Why am I responsible in accident if I had liability insurance and other person had insurance?

Question

This is what happened: I was on the fwy and there was this auto I noticed swerving in and out of traffic (weaving) without using the signal light/blinker.

At one point he swerved into my lane and of course we both collided. I only got a scratch on my car, he did as well.

I pulled over and tried to give him info, he was too busy on his cell phone (he was on the shoulder as well). I decided to leave after giving him my info. I did not obtain his (he was on cell) but I had his info (lic plates #). I heard him say something like it was a hit and run to someone on the phone (I had liability insurance at the point, no need to "run".)

My insurance denied coverage for his auto because I had no "Uninsured Motorist Coverage". But HE was the one that caused accident. My insurance should pay for his car even though not my fault? SINCE I am the one getting collection letters and they are threatening to suspend my Driver's License cuz no ins-I was insured!. What can I do? Advice? Suit?

Answer 1

i don't know about your state, but in mine it is illegal to drive without uninsured motorists insurance, in which case they may look at it as your fault because you shouldn't have even been on the road in the first place.

Answer 2

Obtain proof that shows you had insurance on the date of the accident and the ticket should be dropped.  It is illegal to leave the scene of an accident if you were involved, that is classified as a hit and run.  Someone should have reported the accident and had an officer go to the scene.  If you do not have his insurance info, there is no proof, so he would be classified as having no insurance in which you could sue because he caused the accident by wreckless driving.  However, because you do not mention if an officer was present or not, I cannot say how difficult the case will be.

Answer 3

The TYPE of auto insurance you may or may not have is not what determines fault.  Fault is determined by the police and/or insurance companies.  I fail to see why you not having uninsured coverage has anything to do with this.  Usually, uninsured coverage is only for medical payments and never will cover auto damages anyway.   In this case, your insurance should pay for the repairs to his car (but not yours) if it was your fault.  If it was his fault, his insurance should pay for your car.  Since you only had liability, your insurance company is not going to help you much.  You should have called the police.  You should have had collision coverage.  Then your car would have been fixed with no problems.  You need to speak again, with your insurance company and get their denial in writing.  Then show that to a lawyer

Answer 4

Gotta hate this kind of stuff happening. My sympathies.

Look in the yellow pages and find an attorney who specializes in auto accidents. Most will see you briefly for free. That would be my next step in your position. You don't want to lose your DL or have your credit ruined - but you need an expert in your state to address these issues.

Don't put this off. You have to be proactive and protect your name and credit in these situations

Good luck.

Answer 5

How do you know he was to blame - is that what the police report said?

If there's no police report then it sounds as if you're in trouble - it's your word against his.  

GL

Although after having read some of the responses I agree with Wolf

Answer 6

Make use of google to collect some related links or you could try to use answer engines like yahoo answer or answer.com to get some related answers.nonetheless,If you like some direct resource,here is a good resource from my own experience.http://car-insurance.easyideas4u.info/ca...

Answer 7

You start by showing that you had insurance at the time of the accident, which will stop the threats to pull your license.

You should have called the police at the time of the accident, then you would have his information and a police report, but since you didn't do that you have no choice but to ask your insurance for help in contacting his insurance so you can file a claim against him for your damage.

Answer 8

How long ago was this?

Who are you getting collection letters from?

Have you called your insurance company?

Have you called the police?

Answer 9

The wording of your question suggests that you have Liability coverage. I can't figure out if you have Collision coverage. You say your Insurance company they won't repair your vehicle since you don't have Uninsured Motorist coverage. Uninsured motorist coverage applies when the other party does not have insurance. Your only course of action (if you don't have Collision coverage), is to take the other driver to Small Claims Court. If you need more help on this, send me an email.

Answer 10

This guy behaved totally inappropriately.  He drove like a drunk, was obviously on his cell while he was driving, continued on his cell when he should have been talking to you, failed to give you his insurnace info, and accused you of a hit-n-run while you were STANDING THERE.

If somebody behaves even slightly inappropriately at an accident, just automatically call the cops. You have every right to demand that he sit there and wait for the cops, that is the official way accidents get resolved.  If there are not injuries, it's legal for the drivers to just swap insurance info and go, but only if both agree to it.  Only agree if you're a nice guy, and he's a nice guy too.  Never let yourself get manipulated into it, if you have ANY doubt, call the cops and wait.

It's obvious this guy is a manipulative liar, maybe even so psychotic that he believes his own lies.  Yes, he is saying many lies about you, and accusing you of crimes you're not guilty of.  Most likely he's guessed you're a naive kid he can scare and manipulate through the system.  Stand up for your rights!

Chances are the guy DOES have insurance and is merely trying to play you so he can avoid a point on his record.   You absolutely need to file a police report on this one, he committed a crime, leaving the scene of an accident.  He (not you) did a hit and run.  If he really doesn't have insurance he committed a second crime.  

You also need to work with your insurance agent (he's supposed to be on your side, demand that he be on your side.)

You didn't do anything wrong LEGALLY but you made two errors that would have saved you a lot of hassle.

#1 swapping insurance and not waiting for cops only works with normal civilized people.  Given this guy was a wack job from the get, the far smarter thing would have been to call for police and wait for them.   The fact that he didn't give insurance, you should have stayed right there and called cops and waited even if he drove off.

#2 If you knew in advance this guy was driving wacky, WHY'D YOU GET NEAR HIM?  Back away from drivers like that, give them enough space they can't hit you.  Come on, don't leave everything to your guardian angel.  Sometimes they're off at Starbucks getting a latte.