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false insurance info & false accident report

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djk4jsk

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arizona

My adult son is a grad student in Tempe. He was involved in an accident and believes his car was totaled. The other driver was given a ticket and my son was not deemed to be at fault. At the scene of the accident, the other driver gave his father's phone number for the owner of the vehicle and said that he needed to get the insurance information from him.

When nothing happened, my son called the father who said he didn't own the car. The other driver called my son and told him that it was now a "civil matter" and to stop harassing his family.

My son reported the accident to his insurance company who doesn't seem inclined to do anything.

My son is also under the impression that the other driver has 30 days to provide the insurance information for the accident report.

My son's 9 year old car was not covered by collision. He has also already incurred about $500 in rental car expenses.

So the questions are:
1. How can my son find out the insurance information for the other driver?
2. Would the police care about the filing of a false accident report (that is lying about the insurance)?
3. Presumably, the other driver's insurance company has not been notified about the accident. How can my son make that happen?
4. Is there any chance of recovering expenses for car rental?
5. Is there any way for him to make this move forward?
6. Are there other questions I should be asking?

Thanks in advance.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
 


ecmst12

Senior Member
If a police report was written, the insurance information should be there. If not, he can ask his insurance company to help find the other person's insurance information. If they can't help, he can sue the other driver for the value of his vehicle in small claims court. That will certainly get his attention and if he has insurance, he should get them involved at that point.
 

djk4jsk

Junior Member
Thanks for the quick reply.

At the scene, the other driver said that he didn't have the insurance information because it was his father's car (which the father denies).

His insurance company is being completely unresponsive and has told him that he needs to talk to the other insurance company. But he's still trying to get his insurance company to find out who the owner and other insurance company are.

He called this morning to ask about how one finds a lawyer and was also thinking about small claims court. Unfortunately, he said that small claims court has a $2500 limit and the blue book value of his car is $4400.

From your reply, I gather that you believe that his insurance company should be helping him.

Thanks again.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
His insurance may or may not be able to help, it depends on what resources they have available and that varies by state. The police may also be able to help get the right info.
 

djk4jsk

Junior Member
thought i'd update everyone

My son's insurance company ran the plate number and found that there was no such plate in the system. So my son called the police and asked if there was any way to find out the car's owner and whether they had insurance. The police suggested that he call the court and ask. When he called the court and explained the situation, he was told that the father was the owner and given the name and contact information of the insurance company (as of 1/30). Then, my son called the insurance company and was told that no accident had been reported. So my son is sending them the accident report. At this point, he's hoping for a relatively quick resolution.

Thanks for the help.
 

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