Visitor Question

Responsible party refuses to give insurance information…

Submitted By: Chioma (USA)

I was recently injured. The other party accepted responsibility but refuses to give me the name or phone number of his insurance company so I can file a personal injury claim.

What should I do?

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Chioma,

There are a few of reasons why the other driver may have refused to give you her insurance information:

–She may not have had insurance; or,

–The car could have been stolen; or,

–It may not have been her car, and although not stolen, she may not have had permission from a friend or family member to drive it.

These things happen all the time. You should turn the matter over to your insurance company. Explain to them what happened. They will have a representative or “Claims Adjuster” from the company contact you. She will review the facts with you and will investigate the case. Hopefully you wrote down the license plate number. She will need some basic information to begin.

She will then come out to take look at your car, whether at your home, business, or if your car was undriveable and had to be towed, at a car repair “body shop”.

She will then authorize the repairs to your car, and will pay the amount to repair it. If the Adjuster is able to track down the other driver, and after speaking with the driver and examining the vehicle she is convinced the collision was the driver’s fault, the Adjuster will release you from any liability.

Claims Adjusters are highly trained collision and causalty investigators and are almost always able to tell from studying the damage to the vehicles who was at fault in the collision.

The Adjuster will then subrogate against the at-fault driver. That is a fancy term meaning you have been absolved of any liability so the collision will not be a “mark” on your record. The Adjuster will have her insurance company collect from the at-fault driver the amount paid to repair your car. If the other driver doesn’t pay the amount of the repairs the insurance company will sue her.

That’s the good news.

Alternatively, if you were originally unable to give your Adjuster the license plate information, or any other information she could use to track down the other driver, you may have to accept responsibility and the resultant liability for the collision.

Also, if the Adjuster was able to track down the other driver and the car she was driving, and after investigating the case decides the collision was not her fault but yours, you will have to accept liability for the collision. You will not have to reimburse your insurance company, but the collision will be considered your fault.

Learn more here: Car Accident Claim Guide

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

Published:

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