Friend causes accident in my uninsured car

[RASinFlorida]

What is the name of your state? FL
A friend totals my car. I have no collision insurance. He does not want to claim the accident on his policy. Can I call his insurance company and file a claim on his collision policy? The police report documents that he was the driver.
PS. The friendship is over. He offered to pay me 1800 on a 5K bluebook.

 

[stephenk]

sure you can.

 

[azmother3]

If the police report states that he was the driver and he was at fault yes you can call the insurance company and make a claim

 

[RASinFlorida]

Thanks for the reply... Now I have to find out who his insurance company is.

 

[azmother3]

It should be listed on the policy report if he gave the officer his information like he was supposed to

 

[RASinFlorida]

Unfortunately, the only insurance listed is mine, the owner of the car. The one good thing is the report indicates a moving violation of careless driving, with the drivers name.

 

[62tbird]

I am curious to hear more on this thread.

If the ex-friend had insurance is that insurance company obligated to pay for the car that was totaled by their client?

If you got the plate number from a car this guy owns can this be used to track down his insurance company through the DMV?

I would contact the officer that did the police report and see if he can get the insurance company for you.

 

[lwpat]

"If the ex-friend had insurance is that insurance company obligated to pay for the car that was totaled by their client?"

It depends on the policy. Some policies will cover you regardless of the auto so the only way to know is to contact the company. I am not sure what the limit for small claims is in Florida. If it is 5000 then you can file in Small Claims which is fairly easy to do.

Contact the local magistrate and they can give you the forms and instructions on how to fill them out. However if you win in Small Claims and he had no coverage then all you have is a judgement. That is where the fun starts.

 

[RASinFlorida]

End to the saga

The verdict is in. I found out that the driver had insurance with State Farm. I called State Farm and said I would like to make a claim on one of their policyholders. I did not know the policy number, but I knew the name of the insured and their address. They were able to locate the policy. After they tried to tell me that Florida Law states that the insurance is with the car and not the driver. I informed them that I did not have insurance on the car, therefore the secondary coverage kicks in, which is the driver.

Case closed. State Farm sent me a check for $5900. The driver of the car was not happy that I made the claim on his policy. Too bad, he totaled my car, and didn't even offer to pay a fair share of the damage.

 

[HomeGuru]

So is he still a friend?

 

[RASinFlorida]

The friendship is over.

If he didn't want to go through his insurance, he should have been fair in his offer to help compensate. I would have been willing to compromise, but he said all he was willing to pay was $1800, and he said I was lucky to get that much. He said I should have had collision. My response to that is... He totaled my car. It was completely his fault. It was not a mechanical problem. He was the person who destroyed it. Hypothetically, If given the choice between claiming it on my insurance, or his insurance, I'd rather claim it on his anyway.

Wouldn't you feel guilty if you totaled your friends car and your friend had to claim it on his insurance and his rates go up because you totaled his car?

Who needs a friend like that anyway... Good Riddance!!!

 

[HomeGuru]

That's right.

 

[stephenk]

"Wouldn't you feel guilty if you totaled your friends car and your friend had to claim it on his insurance and his rates go up because you totaled his car?"

His rates would not go up in your example. His carrier would pay for the repairs then come after the driver to reimburse them. Since the policyholder was not at fault, his rates would not increase under an at-fault accident.