If I am found to not be at fault in an accident, do I still have to pay the insurance deductable?

Question

okay, so the light turned yellow, the other guy was pretty far back and looked to be slowing, so I began to turned left, and as I did he didn't stop and tboned my car. I know that usually the person making the left, me, is at fault, but should the other person be at fault (keep in mind he has no license and no insurance)...

1. will I still have to pay the deductable if he is at fault?

2. Does the fact that he is unlicensed give me more credibilty?

FYI, the report is to be finalized by Tuesday.

Answer 1

If he refuses to pay the deductible, you'll be forced to take him to small claims court to get it.

Answer 2

He is liable for you damages. If you choose to pay for your repairs through your insurance, and thus incur a deductible, then he is liable to reimburse you for it.

Keep in mind that who is at fault can be subjective. He may not agree.

Good luck.

Answer 3

First, remember, who the police find at fault and who the insurance companies find at fault are two separate things.  

If the insurance companies involved find the other driver 100% at fault in the crash, then repairs will be handled through their insurance and you will not have any deductible.  If there is any portion of your claim that is not covered by the other driver's insurance and you use your policy to make up the difference, then you will likely have to pay the deductible (and it could cause your insurance to go up since you made a claim).  

Now, since the other party does not have insurance, you pretty much have no choice but to claim it on your insurance, which you will very very likely have to pay the deductible.  

Yes, typically if the other driver is unlicensed or on a suspended license it adds some degree of fault to them.  However, in this case, you made a left turn in front of him (violation of right-of-way), on a yellow (not good), which may very well shift most, if not all, fault to you.  Just because the other person is unlicensed, you don't automatically get a legal right to violate traffic law and not be found at fault.  

Frankly, this almost sounds like it will be a 50%-50% finding and you will only have to cover your damages.

Answer 4

You will only pay the deductible if your insurance has to pay off the accident, your car or his car.  If you do not want to pay a deductible in any case call your company and change the plan you have, it will raise the premium but not cost you money when this stuff happens.

If he/she does not have insurance and he is found at fault by the insurance company, and yours still has to pay it off, then you can take him to court and sue him for all damages you have incurred, including your deductible among other things.  

But to sum it up you have to pay the deductible if your insurance company is the only one left to pay for your vehicle.  Him being unlicensed gives you credibility in court when you sue him.

Answer 5

Yes, you still have to pay the deductible, even if found not to be at fault. (From the facts you gave, not real likely.) If you were not at fault, then you could sue him for it, but that might not be worth the trouble.