I'm screwed. Whats going to happen?

Question

Well I let my younger brother drive my car along with my mother so they could go off to feed a friend's cats. There was a little accident. There was another car who was in the middle of the works that my brother was watching out for cuz who knows when he's going to pull out or do something stupid. He pulls in and this woman talking on a cell phone comes down the road, doesn't try to turn to avoid it (even though there's plenty of room) and doesnt use proper breaking and hits the bumper of my car.

I find this out and I had to go out of town today so I gave my mom my insurance card with the numbers on it to call it in. And they say 'Oh you don't have insurance with us', even though we recieved no notice of not having service and as far as I knew we had insurance.

Am I going to jail for not having insurance? I just don't know what to do or think, i feel sick.

Answer 1

What state are you in?  Insurance laws vary from state to state.

In my state it is against the law to drive your vehicle without proof of insurance on you.  Find your proof of insurance and take it to your insurance company- they should be able to sort things out a that point. There should be an expiration date printed on the proof of insurance.  The only reason you wouldn't be covered is if they weren't paid or you canceled (in which case you would have had money refunded to you).

If you don't have your proof of insurance, find the last check or credit card transaction you made to them and take that down and have them check their records.  If you don't have insurance, what are you paying for?

As far as the cell phone is concerned, if your state/city/county doesn't haven't a law regarding driving and talking on cell phones, then I don't think that's going to be all that relevant.  If it does have a law, perhaps you should get an attorney and make sure those phone records come up if she tries to sue you.  Find as many witnesses as you can that can testify what time of day it was.

I doubt you'll go to jail but if you don't have insurance I would expect that you're going to have to pay a fine and at the very least the deductible for the other motorist's insurance.

Answer 2

First, you need to get more  info to find out why you were told you had no insurance.  Why weren't you notified?  Was it for non-payment?, Was it simply cancelled?  Get this in writing.  After you find out if you were or were not insured you can better judge how to proceed.  If you were not covered, you will have to pay for any damage to the other car and if you had damage, to your own car if you want to have it fixed.  I don't know what state you are in but not all states require insurance (although most do) so cross your fingers that your state is one that doesn't require insurance.  If they do require insurance they may fine you but I don't think you will go to jail.

Answer 3

Relax-you aren't going to be thrown in jail for not having insurance. If your insurance is going to be canceled you almost always receive notification by mail and usually email if they have your email address on file. You didn't receive either of these? That seems strange to me. If the other parties car wasn't damaged you won't have to worry about covering any repairs for her.  Unfortunately you won't be able to submit yours to your insurance agency either.

Answer 4

they may be telling your mom this because she is not listed on your policy, it could be as simple as that. you will not go to jail for not having insurance. did you try and call?