were driving with expired insurance or not. Even in a No-Fault state, that refers to law suits not paying claims.

[Tabi]

Depends on your state. I know some states that say where it was your fault or not if you didn't have insurance you are responsible for your car. GOOD LUCK.

[ScottGem]

Depends on your state. I know some states that say where it was your fault or not if you didn't have insurance you are responsible for your car. GOOD LUCK.

What states are those? If a driver crashes into a yard and damages a tree, the homeowner is covered under the driver's personal property coverage. Doesn't matter whether they have insurance or not!

The issue here is that the other driver damaged gomez's car. He was rear-ended while stopped for traffic in front of him. Her insurance company will pay. Whatever his coverage was doesn't matter.

[Tabi]

I was told that by a insurance agent for the state of Indiana unless he was telling me a fib.

[ScottGem]

I suspect he was. Or he didn't understand. The purpose of no-fault insurance is to preclude litigation to determine fault. It limits the rights of one party to sue. But, when there is a clear fault, then the company pays.

[sideoutshu]

Well there are a couple of issues here. Firstly, let me say that I know New York law, and New York is a No-fault state, however the laws are different even in no-fault states, however, they should be substantially similar. Secondly, let me correct some misinformation in some of the earlier responses.

No-fault has absolutely nothing to do with paying for damage to a vehicle. "No fault" coverage refers personal injury protection (aka PIP) and providing first party benefits to those hurt in an accident. The reason they call it "no fault" is actually the opposite of what everyone is talking about. It refers to the fact that in an auto accident, everyone's medical treatment is paid for REGARDLESS of who was at fault (with certain exceptions such as drunk driving, motorcycles, etc.). So as far as no-fault benefits go, a determination of fault is immaterial.

Assuming that you are attempting to have medical benefits paid for, your problem is the fact that the no fault benefits you receive after an accident are through YOUR OWN policy. Now you don't have a policy, so therein lies the problem. It is unfortunate that I am not familiar with specific Michigan Law, however I will tell you what happens in New York, and it may help you as to where you should inquire.

In New York, if you are in an uninsured vehicle and get hurt in an accident, you apply to the State Insurance Fund, MVAIC (motor vehicle accident indemnification corporation) to receive benefits. That may be an avenue of recovery. In some instances, you may also be able to recover through the no-fault policy of someone living in the same household.

I will address the issue of liability coverage and the duty to pay for damage to your car later today or tomorrow. I just got a call I have to take.

As far as liability goes, most of the previous answers are right on. It SHOULD be the responsibility of her insurance company to pay for the damages to your car. (in the absence of some wacky MI law that punishes uninsured drivers... however I think that is unlikely). Call them immediately. The only drawback you are going to see between talking to them yourself as opposed to through your insurer is that they are going to screw you (assign 5-10% of fault to you) and you are going to grin and take it because it's cheaper then fighting them on it.

[ScottGem]

As far as I understand, in the event of a rear end collision, the one doing the hitting is usually considered 100% at fault.

[sideoutshu]

As far as I understand, in the event of a rear end collision, the one doing the hitting is usually considered 100% at fault.

Usually yes. In NY, there is a prima facie assumption of negligence on the part of the driver who rear ends someone. Prima facie is a Latin term which in this context basically means that the dirvier in front has proven his case by the mere fact that he was hit in the rear. The effect of this is a burden shift to the defendant. Normally in civil lawsuits, the burden is on the Plaintiff to prove that the defendant was negligent. In a rear end hit case, the burden shifts to the defendant to provide a non-negligent explanation for the collision. The defense is always the same. "The Plaintiff stopped short." But it doesn't work very often. There are a few other viable defenses and mitigating factors which occasionally find success. Examples are "the emergency defense" (sudden intervening cause such as a deer jumping into the road) or the sun glare defense(more of a mitigating factor then a complete defense.

[gomez07]

Well I called her insurance company and told them that they had to pay for the damages but I was told that I could only claim for a 'mini-tort' and was told that it would only reimburse me for my deductible if it was unwaivable because Michigan is a No-Fault state and each driver is responsible to go back to their own insurance company. Is she right? Sorry, I am just wanting to learn more information since it's costing about $5000 to fix the damages

[ScottGem]

I found this site:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ci...gd_25094_7.pdf
Which had this to say.

“Mini-Tort” Limited Property Damage

Liability Insurance

Under Michigan law, if you are 50% or more

at-fault in an accident, you can be sued for
up to $500 in damages to another person's
car which are not covered by collision
insurance. Most companies offer this
coverage, which is sometimes called minitort
coverage.

But this doesn't deal with your situation where their insured was at fault. I think they are trying to snow you because this has nothing to do with no-fault.

I also found this site:
No Fault Guide

It does not list Collision as one of the benefits discussed that fall under no-fault.

So I would go back to her insurance company and ask to speak to a supervisor. Explain that you weren't hurt in the accident, nor do you intend to sue. All you want is for your car to be repaired. Since their insured was 100% at fault, you are expecting them to pay for those repairs.

If they still refuse, you will have to sue them.