PLEASE HELP!! Am I the "at fault driver"? Should I pay for the loss?

Question

I was driving a vehicle with no insurance because my vehicle had some mechanic problems, I was parked and when I backed up to get out, other car crashed on my rear left side, we were on a parking lot and he was driving in the middle of the street, not respecting the 2 way lines. The actual accident wasn't serious, My vehicle is OK but his had front left light broken. We exchange info and I gave him my other car insurance policy #, but since I had nothing to repare I didn't do the claim. Now I got a bill for $4200 !!! and 10 days to pay it before going to collection! What can I do to contest? Should I contact his insurance? Should I contact the other person and ask how much his repare was (I'm pretty sure no more than $600). Should I call my insurance and tell them that they need to cover this car since my other car was broken at the moment?It happened in CA, his insurance is AAA (I'm AAA member, this can help me with something?)Please help!!

Answer 1

Just call your insurance company, they can view your policy and give you better advise than we can.  

Assuming that the insurance you had on your non-working vehicle was still in force, that liability coverage should protect you in the borrowed vehicle.  However, sometimes if you're borrowing a vehicle for an extended period of time, you have to purchase an additional coverage to extend your liability.  For example, with the company I work for, your insurance will protect you in any vehicle you drive, if you don't own it or insure it.  However, if you have possession of the vehicle for more than 21 consecutive days, you have to purchase an additional coverage for the liability to extend.

If you own this extra vehicle (and didn't just recently purchase it) and you don't have insurance on it, then you were driving illegally and the insurance company will not cover it.  That would be your own fault for driving your own car without insurance.  If the vehicle is newly acquired (bought within the last couple of weeks) then your insurance company will probably extend coverage to it, but you'll still need to put insurance on it.

Your agent or company should be able to tell you what options you have.  You will likely be able to put in a liability claim on your own auto insurance and not have to pay any of that $4,200 out of pocket.

Edit:

A few more things.  I don't think that California is a no-fault state, so that's not applicable.

If you don't have any insurance, the other person's auto insurance may repair their vehicle under collision (or even uninsured motorist coverage) but they still have the right to request that you reimburse them for their costs if you're at fault.  Why should they have to take the loss because you were driving illegally?  They have every right to bill you.

So if you're at fault, hopefully your liability will cover you, if not you are responsible for the damages and you'll have to pay out of pocket even if the other driver has already gotten their car repaired by their insurance company.

Answer 2

he may be scamming you - is California a no fault state? in Penna - part of our insurance covers uninsured drivers.- you should have called the police at the time of the accident and gotten a police report to protect yourself

Answer 3

is the car you were driving yours?  have you just purchased it or have you owned it for more than 30 days?  is it a rental or a friends car?  if you own it and have for some time, it will not have coverage on your "other cars policy".  if you just purchased it you should have coverage from your in force policy.  if it is a rental, you should also have coverage from your in force policy.  if it is borrowed from someone, THEIR insurance will cover it.  if there is no coverage, YOU are responsible to pay the damages.

Answer 4

You were driving without insurance which is illegal. This alone automatically makes YOU the "at fault" driver. ...so you better be ready to pay up or go to court.

Answer 5

Report it to your insurance co.  Your policy will cover temporary replacement vehicles you do not own.