Uninsured in Wisconsin

[yonnitin]

Wisconsin

I was involved in an accident about a year and a half ago. I was driving an uninsured vehicle and an old lady ran a red light. Long story short, no one was found liable and I thought the matter was dead. Just yesterday, the guy who I had borrowed the car from, called and said that other other ladies insurance had billed him $7,500 for medical injuries. Does he have to pay the bill even though he was found not at fault, or is this just the insurance company trying to get easy money? The Wisconsin DOT website was useless and I was just hoping that someone would know. Thank You

[Ozark_Sophist]

I don't understand. The old lady ran a right light, caused an accident, and yet, no one was found liable. Who determined that? Law enforcement?

Insurance companies do not necessarily depend on liability determination by LE and conduct their own investigation to determine fault.

If you had insurance, the insurance companies would duke it out over liability. As you and the owner of the vehicle you were driving had no insurance, guess who either pays the old lady's medical bills or hires an attorney to defend yourself when the other parties insurance company comes after you. Your defence would be the other party caused the accident by running the red light. For that, you would need witnesses. Were there any listed on the accident report? Even if there are, a year and a half might make their recollections fuzzy.

[yonnitin]

Yes, the old lady ran a red light and caused an accident. No one was found liable because there were no witnesses and no tickets were handed out. It was a he says she says type of deal when working with the cops. So thats where I figured that no one was liable.

I had insurance insurance at the time and they know about the accident. Would the best move be to bring them into the fight?

You stated that I would need witnesses to say that she ran the red light, at the same time doesn't she need witnesses as well? I assume that the second person in my car, who was the owner of the vehicle would not count as a witness. Thanks again for the help

[LSCAP]

I would definitely call my insurance.

I was told, the first person to get sued is the owner, and he can turn around and sue you as the driver.

But Hang around. There are some real experts here, knowledgeable about auto insurance.

[moburkes]

Yes, since the owner did not have insurance coverage, you need to notify your insurance company. Its good that YOU had it. I'm not sure from your post whether or not a police report has been filed, but, hopefully it was. At least that would be a record of the incident, and would show where the damages were on the vehicle. Maybe it will help your side. Good luck.

[teflon_jones]

Originally Posted by moburkes

Yes, since the owner did not have insurance coverage, you need to notify your insurance company. Its good that YOU had it.

What good will that do? Insurance follows the car, not the driver. The OP's insurance company will do nothing if they contact them except to say they're not covered.

Without any proof of who caused the accident, nobody is going to collect anything from your friend. They're just looking for easy money as you said in your first post. The only way they can legally collect from your friend is if a court of law rules against them.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by teflon_jones

What good will that do? Insurance follows the car, not the driver. The OP's insurance company will do nothing if they contact them except to say they're not covered.

Without any proof of who caused the accident, nobody is going to collect anything from your friend. They're just looking for easy money as you said in your first post. The only way they can legally collect from your friend is if a court of law rules against them.

What are you talking about? Yes, insurance follows to vehicle. However, when 1. there is not enough coverage under liability OR there is no liability coverage available, then the driver's insurance will pay. Are you saying that the insurance companies WRONGLY pay out claims that they shouldn't?

[teflon_jones]

Originally Posted by moburkes

What are you talking about? Yes, insurance follows to vehicle.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Insurance companies will only pay on accidents involving cars listed on policies they carry (except in very limited circumstances, none of which apply here). The OP in this case was not driving a vehicle that was covered by any insurance policy at all.

Originally Posted by moburkes

However, when 1. there is not enough coverage under liability OR there is no liability coverage available, then the driver's insurance will pay.

This would only apply if the OP was driving a car insured by his own insurance policy. They will not cover any vehicle he gets behind the wheel of, simply because he has an insurance policy with them.

Originally Posted by moburkes

Are you saying that the insurance companies WRONGLY pay out claims that they shouldn't?

I'm not sure what you're trying to get at with this broad generality. Please clarify.

[moburkes]

Originally Posted by teflon_jones

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Insurance companies will only pay on accidents involving cars listed on policies they carry (except in very limited circumstances, none of which apply here). The OP in this case was not driving a vehicle that was covered by any insurance policy at all.

This would only apply if the OP was driving a car insured by his own insurance policy. They will not cover any vehicle he gets behind the wheel of, simply because he has an insurance policy with them.

I'm not sure what you're trying to get at with this broad generality. Please clarify.

I'm not making any broad generalities. The defintion of an "insured auto" covers a "non-owned auto". A "non-owned auto" includes a vehicle that you drive with the owner's permission which is not owned by you or a reslident relative, that you do not drive regularly. Bodily injury is covered when an insured person causes it. The policy protects an insured person driving an insured auto.

The insurance companies that I work for, and have approved claims for, have paid in cases like the ones listed above. Large, well-known, top 3 or 4 (depending on the state), preferred and standard risk companies.