Not At Fault Accident-Lapsed Insurance being paid w/in minutes of accident happening

[Zigner]

Well "I" guess it is b/c "I" have 5 children to feed and "I" was doing the best "I" could in an un-ideal situation. This is not a sitation of blatantly outright choosing not to carry insurance. I've had this policy for a while just didn't have the money in time to pay it, so please don't pass judgement on me. I'm a hardworking mom to 5 kids who is just trying to get by the best way I know how in this horrible economy.

That is an untrue statement.

 

[ecmst12]

Reinstatement is ONLY retroactive if there was not an accident during the lapse period. Once you have an accident, all bets are off. Because they know full well that had there not been an accident, you probably wouldn't have reinstated the policy.

 

[bruceleejr]

I would check with your company's official written policies. You should have it when they issue it or you can request a new one. If the policy doesn't answer it then ask someone for something written.
Then worry about the law if there policy doesn't cover you.

 

[ecmst12]

I also agree with Zigner. The fact that your coverage lapsed may have been an accident or an oversight. But you KNEW it was not in force when you got behind the wheel that day, and you BLATANTLY chose to do it anyway. No blaming anyone else for that choice, and no justifying it either. You made a choice and now you have to live with the consequences.

 

[Antigone*]

Well "I" guess it is b/c "I" have 5 children to feed and "I" was doing the best "I" could in an un-ideal situation. This is not a sitation of blatantly outright choosing not to carry insurance. I've had this policy for a while just didn't have the money in time to pay it, so please don't pass judgement on me. I'm a hardworking mom to 5 kids who is just trying to get by the best way I know how in this horrible economy.

Taking public transportation or asking for rides would have been the responsible thing to do. The "best way" you can really lends to your character.

I'm sure this "best way you can" is also going to be the most expensive because I can tell you right now if there is any doubt in the insurance company's mind that this accident happen prior to your having coverage, they will lean on the side that you did NOT have coverage.

Your decision in this horrible economy to gamble with the system was a bad one.

 

[dboismama]

Taking public transportation or asking for rides would have been the responsible thing to do. The "best way" you can really lends to your character.

I'm sure this "best way you can" is also going to be the most expensive because I can tell you right now if there is any doubt in the insurance company's mind that this accident happen prior to your having coverage, they will lean on the side that you did NOT have coverage..

I live in a rural area that does not have public transportation and I explained earlier that I also live in an area far from family and have only one "friend" in this area who is also a "one vehicle" family. Her husband drops her off at work then heads to his job, so there is no one to "ask for rides". I do not work at a big company. I work privately in people's homes and different locations day to day so there was no one to ask a ride from. Not that that all makes it OK, just explaining that sometimes things are not as "cut and dry" as you all make it sound. My character has absolutely nothing to do with it. Also if you check my other posts you will notice that I moved to this rural area away from family and friends to be closer to my DS who I share custody of. (What does that say about my character?) I'm not a bad person. I just was in a bad situation. I suppose the next suggestion would have been my husband and I could have sat at home and lost our jobs because we didn't have the money to pay the insurance and then gone to the welfare office and asked the taxpayers pay for our family to eat? Would that have been a better choice? My husband and I are hardworking people who are suffering from a bad economy, health issues with ourselves and our children and trying very hard to keep our heads above water, so you cannot speak to my character b/c I didn't have enough money to pay my car insurance and paid it as soon as I did have the money. What pray tell does that say about my character? I would love for you to elaborate?

Your decision in this horrible economy to gamble with the system was a bad one.

However, that being said I do not disagree with this statement at all. I am going to have to pay for this God awful mistake and unfortunately it is probably going to force me and my husband to have to file bankruptcy when it is all said and done. I suppose you'll say I deserve it and not sure yet if I agree with you on that assessment or not.

 

[ecmst12]

Sounds to me like in this case you could have waited a few minutes to leave the house so you could have paid the bill before driving.

 

[dboismama]

Sounds to me like in this case you could have waited a few minutes to leave the house so you could have paid the bill before driving.

Again, I don't disagree!!! Unfortunately I trusted that my husband would do what I asked him to do when I asked him to do it. I don't know if I will forgive him for not picking up the phone and paying it when I asked him to!! I'll be dealing with long term physical therapy for my injuries and my job won't even let me come back to work (not that I have a car to get there) until I get a release for full duty as I have weakness in my arm and hand and they state it's a "safety issue" for me to work with the weakness.

 

[JustAPal00]

It all boils down to the time. If your husband called after the wreck you're toast. My bet as was mentioned before will be the time of the payment vs the time of the 911 call.

 

[dboismama]

It all boils down to the time. If your husband called after the wreck you're toast. My bet as was mentioned before will be the time of the payment vs the time of the 911 call.

That's what I am half hoping and half not hoping. From our assessment of phone calls back and forth that day and the voicemail message where I was trying to call him and tell him I was in an accident (it is a recording of the EMT's asking my name, the date, etc to assess my level of consciousness) the best we can tell is that he was literally making the payment as I was getting in the accident or just before (down to minutes?). He was on our land line so no record of the exact time he called insurance company. Insurance company closed so can't find out until Monday. So lesson hard learned on this one, but thanks for the answer without the character judgements.

Please people don't jump all over me for asking this but do you think my insurance company will be less likely to "split hairs" so to speak on the time being that I am not making a claim with them only trying to collect from the other company? (I know the other company will, if they think it is in question) Meaning when the other company calls to verify coverage would they automatically say she was covered as of such and such day at such and such a time or would it be more of just a "yes she is covered" or "No she isn't covered?". As I said No one has asked me about what time the accident happened and I'm not even sure myself since like I said I was "flipping out" for a good 15 minutes or so. The first call to my husband wasn't even until after EMTs arrived and got me out of my vehicle. I

 

[CourtClerk]

I suppose had you killed someone in an accident or totaled their car in an accident in the 3 days where you knowingly drove a car uninsured, you would rationalize it the exact same way.

Screw the person who now does not have a car and probably also lives paycheck to paycheck (but managed to keep the insurance paid). You were doing what you felt like you had to do, and if someone else has to suffer for it, well that's just too bad on them. I mean, you could have hurt them bad enough that they couldn't have worked and they could have had children to feed too. In fact, they could have been a single parent and the sole source of income. But who cares.... this is about you. Screw the law. Got it.

 

[cyjeff]

One... you have to remember that the insurance company HATES to pay claims. If you have a claim, they will go out of their way to find a way NOT to pay it.

Two... if you paid by check, when did the check clear? If the check to the insurance company wasn't deposited until later in the day, you may be denied coverage...

Three... if you were driving without coverage, plan on your insurance company dropping you faster than a bad habit.

 

[dboismama]

One... you have to remember that the insurance company HATES to pay claims. If you have a claim, they will go out of their way to find a way NOT to pay it.

Two... if you paid by check, when did the check clear? If the check to the insurance company wasn't deposited until later in the day, you may be denied coverage...

Three... if you were driving without coverage, plan on your insurance company dropping you faster than a bad habit.

It was paid by phone directly to the company by debit/credit card or e-check (not sure which) and customer service person told my husband we were covered immediately upon payment being received but that's all gonna be moot obviously. Yes I know they will probably drop me and I probably won't be able to find any insurance company to cover me after this either, but I don't have a car now b/c my vehicle is a total loss and don't know when I'll be able to get another. I'll have to deal with the windfall as it comes. This experience has really opened my eyes and I'm learning the hard way. I am thankful that no one except me was badly injured and see now that I deserved what I got. Thank you all for your harsh but necessary assessments of my assanine decision.

 

[bruceleejr]

Please people don't jump all over me for asking this but do you think my insurance company will be less likely to "split hairs" so to speak on the time being that I am not making a claim with them only trying to collect from the other company? (I know the other company will, if they think it is in question) Meaning when the other company calls to verify coverage would they automatically say she was covered as of such and such day at such and such a time or would it be more of just a "yes she is covered" or "No she isn't covered?". As I said No one has asked me about what time the accident happened and I'm not even sure myself since like I said I was "flipping out" for a good 15 minutes or so. The first call to my husband wasn't even until after EMTs arrived and got me out of my vehicle. I

Hey I totally understand. I think sometimes people make judgment without ever knowing what the situation really is like.

I used to think people that had bad credit were deadbeats until it happened to me.

Growing up my mother was the main bread winner as my dad was so impatient in earning money that he kept leaving jobs before making any money (I believe he has undiagnosed ADD).

I was on scholarship during undergrad. My parents earned more than enough for their needs. I like many college kids got my first credit cards and over spent. I always saved enough from my monthly checks to cover my payments.

I knew it was a risk when I racked up those credit card bills. Then the worse happened. My mom got cancer. She couldn't work. She drained through their savings fast because their expenses were so high (but she also mad e a lot so low debt ratio). Before we knew it my parents were facing foreclosure (this is when foreclosures happened fast).

So I had barely finished my freshman year. My parents had already dipped into their retirement which us kids objected. So I and my other siblings moved home to take care of my mother and work to save my mother. Needless to say, we all sacrificed our credit to save our parents home. By the time my mother was well enough to work, my credit card debts were charged off. I still struggled as a student and couldn't pay them off as I was still finishing undergrad before I went to grad school.

It took me a long time to fix my credit but I still remember all those creditors calling me names claiming I was stealing and I was a dead beat. There are other things in my life that have helped me be more empathic and not have this holier than thou attitude.

You made a calculated risk and I think people are judging based upon the outcome not the decision.

 

[bruceleejr]

I suppose had you killed someone in an accident or totaled their car in an accident in the 3 days where you knowingly drove a car uninsured, you would rationalize it the exact same way.

Screw the person who now does not have a car and probably also lives paycheck to paycheck (but managed to keep the insurance paid). You were doing what you felt like you had to do, and if someone else has to suffer for it, well that's just too bad on them. I mean, you could have hurt them bad enough that they couldn't have worked and they could have had children to feed too. In fact, they could have been a single parent and the sole source of income. But who cares.... this is about you. Screw the law. Got it.

I know you take it personal when I disagree with you so this is more fuel to the fire. Sorry this is not personal but your comment is the most illustrative.

dboismama, these people are making too big a deal with it because in reality everyone here is making the same calculated risk.

The days of multimillion dollar accident claims are here and unlimited policies are gone. Everyone has a policy limit which would not cover a major accidents.

Everyone that drives take a calculated risk that they will die. They take the risk that they ma kill someone but we all drive anyways. Why? Because it is not the harm we are concerned about but the risk.

Everyone flies when the likelihood of surviving a plane crash is almost impossible. Yet we fly because it is unlikely to happen.

If you kill someone the basic $30,000 or even $100,000 dollar policy is not going to cover the likely seven figure verdict. The insurance takes calculated risks by taking policies and so does everyone else. If everyone was truly concerned about liability then we would all be paying $800 a month for a $5 million policy limit. yet nobody on here that drives has that policy.

Why do we drive without sufficient coverage? We all drive because we all know the likelihood is not going to happen. I think it was not the best choice but I understand your reasoning. Don't worry too much. Believe in yourself.