What should I do if an insurance company is coming after me for a no fault accident?

Question

I was in accident where I rear ended someone and then someone else hit me.  The report was written as though no one at fault. Come to find out, my insurance had been canceled 2 or 3 days before. The insurance company of the truck I hit is coming after me and threatening me.  No citations were written.  What should I do?

Eugene Critchett · Answer

You should schedule an appointment with an attorney to defend you.  The insurance company may attempt to obtain a judgment against you and then try to lien your assets.  Whether someone is or is not cited on the accident report does not matter.

Jeffrey Wittenbrink · Answer

Your question does not truly pertain to a "no-fault" accident under Louisiana law.   Under Louisiana law, a rear-end collision is presumed to be the fault of the following vehicle, subject to certain defenses, such as a "sudden emergency" or that the taillights of the vehicle in front were defective.   If your insurance was cancelled and you were beyond the "grace period" for reinstatement prior to the accident and/or have not reinstated your insurance, you will have to pay an attorney for your defense or defend yourself.   There may be defenses to the accident that need to be explored, including whether or not anyone was actually injured or harmed in the accident.  Many times accidents occur with no one being actually injured.  In that instance, even if you are at fault in the accident you will only owe for the property damage you may have caused.

Jared Altman · Answer

You have a problem. The can come after you if they want. You should not have let your insurance lapse. Now you're stuck.

Marty Judnich · Answer

Liability wise, you may be looking at being personally sued. The fact that you did not have insurance, due to it being cancelled days before, means that you personally are liable to the vehicle that you hit. It does not matter that no citations were given in a police report. Liability and citations do not necessarily go hand in hand. The only thing you can do to try to not be sued is to try to work something out with the truck that you hit, if they were injured. We have this and more info in the link to our insurance blog on our website.

Josh Lamborn · Answer

There is really no such thing as a no fault accident.  Someone is always at fault and here it sounds like you are at fault.  If you have no personal assets it is likely that the insurance company will threaten to sue you, but won't because it will not be economically beneficial to try to spend money to get nothing from you.  It is more likely that they will reimburse their insured through their uninsured motorist coverage.  If you do have assets they may decide to sue you (or if they just feel litigious).  If you are sued you will be served with the lawsuit.  The lawsuit will say how much they are asking for.  You can agree to pay that amount; you could try and negotiate the case with the attorney yourself, or you could hire your own attorney.  What you do not want to do is ignore a lawsuit because then the court will automatically award the other side what they were asking for.    For now you are kind of in a wait and see mode.

Earl Straight · Answer

Since your own insurance had been cancelled prior to the accident, they will not defend you.  You are thus on your own.  You can fight the claim yourself or hire an attorney to help you.  The worst thing you can do is ignore it.  They will eventually file a lawsuit, and if you do not answer the suit and defend yourself they will take a default judgment against you.  The other option is work out a settlement with them.  You may also have a claim against the car that hit you for your own damages, and if that impact was enough to push you into the car in front of you a second time, the car behind you could share some responsibility for the damages to the car in front of you.

Thomas Patton · Answer

Just tell them you are not insured. Provide documents showing your insurance had been cancelled. They will likely stop harassing you because they will likely have uninsured motorist coverage.

Lyle Masnikoff · Answer

You can talk to an attorney but if you have no insurance then there will likely not much they can collect.

Bernard Huff · Answer

In order to timely protect your interest regarding the collision, you should retain an attorney who handles vehicle accidents cases for the defense.

James Kelaher · Answer

Just because no citations were issued does not mean that no one was at fault. If you hit someone in the rear, there is a legal presumption in Florida that you were at fault. If your insurance was canceled, and if you don't have any insurance coverage for it, then I would discuss with the insurance company that they work some kind of a deal out with you to accept monthly payments. Otherwise, they will sue you and the costs of the lawsuit will be added on to whatever judgment they get against you, and once they get a judgment, then you don't have any control over how you pay them.

Andrew Myers · Answer

"No fault" does not mean what many think it means.  All "no fault" means is that medical bills and certain documented wage replacement benefits are paid by the motor vehicle operator's own insurance carrier without a requirement that "fault" be determined, and without looking to the vehicle that struck that operator.  With respect to bodily injury or other claims, a determination of fault is alive and well and necessary.  "No fault" benefits have been around for about 40 years in states in which legislatures have fallen for the scheme under heavy lobbying from the insurance companies.  Do yourself a favor and retain an attorney.  The insurance industry's own data indicates that once an injured person retains an attorney the value of the claim can as much as double.

Richard Lowell · Answer

If you rear-ended someone, then most of the time, you are at fault.  It doesn't necessarily matter that no citations were written.  I'm not sure why you believe this is a no fault accident - but if it was, then you need an attorney who can make that argument for you and impress it upon the truck's insurer.  Otherwise, you will want someone who can negotiate with the insurer on your behalf.  Because you didn't have insurance, the truck's insurer can contact the Dept of Licensing and ask it to revoke your driver's license until the matter is resolved (or unless you put up a $25,000 bond). This can be a tricky situation.  I recommend you contact an attorney - like me - who has experience dealing with claimants and insurance companies.

Mark Leonardo · Answer

If your accident occurred in California, this is not a no-fault state.  If you were uninsured, the insurer of the car you hit will cover that persons car damages and injuries, but then the insurer will come after you for what they paid out.  As for your insurance, please be certain that you were given 30 days notice of the impending cancellation of your policy.  Without that, they should provide coverage.  If you are on your own, all you can do is negotiate with the insurance company that comes after you and make a payment plan and try to negotiate as low of an overall settlement as you can.  Lump sums will get you a bigger discount where a payment plan will cost you more in the long run.  If the damages are significant, you should consult with an attorney before attempting to negotiate.

Russell West · Answer

If you rear ended someone you are the responsible party for the person you hit regardless of whether you were ticketed of not.  They have every right to come after you. The best thing you can do is try to negotiate with their insurance company to work out the best deal possible with them.  You can also hire a lawyer to help you do this.  If you don't work something out they can take you to court and get a judgment and place a lien on your property until you pay.  If someone hit you then you have a claim against them if there was any property damage or injury as result to someone rear ending you.

Timothy Klisz · Answer

Get an attorney to defend the case. Without insurance, your personal assets are at risk. Contact me  to discuss.

Scott Anderson · Answer

Negligence and civil liability  is a lower standard than criminal. You may be liable even though you were not cited. You should contact an attorney.

William Allen · Answer

You admittedly are at fault. They can and will come after you and can eventually secure a judgment against you. Try to work out a payment plan.

David Stoddard · Answer

Citations do not determine who was at fault.  Officers write citations based on their view of the evidence.  Sometimes, the officer does not assign fault because he/she cannot figure out beyond a reasonable doubt who is at fault. Do not assume that you are not liable just because you did not get a ticket. Offer to pay whatever premium you failed to pay and get a copy of your insurance policy and read the grace provisions carefully to see if you are within some grace period to have the policy reinstated.  If you cannot get insurance coverage, settle the claim for as little as you can.  Retain an attorney to help you.

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What should I do if an insurance company is coming after me for a no fault accident?

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