I had this happen to me in my wife's 08 Sebring vert a year ago. The guy had no insurance AND a suspended license To make things worse this Jack *** decided to run from me. Well, needless to say I caught him and got the FHP to get him. They only ticketed him. He gave phony insurance information to the trooper, so when I filed the claim it came about he didn't have insurance. I could've killed this guy...... Anyway, over time I got my deductible back and Gieco sued his punk ***. (Sorry Moderators, I still get livid about this) No arrests, I still don't know what happened to this guy..... Car was fixed easily we had non-insured motorist coverage. My premiums did go up $55 a month though.... I'm sorry about your ride. I can feel your pain.

 

Warped were you able to recoup the loss of value on your car from your incurance company?

 

Nope..... I got a total of like $500 after everything was settled. I did get rid of the car last year for $14000 cash, though. The bluebook value was 16.5k. I hated that car anyway. Hence the G37. Gieco got the most of the money from the suit.

 

I used to live in FL and this doesnt surprise me. I couldnt believe what people try to get away with. If that guy had a suspended license, he should have been arrested. Why would FHP let him go?
I was rear ended one night while trying to slow at an intersection where a major accident just occurred. A chick was drunk and T-boned another car, which let to my accident.

 

No fault insurance basically means whether the other party has insurance or not your car gets fixed by your insurance company. If you're not at fault you don't have to pay your deductible. Also in most states you can't sue your own insurance company/policy for diminished value

 

Yeah I would imagine I'd have to take the other driver to small claims court which maxs out at $5000 in my state

 

If you want more than $5K then sue him in regular court...

 

FHP is worthless. I work for a local government and have a few police friends and each one of them told me that the guy should have got "the ride". Especially when it came to light the jerk had given false insurance info. (He tried to reinstate his policy with Gieco about 40 minutes after the accident) So is life. I figured it wasn't worth sueing his *** since if he didn't have a license or insurance he propably wouldn't have anything else. It would have cost me more then him in the long run.

 

Sorry man. I've been there over and over again. Good you are not hurt bad.
Forgive me if I'm not telling you anything new... I pay an extra premium just for when Uninsured / Under-insured flakes hit me. UM coverage isn't standard in all policies / states and the amount of coverage can be too little if you don't check. My coverage paid out last year... Good thing I had it. If you get injured, and the "person" hitting you didn't care enough to be financially responsible for his own negligence, he has no assets, and probably never will, then you'll need big bucks to pay medical etc. and you'll probably need them *now* not when the case settles in two or three years. UM can be really helpful there.
In *SOME* states, you can get "DV" diminished value compensation and it can be a good chunk of change. In California, I believe you can collect only as a third party, not under your own UM coverage. (Based on my opinions, no lawyer here.)
If you total the car you might do better, some states have good protection if the car is totaled. A tip that might work for you, in some states... the at fault owes you LOSS OF USE, not what it costs to rent a Pinto. So, if you wind up driving your other car or rent a wreck, they still owe you for the rental value of the G (!) for every day you couldn't drive it. (Again, I'm no lawyer, your mileage may vary, seek specialize council of your own...) Any how, I hope it all goes good for you.
All the best,
Boomer

 

Then Ill need a lawyer. I figured loss in value for a vehicle with one accident would be about that much. If I findout from research after the vehicle is fixed its way more than that I will certainly take him to real court. Unfortunately then I will loose a % to the lawyer.

 

dholmblad;

Have you checked your coverage? If you have any under / uninsured coverage, won't your insurance company pay you and surrogate? The DV might have to be a separate subject, small claims? Lawyers can take a total of more than half by the time you're done.

 

Yeah at this point the only thing I am worried about is the DV. The vehicle has been dropped off at an autobody shop and is going to be repaired on my insurance dime under uninsured motorist coverage.

 

Small claims sounds like an option for the DV part. But, you still have to collect the $. Have you checked out the registered owner of the vehicle? Could be they could respond to a judgement or even pay on demand?

 

How would the police know he's uninsured and let him go? Jersey doesn't play with that kind of ****...

 

They didn't know he was you insured. I only found out there was a problem with the policy later from geico