# got into car accident in car with no insurance? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2014, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347 "2014-08-24T03:42:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Ex\_Bubblehead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ex_bubblehead/32/3397_2.png) [@Ex\_Bubblehead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ex_Bubblehead)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/21 "2014-08-24T15:20:44Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Doesn’t California suspend or cancel one’s driver license for driving an uninsured vehicle? Not the license, the registration. In California all insurance companies are required to report to DMV (electronically) any policy that lapses or is cancelled, as well as any policy that is started. The vehicle’s registration is placed in suspension upon receipt of a report of lapse or cancellation and remains in that state until a report of new coverage is received (or other proof thereof). ---
**Author:** ![sweepkick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@sweepkick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweepkick)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/22 "2014-08-24T15:29:57Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > They used to do this thing where they would set up roadblocks and check everyones insurance and title but that became too un-PC because they were finding all these illegal aliens and had to stop them. :rolleyes: Yeah… ok. That must have been it. ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/23 "2014-08-24T16:02:49Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Doesn’t California suspend or cancel one’s driver license for driving an uninsured vehicle? The OP likely lucked out when it comes to the legal consequences for driving an uninsured/unregistered vehicle. If the police had showed up on scene he’d have been given a citation for driving an unregistered vehicle and they would have taken the car to impound until proof of insurance/registration could be provided and sent the OP home on foot. Since the police did not catch the OP in the act they aren’t going to bother or can’t chase him down for a citation. At this point it’s entirely a civil matter. The OP or his insurance needs to cover the cost of any damage or injury caused by his negligence. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/24 "2014-08-24T16:27:54Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > In the UK, insurance is compulsory and the penalty severe (they take your car and crush it if you don’t pay all the fines, towing and storage charges). They crush it? Wouldn’t it make better sense financially and environmentally to sell it? ---
**Author:** ![Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emtar_KronJonDerSohn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/25 "2014-08-24T16:45:04Z")
> [@brickbacon](#): > > The only leverage he has is that the damage to her vehicle will be subject to coverage only beyond her deductible. If it is indeed minor damage, she might end up paying most of it out of pocket if she has a standard $500 deductible. So while I agree with your advice, he does have a little room to negotiate, especially if he suspects she will not use his payment to actually fix her car. That’s not true. The op states they rear ended the other driver, making the op 100% at fault. The other driver has no agreement with the OP for “coverage” or any kind of deductible. If the other driver takes her car to her own insurance and says “here’s what happened, give me a rental and fix it” she will initially pay her deductible to her insurance company, but will receive a full refund when her insurance company collects from the responsible party (the op). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/26 "2014-08-24T17:12:46Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > > [@bob\_2](#): > > > > In the UK, insurance is compulsory and the penalty severe (they take your car and crush it if you don’t pay all the fines, towing and storage charges). > > They crush it? Wouldn’t it make better sense financially and environmentally to sell it? My guess is that these are cars that aren’t worth it for the owner to pay the fines, towing and storage charges. And the authorities aren’t going to be able to sell them for anything much. So the authorities crush them instead. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/27 "2014-08-24T17:23:23Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > About 8 years ago a guy ran into me who was driving a borrowed car. When the cars owner found out he grabbed the insurance card out of the car and refused to give out his insurance information. Well the driver then got stuck. He had to pay a fine for having no insurance and he got struck with my repair bill. Sounds like he was BS’ing you. If you had the license plate number, any cop or DMV office could locate the Insurance Company for you – probably, there was no insurance at all. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/28 "2014-08-24T17:26:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > My guess is that these are cars that aren’t worth it for the owner to pay the fines, towing and storage charges. And the authorities aren’t going to be able to sell them for anything much. So the authorities crush them instead. They don’t have auctions on your side of the pond? That’s what would happen to a vehicle in that situation in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/29 "2014-08-24T17:43:22Z")
I don’t know which side of the pond you’re on, but I’m in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/30 "2014-08-24T18:17:23Z")
Legal advice is best suited to IMHO. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![brickbacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/898d66/32.png) [@brickbacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brickbacon)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/31 "2014-08-24T22:31:46Z")
> [@Emtar\_KronJonDerSohn](#): > > That’s not true. The op states they rear ended the other driver, making the op 100% at fault. The other driver has no agreement with the OP for “coverage” or any kind of deductible. > > If the other driver takes her car to her own insurance and says “here’s what happened, give me a rental and fix it” she will initially pay her deductible to her insurance company, but will receive a full refund when her insurance company collects from the responsible party (the op). Correct. I should have been clearer. My point was that if he is essentially judgement proof, or doesn’t cop to the being at fault, or cannot be found, she would be stuck paying. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/32 "2014-08-24T23:07:12Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > Sounds like he was BS’ing you. > If you had the license plate number, any cop or DMV office could locate the Insurance Company for you – probably, there was no insurance at all. I did that. Took him to court and everything. I won a ruling in the case but the guy I hit, who didnt have isurance, was on disability so I couldnt get any money from him. Thing is I couldnt find the cars owner because he lived in Missouri and I live in Kansas and the guy was a greasy, sneaky, bastard with multiple addresses and I couldnt nail him down to get his real address. I tried his place of business listed but even that was wrong and since he lived in another state our local law enforcement couldnt get at him easily. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2014, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/33 "2014-08-24T23:46:06Z")
> [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](#): > > They crush it? Wouldn’t it make better sense financially and environmentally to sell it? There is that. That could happen. But when the accusation would be that the police siezed the vehicle in order to make a profit. The police know all the procedures, rules, dates … and people… and orchestrate the auction so that the police then go to the auction to buy the vehicle cheap… So when governments sieze/confiscate vehicles they usually destroy them … so as to make it clear its not a profit making exercise. But specifically in the UK the excercise may be to prevent low value vehicles being driven by people who can’t even afford insurance… in that case its an excercise aimed to put the vehicle off the road… not straight back into the ownership of another person who can’t afford a better vehicle or its insurance. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/34 "2014-08-25T02:54:49Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > It’s not your fault that your friend doesn’t have insurance, but it is your fault that you didn’t ask him to check, before borrowing his car. No, it isn’t. In the dynamics of lending a car, the assumption of insurance is part and parcel of the deal. (or else, the fact of no insurance should be made known by the owner. It is a crime to lend a vehicle without there being insurance, in my state.) Asking a friend to check for his own insurance is like asking the friend if the car has an engine or a transmission. Also, had OP asked the friend, and the friend checked, it would be the OP’s fault if he didn’t ask the owner to call the insurance company to make sure it was up to date; then, having the friend call the Insurance Commission to make sure that the Insurance Co. was licensed in this state. You’re putting too much responsibility on the OP, when it doesn’t belong there. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/35 "2014-08-25T04:25:58Z")
There was a deal by us where someone rented a car and then took that car out and had an accident. The person didnt have insurance and the car rental company refused to pay saying it was the drivers fault. I’m not sure how that one ended. ---
**Author:** ![Amberlei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Amberlei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amberlei)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/36 "2014-08-25T05:00:06Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > You’re putting too much responsibility on the OP, when it doesn’t belong there. It does belong with the OP though. While the owner is at fault for not having insurance, the OP is also at fault for not being aware of this. If she’d been pulled over and gotten a ticket for no insurance, it would have been her paying the penalty, not the owner. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/37 "2014-08-25T06:26:31Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Doesn’t California suspend or cancel one’s driver license for driving an uninsured vehicle? They DO receive notification from an insurance company when the insurance policy is allowed to lapse… They then contact the owner and notify him that the registration on the vehicle will be suspended, absent proof that another policy has been bought. And yearly re-registration IS contingent upon the ability to show that a policy is in force. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/38 "2014-08-25T12:29:55Z")
> [@Amberlei](#): > > > [@handsomeharry](#): > > > > You’re putting too much responsibility on the OP, when it doesn’t belong there. > > It does belong with the OP though. While the owner is at fault for not having insurance, the OP is also at fault for not being aware of this. If she’d been pulled over and gotten a ticket for no insurance, it would have been her paying the penalty, not the owner. I’m with **handsomeharry** on this. Whether I ask someone to borrow their car, or they offer to let me borrow their car, it would never occur to me to ask or check if the car is insured. I’d expect them to say something like, “You _can_ borrow the car, but you should be aware that it’s currently uninsured.” ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/39 "2014-08-25T13:31:44Z")
I’d think the OP’s friend may be in some trouble for not having at least liability insurance for situations just like this; at least here in Texas, it’s mandatory for all vehicle owners. But, I’m pretty sure that if push came to shove in court, the OP would be on the hook for the damage to both the car he was driving and the other car in the accident. Which, children, is why you either carry your own insurance (what most people with cars do), or make sure your friend has some. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347/40 "2014-08-25T20:34:40Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’d think the OP’s friend may be in some trouble for not having at least liability insurance for situations just like this; at least here in Texas, it’s mandatory for all vehicle owners. It’s required here in Minnesota, too. But about 25-30% of the cars on the road don’t have any, despite the law. And they are usually people who it’s real hard to collect damages from, too. That’s why a much better system would be an _Insurance-at-the-Pump_ system, where xxcents is asdded to the price of each gallon of gas purchased, to pay for a basic-level liability insurance coverage for every car on the road. Drivers would still have to purchase their own insurance for higher liability coverage, and for collision coverage, etc. But every car that uses gas would have at least some liability insurance. (We could probably pay for a chunck of this by the reduction in time that police spend looking for and ticketing uninsured drivers. But, of course, the big insurance companies are greatly opposed to this – would cut into their profits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/got-into-car-accident-in-car-with-no-insurance/696347.md?page=3)