Hit by an uninsured driver

[waffleironhead]

Originally posted by: Spikesoldier
i suggest filing your own claim in small claims court. no need to hire a lawyer.

fix the car with your own money if possible. you can always recover a reimbursement of the repairs as a judgement of the court. if you (although highly improbable) lose the case, or are unable to collect, worst case is that you have a fixed car and are out just $200 net, with no boosted premiums.

considering the information provided that he is out of state, either the guy wont bother traveling to show, or wont hire a lawyer locally considering how bad the police report made him sound and the fact that he wasnt driving with insurance anyway. should be an open and shut case.

if this jackass is poor then its wage garnishment time.

tldr/cliffs: STICK IT TO THE MAN

P.S. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (it is the law.)

This is not true in wisconsin. Insurance is not required here.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead

Originally posted by: Spikesoldier

<P.S. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (it is the law.)

This is not true in wisconsin. Insurance is not required here.

You are ignorant:

Wisconsin's Financial Responsibility Law
Q. Is auto insurance mandatory in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin has a financial responsibility law. It is designed to make sure that any motorist licensed to drive in Wisconsin has insurance or enough money to pay for damages to others that may be caused by a motor vehicle. These requirements may be met through a motor vehicle liability insurance policy, a surety bond, personal funds, or certificate of self-insurance. Details are available at the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Hill Farms State Office Building, 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Madison, WI 53702.

Q. If I decide to satisfy the financial responsibility requirements of Wisconsin by buying auto insurance, what coverages are required in Wisconsin and what are the minimum limits I can purchase?

If you decide to satisfy the requirements of the Wisconsin Financial Responsibility Law by buying auto insurance, your policy must provide the following minimum liability coverage:

$25,000 for injury or death of one person;
$50,000 for injury or death of two or more people; and
$10,000 for property damage.
The law also requires uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000/$50,000 for bodily injury liability coverage only.

You may want to protect your assets by purchasing more coverage than what is provided in the minimum policy required in Wisconsin. Higher limits are available for an additional premium.

In many places you can get out of insurance if you can bond.

 

[Saijin]

Originally posted by: Spikesoldier
i suggest filing your own claim in small claims court. no need to hire a lawyer.

fix the car with your own money if possible. you can always recover a reimbursement of the repairs as a judgement of the court. if you (although highly improbable) lose the case, or are unable to collect, worst case is that you have a fixed car and are out just $200 net, with no boosted premiums.

considering the information provided that he is out of state, either the guy wont bother traveling to show, or wont hire a lawyer locally considering how bad the police report made him sound and the fact that he wasnt driving with insurance anyway. should be an open and shut case.

if this jackass is poor then its wage garnishment time.

tldr/cliffs: STICK IT TO THE MAN

P.S. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (it is the law.)

In that worst case scenario you talk about, wouldn't I be out $1000 for my deductible, and not just $200 net? The total cost to repair is $1200, my deductible is $1000. Also, the repair guy told me it would take roughly 3 days to fix, so for this period of time I'm either going to have to rent a car or beg for rides.

 

[alrocky]

Have you notified your insurance company yet and what did they say?

 

[Saijin]

Originally posted by: alrocky
Have you notified your insurance company yet and what did they say?

I did call, and I asked the guy who answered whether it would be worth it to file a claim since my deductible was so high. He answered in a way that made me think it might not be worth it, especially since the other driver is uninsured. I asked him directly what he would suggest I do, but of course he just gave me the expected canned answer that it was my decision. So I just decided to talk to a lawyer first before filing a claim. I don't think that my rates will go up if I file a claim since I wasn't at fault, but I'm not sure.

I was able to find the other driver's phone number, so I am going to give them a call tonight to see if we can work things out. If not, then I'll call a lawyer first thing tomorrow, and depending on what the lawyer says, I'll call my insurance company.

 

[waffleironhead]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: waffleironhead

Originally posted by: Spikesoldier

<<P.S. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (it is the law.)

This is not true in wisconsin. Insurance is not required here.

You are ignorant:

Wisconsin's Financial Responsibility Law
Q. Is auto insurance mandatory in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin has a financial responsibility law. It is designed to make sure that any motorist licensed to drive in Wisconsin has insurance or enough money to pay for damages to others that may be caused by a motor vehicle. These requirements may be met through a motor vehicle liability insurance policy, a surety bond, personal funds, or certificate of self-insurance. Details are available at the Department of Transportation, Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Hill Farms State Office Building, 4802 Sheboygan Ave., Madison, WI 53702.

Q. If I decide to satisfy the financial responsibility requirements of Wisconsin by buying auto insurance, what coverages are required in Wisconsin and what are the minimum limits I can purchase?

If you decide to satisfy the requirements of the Wisconsin Financial Responsibility Law by buying auto insurance, your policy must provide the following minimum liability coverage:

$25,000 for injury or death of one person;
$50,000 for injury or death of two or more people; and
$10,000 for property damage.
The law also requires uninsured motorist coverage of $25,000/$50,000 for bodily injury liability coverage only.

You may want to protect your assets by purchasing more coverage than what is provided in the minimum policy required in Wisconsin. Higher limits are available for an additional premium.

In many places you can get out of insurance if you can bond.

Ah. Guess I was ignorant. hmm, but insurance is still not required, just financial responsiblilty. wonders to self how "personal funds" requirement would work...

 

[Spikesoldier]

Originally posted by: Saijin

Originally posted by: Spikesoldier
i suggest filing your own claim in small claims court. no need to hire a lawyer.

fix the car with your own money if possible. you can always recover a reimbursement of the repairs as a judgement of the court. if you (although highly improbable) lose the case, or are unable to collect, worst case is that you have a fixed car and are out just $200 net, with no boosted premiums.

considering the information provided that he is out of state, either the guy wont bother traveling to show, or wont hire a lawyer locally considering how bad the police report made him sound and the fact that he wasnt driving with insurance anyway. should be an open and shut case.

if this jackass is poor then its wage garnishment time.

tldr/cliffs: STICK IT TO THE MAN

P.S. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (it is the law.)

In that worst case scenario you talk about, wouldn't I be out $1000 for my deductible, and not just $200 net? The total cost to repair is $1200, my deductible is $1000. Also, the repair guy told me it would take roughly 3 days to fix, so for this period of time I'm either going to have to rent a car or beg for rides.

$200 net, relative when you pay for it yourself ($1200) compared to paying a $1000 deductible on a $1200 claim. i should have been more specific. my definition of worst case here is that you got your car fixed and got on with your life.

insurance route:
$1200 payment
-$1000 deductible
----------------
$200 check to you applied to a $1200 bill = ($1000)


pay out of pocket route:
$1200 payment
--------------------
($1200)


($1000) - ($1200) = $200

 

[Spikesoldier]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead

Originally posted by: Spikesoldier
i suggest filing your own claim in small claims court. no need to hire a lawyer.

fix the car with your own money if possible. you can always recover a reimbursement of the repairs as a judgement of the court. if you (although highly improbable) lose the case, or are unable to collect, worst case is that you have a fixed car and are out just $200 net, with no boosted premiums.

considering the information provided that he is out of state, either the guy wont bother traveling to show, or wont hire a lawyer locally considering how bad the police report made him sound and the fact that he wasnt driving with insurance anyway. should be an open and shut case.

if this jackass is poor then its wage garnishment time.

tldr/cliffs: STICK IT TO THE MAN

<P.S. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE TO DRIVE WITHOUT FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (it is the law.)

This is not true in wisconsin. Insurance is not required here.

i try to choose my words carefully, but sometimes my precautions fail

 

[Spikesoldier]

Originally posted by: Saijin

Originally posted by: alrocky
Have you notified your insurance company yet and what did they say?

I did call, and I asked the guy who answered whether it would be worth it to file a claim since my deductible was so high. He answered in a way that made me think it might not be worth it, especially since the other driver is uninsured. I asked him directly what he would suggest I do, but of course he just gave me the expected canned answer that it was my decision. So I just decided to talk to a lawyer first before filing a claim. I don't think that my rates will go up if I file a claim since I wasn't at fault, but I'm not sure.

I was able to find the other driver's phone number, so I am going to give them a call tonight to see if we can work things out. If not, then I'll call a lawyer first thing tomorrow, and depending on what the lawyer says, I'll call my insurance company.

btw, how many other accidents have you claimed that you were not at fault in? if this is your first one, your rates might not rise as much as you think, or they might not rise at all. $1200 is a below average cost for an accident as well, so who knows how your insurance company will compute this factor in determining your next period's premiums.

like the rep on the phone said, it is ultimately your decision and you should know your disposition and record more than anyone. take a minute to formulate your decision, but dont accept having a broke or raggedy-ass car. this is one of the reasons you have insurance. make a decision, get it fixed.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: dud
Why do you have a $1,000 deductible? That pretty much defeats the purpose of having insurance in the first place.

Young? Insurance premiums through-the-roof?

Why would anyone pay more than they had to for insurance? Insurance is to guard against catastrophic problems that would bankrupt you otherwise. If you can afford to spend $1,000 on a repair, you are better off in the long run to do that yourself than to file a claim because it will cost you more than $1,000 in premium increases before it gets taken off your insurance record.

Both of my cars carry high deductibles. In the long term, I save money that way.

ZV

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: waffleironhead
Ah. Guess I was ignorant. hmm, but insurance is still not required, just financial responsiblilty. wonders to self how "personal funds" requirement would work...

Simple you post a bond with the state usually, the state has outlines to what is required.