UnInsured Motorist & Accident

What is the name of your state? California

I bought a car and within 10 minutes after the purchase, I was involved in a car accident. I did not previously own a car, therefor at the time of the accident I did not have insurance. However, I did get insurance that same day (hours later). I ended up hitting someone from behind after a motorcyclist wiped out on the highway, forcing a series of cars to slam on their brakes.

The insurance company from the car which was involved is seeking the money for the damages from me. What are my options? Do I have to pay? Why do people have insurance for "uninsured/under insured drivers"? What does "uninsured/under insured" actually mean? If i am forced to pay, what if I don't have the funds to do so?

Any advice, thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advanced.What is the name of your state?

silentone said:

Do I have to pay?

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Yes you have to pay, you hit them!

silentone said:

Why do people have insurance for "uninsured/under insured drivers"?

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In case after they get all the money out of you they can, there still isn't enough to pay their damages.

silentone said:

What does "uninsured/under insured" actually mean?

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It coveres the insureds interests against people that don't have insurance, or not enough insurance.

silentone said:

If i am forced to pay, what if I don't have the funds to do so?

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They can put leins on property, seize bank accounts, garnish wages, or all sorts of other things. It depends on your state laws.

silentone said:

Any advice, thoughts or comments are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advanced.What is the name of your state?

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You will also get your driving privledges suspended, and face fines from the state for driving without insurance.

Feed for driving w/o insurance

Actually, I did not have to pay fees or get penalized for driving w/o insurance because I got insurance the same day as the ticket. I had to pay the state $10 for processing fees. I am all cleared . As far as the accident.... that is another story.

silentone said:

Actually, I did not have to pay fees or get penalized for driving w/o insurance because I got insurance the same day as the ticket. I had to pay the state $10 for processing fees. I am all cleared . As far as the accident.... that is another story.

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Why is that another story? Turn over the matter to your insurance company.
You are going to run in to trouble if your insurance company refuses to pay and reports to the DMV that you were NOT insured at the time of that accident.

On the other hand, the insurance MIGHT cover the accident if you advised them of what happened and that you had just purchased the vehicle that same day. Might.

ecmst12 said:

On the other hand, the insurance MIGHT cover the accident if you advised them of what happened and that you had just purchased the vehicle that same day. Might.

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Yeah, that's gonna happen
The insurance will not cover our OP for an accident that happened PRIOR to coverage.

To add on to Justapal00's answer, if the other driver collects on his uninsured/underinsured policy from his insurance company, that will not take you off the hook. His insurance company will then subrogate against you (leins, garnished wages, etc) to try to get their money back out of your assets and future earnings.

Ecmst12, I have yet to see one of these claims paid out. And, OP, while the state believes that you were insured, the insurance company will usually get on the ball to tell them otherwise.

And, OP, your insurance company is likely to cancel your policy due to material misrepresentation, UNLESS the actual start date of the policy is the day AFTER the accident.

More information regarding the accident...

There was actually a third car involved in the accident. The car that was infront of me hit the car that was infront of them. It is unclear if that happened before or after I hit the car infront of me. I never admitted fault and I never recieved a ticket for the accident. The amount that the insurance company is seeking is under $10,000. They are trying to charge for the front of their car too, claiming that I cause them to hit the car infront of them. What are the chances of settling and not going to court? Their is a strong possibilty that the car infront of me hit the car infront of them before I was involved. Another note, the insurance company in which is seeking money from me only recieved one estimate of the damages, before they did the repairs.

The insurance company only gets one estimate - either from a contracted shop, or an appraisal company that they work with, or an in-house appraiser. In all cases, the rates are based on reasonable repair rates for the area, and after market or recycled parts are used if appropriate. An insurance company is not going to pay more then they have to, so don't worry about the estimate being inflated.

Whether you are responsible for the damage from the impact of the 2 cars in front of you will depend on whether the first driver felt one impact or 2. If he felt only one impact, you are responsible for the whole thing. If 2, then you are only responsible for the damage to the rear of the car in front of you. But you are NOT getting out of responsibility for that. You rear ended him, of COURSE it's your fault, doesn't everyone know that?