[likelaw]

I was hit by a teen driver driving his mothers car. He gave me his parents insurance information and I filed a claim with my insurance on the spot. I have liability so his parents insurance was taking care of it. The following week the other parties insurance called me and scheduled an appraisal. I went in and got an estimate which was $1800. I spent 3 weeks trying to find out the next steps but never got a call back. I finally called the main line, and someone emailed the rep handling my claim. He finally called me back and told me they can't do anything because the policy holder cancelled their policy. That they were not insured at the time of the accident. Based on what I wrote down I thought they were insured. So I called the guy that hit me and he did not answer. I sent a text message saying I need his current insurance info, or we can settle outside insurance, or I will be seeing attorney as it is illegal to drive in Maryland without insurance. I got a call from his mother immediately who claimed to know nothing about the accident until that moment. She ask how much the estimate is and said she doesn't have that money but can pay me $500.

My question is do I go for the mother or the insurance company? Should they have started a claim if they no longer had coverage? They have the policy number that is something they could have seen when setting up the claim initially. Any advice would help. If I went after the insurance company with an attorney would I only get the $1800 estimate or more?

[likelaw]

Okie, thanks

[ebaines]

I would recommend working this through your own insurance company - that's what you pay them for. Since the accident was not your fault, your own insurance company will (a) pay for your car to be repaired (less the deductible), then (b) go after the oter person's insurance company for reimbursement. Once they are reimbursed they refund your deductible, so you come out whole. And because it's not your fault and your own insurance company gets fully reimbursed, your rates should not go up.

If you want to do this yourself, and the other party does not have insurance, then you will have to either negotiate a payment from the mother, or file a law suit against them to recover your damages.

[likelaw]

I only have liability with my insurance, not full coverage. So, would they still pay? Maybe through an uninsured motorist claim?

[ballengerb1]

Liability I understand but do you have uninsured motorist coverage, you do not need comp

[ScottGem]

First please don't use the Comments feature for follow-up, use the Answer options instead.

If you have uninsured motorist coverage, that may cover your repairs. If not, you will have to sue the mother. You should also ask the rep you dealt with for proof that the insurance was canceled. Its certainly possible that it was canceled but claims was not informed at the time.