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

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dboismama

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

This is the craziest and most stressful situation ever!! I left my house yesterday to go to work and on my way out the door told my husband to pay our insurance policy which had lapsed 3 days earlier. I had to wait until I got paid which was yesterday to pay it. I left and about 15 minutes later I was in an accident about 5 miles from my home. My husband had just paid the policy (or was paying as I was in the accident), we aren't sure. When I called to tell him I had just been in the accident he freaked because he said he had just paid the policy. The accident wasn't my fault I hit someone who ran a red light. I know LA. has a No Pay No Play law, but we are confused as to whether we will be considered covered for the accident. The insurance company told my husband when he paid it that we were covered as of the time he paid the policy. I made a claim with the other persons company and they said they were calling to verify my coverage. Will my insurance company just tell them I was covered that day or will it get down to the brass tacks of exact times of coverage and time of the accident. They're company didn't ask me what time the accident happened only what day. I'm not sure exactly what time my accident happened as I freaked out for a good 15 or 20 minutes and nearly went into shock and the paramedics threatened to take me to the hospital if I couldn't calm down. So who determines what time an accident happened is it when police arrive on the scene or EMT or what? if it does come down to what time the accident happened in comparison to when the policy was paid? I know crazy how Karma works...We have really really bad luck!!!
 
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HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
What time is the accident listed on the police report?

Shame on you - you knowingly drove an uninsured car. I guess you were also driving it for the three days prior as well?
 

dboismama

Member
Police report won't be ready for 3 days. As far as the driving the car before that well it was unfortunate but I had to. I could have parked it but then would have had no transportation to work in order to pay the policy. I live far from family and have no one in my area that I could have gotten ride from. My husband and I share one vehicle and my only friend iin the area also only has one car between her and her husband so I had no choiceif I wanted to keep my job in order to pay the policy. It was paid as soon as the money hit the bank. Maybe you are fortunate enough to not have to live paycheck to paycheck but I am not. Sometimes life happens that way and although it would have been prudent in anideal worldto simply park my van, but I don't live in a peachy keen perfect world.
 

Antigone*

Senior Member
Police report won't be ready for 3 days. As far as the driving the car before that well it was unfortunate but I had to. I could have parked it but then would have had no transportation to work in order to pay the policy. I live far from family and have no one in my area that I could have gotten ride from. My husband and I share one vehicle and my only friend iin the area also only has one car between her and her husband so I had no choiceif I wanted to keep my job in order to pay the policy. It was paid as soon as the money hit the bank. Maybe you are fortunate enough to not have to live paycheck to paycheck but I am not. Sometimes life happens that way and although it would have been prudent in anideal worldto simply park my van, but I don't live in a peachy keen perfect world.
It's all about the "I," isn't it:rolleyes:.
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
And what happens if you or someone else gets hurt in an accident. Then what?
Thousands in medical bills and possibly millions in lawsuits. There goes your life.
You were playing Russian roulette with others lives and your own.

You got away with it this time, next time you might not be so lucky.
 

dboismama

Member
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.
 

HighwayMan

Super Secret Senior Member
"The penalties for driving without insurance in Louisiana if you are cited by LA law enforcement include your registration and license plates (tags) can be suspended or revoked as well being hit with fines and administrative fees.

"In Louisiana liability insurance is mandatory and an uninsured vehicle can be impounded on the spot by any Louisiana law enforcement officer. The Louisiana Department of Insurance notes that when stopped by police you must have proof of liability insurance coverage in the car. Even if your car is brand new, you still must provide proof of insurance on the vehicle in order to drive on the roadways of LA.

"If you are in an accident without insurance and at fault than you would be personally responsible for the damages you caused. If you were not at fault you still would end up paying for a lot of your own damages. Under the Louisiana no pay/no play law an individual who does not have liability insurance on the vehicle involved in an accident cannot collect from the other driver for the first $10,000 in property damage or bodily injury, regardless of who is at fault.

"This is one method that the state of Louisiana is using to try and get motorist to follow the laws and be insured if they are driving on the LA roadways. There are other penalties in place for drivers that drive without insurance."
 

dboismama

Member
"The penalties for driving without insurance in Louisiana if you are cited by LA law enforcement include your registration and license plates (tags) can be suspended or revoked as well being hit with fines and administrative fees.

"In Louisiana liability insurance is mandatory and an uninsured vehicle can be impounded on the spot by any Louisiana law enforcement officer. The Louisiana Department of Insurance notes that when stopped by police you must have proof of liability insurance coverage in the car. Even if your car is brand new, you still must provide proof of insurance on the vehicle in order to drive on the roadways of LA.

"If you are in an accident without insurance and at fault than you would be personally responsible for the damages you caused. If you were not at fault you still would end up paying for a lot of your own damages. Under the Louisiana no pay/no play law an individual who does not have liability insurance on the vehicle involved in an accident cannot collect from the other driver for the first $10,000 in property damage or bodily injury, regardless of who is at fault.

"This is one method that the state of Louisiana is using to try and get motorist to follow the laws and be insured if they are driving on the LA roadways. There are other penalties in place for drivers that drive without insurance."
I know the Louisiana insurance law. I made a note to it in my original post. It is called No Pay No Play. I know I was wrong for driving my vehicle the three days without insurance but I remedied it as soon as I could. I know I was taking a chance with my own and others well being. I admit complete fault to that so you guys don't need to jump on me for that trust me I've done that enough. I had actually told my husband to call and pay the policy as soon as I realized it was lapsed and the morning of the accident asked if he paid it when I asked him to and his response was "No, we didn't have enough money to pay it." I immediately told him to make the payment that day since I knew my check would go into the bank at 12:00 pm.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
If the policy was paid after or at the same time as the accident, you will not be covered. Excuses or no excuses, doesn't matter. And if you caused the accident, you are about to find out how much more expensive it is to be uninsured then insured. Even if you DIDN'T cause the accident, you could end up with tickets and a license suspension.
 
car insurance is very competitive. As there is so much need for it. Almost all auto insurance covers immediately upon payment as they know if nobody wants delayed coverage and nobody wants double coverage either.
So most companies the minute you pay cover you and most states require coverage immediately upon payment. You should be fine.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
look at it from a different perspective:

the insurance company may very well see it as: she knew it had lapsed yet did not pay it. She got into an accident knowing she had no coverage so she calls hubby up and says "real quick, go and pay the car insurance"

only the time recorded on the payment and on the 911 call will tell you if it was in force at the time of the accident or not.
 

dboismama

Member
look at it from a different perspective:

the insurance company may very well see it as: she knew it had lapsed yet did not pay it. She got into an accident knowing she had no coverage so she calls hubby up and says "real quick, go and pay the car insurance"

only the time recorded on the payment and on the 911 call will tell you if it was in force at the time of the accident or not.
I could see that happening, but I was not only injured, but hysterical and on the verge of going into shock I was absolutely in no condition to call my husband and tell him to pay the insurance policy. When I finally did get through to him he couldn't even understand that I was telling him I had just been in an accident. The first call went to voice mail and he could hear me hyperventilating while the EMT's told me to calm down or they were going to have to bring me to the hospital. But I do understand where you are coming from.
 

dboismama

Member
car insurance is very competitive. As there is so much need for it. Almost all auto insurance covers immediately upon payment as they know if nobody wants delayed coverage and nobody wants double coverage either.
So most companies the minute you pay cover you and most states require coverage immediately upon payment. You should be fine.
Thank you.
 

ecmst12

Senior Member
Bruce Lee is full of crap. When you have an accident close to the time you pay the policy, there IS going to be an investgation and they WILL deny coverage if there is any question of whether the insurance was paid before the accident occurred.
 

dboismama

Member
Bruce Lee is full of crap. When you have an accident close to the time you pay the policy, there IS going to be an investgation and they WILL deny coverage if there is any question of whether the insurance was paid before the accident occurred.
Well, I did speak to my sister who is an insurance agent in Texas and she told me that there they retroact the insurance back to the date it lapsed on but here I found out that differs from company to company. I did just check on my insurance companies website and the date it states for the policy activation date has not been changed so could that be the case? I mean what exactly gets asked when that call is made? Would the other insurance call my insurance and ask is Ms. X covered? Then my company would say yes she has coverage? Would my company say "oh well the policy was just paid...yadda yadda?" I don"t know. Just wondering.
 
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