What am I supposed to do?

[Just Robyn]

Recently I was rear-ended as I was pulling into a parking lot. We had just obtained the car and so we didn't have insurance on it (there is a 30 day grace period and it had been about 3 days). The woman who hit me lied to the insurance company and told them that I was pulling out of the parking lot, making it my fault. Oddly, there was a witness who said the same thing. The police came and looked at the physical evidence which they said proved I was pulling in, but because there was a witness they did not use that information or make a statement of fault, but they DID report the witness. Even though we were in front of a business with many huge windows, the officer would not go in and ask for another witness. Also, I had not yet purchased my bagels (it was a bagel shop) and they all watched me go in and finally buy them.

 

This is being called my fault because of the witness and because the officer did not decide fault. I am not sure if she even reported the physical evidence (I plan to get a copy of the report tomorrow). I cannot afford to pay for damages to this person's car, and of course there is the principle (even if I could afford it, I would not want to since I shouldn't have to), and it will make my car insurance double for three years.

Edited October 28, 2011 by crstarlette

[Just Robyn]

So...bend over and take it?

[QueenCat]

Your insurance company that covers your other cars should be able to help. Normally, you are covered with them on new cars, and have a certain time limit to let them know about it. Call them.

[Just Robyn]

Your insurance company that covers your other cars should be able to help. Normally, you are covered with them on new cars, and have a certain time limit to let them know about it. Call them.

 

We had no other car. We have been borrowing one, so we really had no insurance at all.

[TXBeth]

Recently I was rear-ended as I was pulling into a parking lot. We had just obtained the car and so we didn't have insurance on it (there is a 30 day grace period and it had been about 3 days). The woman who hit me lied to the insurance company and told them that I was pulling out of the parking lot, making it my fault. Oddly, there was a witness who said the same thing. The police came and looked at the physical evidence which they said proved I was pulling in, but because there was a witness they did not use that information or make a statement of fault, but they DID report the witness. Even though we were in front of a business with many huge windows, the officer would not go in and ask for another witness. Also, I had not yet purchased my bagels (it was a bagel shop) and they all watched me go in and finally buy them.

 

This is being called my fault because of the witness and because the officer did not decide fault. I am not sure if she even reported the physical evidence (I plan to get a copy of the report tomorrow). I cannot afford to pay for damages to this person's car, and of course there is the principle (even if I could afford it, I would not want to since I shouldn't have to), and it will make my car insurance double for three years.

 

First of all, there is no grace period that allows you to drive an uninsured vehicle on public roads without proof of financial responsibility. Your insurance company may have a grace period where they will extend your existing policy to a new vehicle, giving you time to add that vehicle to the policy, in which case your insurance company should cover the costs of this accident and you would just pay the premium backdated to the date you purchased the car.

 

As far as the fault issue, I would definitely request a copy of the police report and see if the evidence indicating fault is on the report. If not, I would try to reach the police officer and request that she add that information to the report (soon, while it is still fresh in her memory). Armed with that, I would appeal the insurance company's decision to assign fault to you.

 

ETA: Did the police officer know that you had no insurance? Did she issue a citation? Was your license suspended? Theoretically, that is what should have happened according to everything I can find about Iowa state insurance laws. So you may have bigger problems than just having to pay for these damages.

 

E(again)TA: I just realized my tone in this post comes off really antagonistic. I don't mean it too, but for some reason I'm having trouble fixing it. So please know that I wish you all the best and hope it works out. It sucks that this lady was dishonest about the situation. :(

Edited October 28, 2011 by TXBeth

[Just Robyn]

First of all, there is no grace period that allows you to drive an uninsured vehicle on public roads without proof of financial responsibility. Your insurance company may have a grace period where they will extend your existing policy to a new vehicle, giving you time to add that vehicle to the policy, in which case your insurance company should cover the costs of this accident and you would just pay the premium backdated to the date you purchased the car.

 

As far as the fault issue, I would definitely request a copy of the police report and see if the evidence indicating fault is on the report. If not, I would try to reach the police officer and request that she add that information to the report (soon, while it is still fresh in her memory). Armed with that, I would appeal the insurance company's decision to assign fault to you.

 

ETA: Did the police officer know that you had no insurance? Did she issue a citation? Was your license suspended? Theoretically, that is what should have happened according to everything I can find about Iowa state insurance laws. So you may have bigger problems than just having to pay for these damages.

 

E(again)TA: I just realized my tone in this post comes off really antagonistic. I don't mean it too, but for some reason I'm having trouble fixing it. So please know that I wish you all the best and hope it works out. It sucks that this lady was dishonest about the situation. :(

 

Well, the person who gave us the car still had insurance coverage on it. Since we had just transferred the car into our name they said they would not cover it. (Well, first they said they would, then later, I guess after researching their own rules, they said they wouldn't.) We didn't get a citation for no insurance because there was insurance on the car; it just isn't *our* insurance.

[TXBeth]

Well, the person who gave us the car still had insurance coverage on it. Since we had just transferred the car into our name they said they would not cover it. (Well, first they said they would, then later, I guess after researching their own rules, they said they wouldn't.) We didn't get a citation for no insurance because there was insurance on the car; it just isn't *our* insurance.

 

Wow, that complicates things. So you had registered it to yourself before the accident? If not, I would fight the decision of the seller's insurance to not cover the accident. Appeal and appeal again. If it was registered in your name, and if the police officer is not willing to officially declare fault, you are probably stuck and just have to work out a payment plan with the other driver. Hiring an attorney to try to fight it would probably just end up costing you even more, even if you were successful. :(

[Jan in SC]

Was the car in your name when you had the wreck? Had you already signed the paperwork? If you had, then I think you were an uninsured motorist and can get into more trouble. Maybe there are different laws for your state, though.

 

I would call the officer that is listed on your accident report and ask him/her why it was filed as no-fault.

[Sun]

 

I would call the officer that is listed on your accident report and ask him/her why it was filed as no-fault.

 

:iagree: If you were rear-ended, I can't figure out why whether you were entering or exiting the parking lot changes the fault. It's not like hitting someone as they leave a parking lot makes it okay.

[Just Robyn]

The car was in my name when I was hit. If that makes me an uninsured motorist then that s*cks and I guess I am learning a lesson. My dh and the person who gave us the car both thought we had 30 days, and the person who gave us the car also offered to leave their insurance on it for a few days because she thought it would still be covered.

 

Even if this insurance issue weren't an issue, I would not want fault on my record and to pay higher insurance rates because this person is lying and the officer refused to do her job well. She was so baffled as to why a witness would claim I was pulling out of the parking lot if I was pulling in that she just didn't want to make a decision even though she and another officer could both see that the physical evidence showed I was obviously pulling in. I can't understand why she would refuse to ask for more witness statements if she was unwilling to go with the physical evidence.

[Just Robyn]

:iagree: If you were rear-ended, I can't figure out why whether you were entering or exiting the parking lot changes the fault. It's not like hitting someone as they leave a parking lot makes it okay.

 

I thought that too, especially since I would have to be all.the.way. out of the parking lot in order for her to rear-end me. I asked the insurance company about that though and they said if a person is pulling out from a safe location into traffic then they are at fault.

[SonshineLearner]

Here, I think, that if you're uninsured... it's "your fault"... period :(

[Aubrey]

From what I understand, there has been a lot more fraud wrt car accidents in the last couple of years because of the economy. In my experience, if you hire a lawyer, the other ins co will back down & give you $$ no matter how ridiculous your claim. At least, that's what our ins co has done to people who hit dh. :glare:

 

Since it's never occurred to me to hire a lawyer for an accident involving NO DAMAGE, I can't say for certain that that would work for you, but after seeing our ins co pay people thousands of dollars for NOTHING when their claims came 6-12 mos after the "accident," I'd definitely look into it.

 

One girl even TOLD her ins co that she'd hit dh. But she got home to her daddy, & he changed her story for her. :glare:

 

Good luck. I really hope the situation works out fairly for you.

[Melissa in FL]

The car was in my name when I was hit. If that makes me an uninsured motorist then that s*cks and I guess I am learning a lesson. My dh and the person who gave us the car both thought we had 30 days, and the person who gave us the car also offered to leave their insurance on it for a few days because she thought it would still be covered.

 

Even if this insurance issue weren't an issue, I would not want fault on my record and to pay higher insurance rates because this person is lying and the officer refused to do her job well. She was so baffled as to why a witness would claim I was pulling out of the parking lot if I was pulling in that she just didn't want to make a decision even though she and another officer could both see that the physical evidence showed I was obviously pulling in. I can't understand why she would refuse to ask for more witness statements if she was unwilling to go with the physical evidence.

 

Our insurance will give us 30 days to transfer the insurance to a new car, but

if you didn't have any insurance then Yes you were uninsured. It sounds like the advise you were given about that was just wrong.

 

When I hit someone in a parking lot in MI the police officer told us that they could not find fault with either one of us because it took place on private property. He said he could write out a report but couldn't issue tickets or find fault on private property. Since your accident was in a parking lot (private property) the officer could have been following the law in only making out a simple report and not finding fault. In my case even though I had hit her each of our insurance paid for our own cars because she wasn't parked in a parking space. I'm not sure of the laws of your State, but this might explain why the police officer didn't do more.

HTH

Melissa

[Ailaena]

I know there was a state that I lived in where if one party did not have insurance, it was automatically their fault, regardless of who hit whom, or whatever. Of course, that does not apply to you because you didn't get a no insurance ticket.

 

Most people who have insurance have uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to cover incidences like these. I do not know any of the details, but that is how the other person would have his/her car repaired if you could not afford it.

 

My only advice is that if you are certain you were not at fault, take pictures of the damage, and insist that you receive pictures of the damage on the other car. Just so you could argue your case in case you end up in court.

 

I'm still puzzling over this accident. Like you said, in order to be rear-ended, you would have had to have been completely out into traffic already, making it her fault since you clearly would have had to have completed the act of "pulling out from a safe location." Where is the darn hair-pulling smiley!

 

 

On an unrelated note: what verb tense is "would have had to have (verbed)"?

[SonshineLearner]

...

When I hit someone in a parking lot in MI the police officer told us that they could not find fault with either one of us because it took place on private property. He said he could write out a report but couldn't issue tickets or find fault on private property. Since your accident was in a parking lot (private property) the officer could have been following the law in only making out a simple report and not finding fault. In my case even though I had hit her each of our insurance paid for our own cars because she wasn't parked in a parking space. I'm not sure of the laws of your State, but this might explain why the police officer didn't do more.

HTH

Melissa

 

Michigan is unusual, as it's a "no-fault" state..... AT least when we were there...

[Mommyof4ks]

In my state if you rear end someone, then you are at fault, period. This happened to me years ago. I was stopped, and a lady rear ended me. The officer did not even ask what happened until he finished righting her a ticket and putting her at fault on the report.

 

I would get pictures of the other car, take pix of your car, and then figure out exactly what the report says. If she takes you to court for damages, then you will at least have all of that. You will have the testimony of the two officers too. Best case scenario, it is a no fault accident, you will pay for your damages and her ins. Co. will pay for hers.

 

:grouphug:

[Journey]

I work for an insurance company in New York. First of all, I cannot believe that your state allows you to drive a car with no insurance for up to 30 days. That doesn't even make one bit of sense. Secondly, insurance follows the car...not the person. Thirdly....remember, oh wait, I forgot you don't have insurance...well remember this..insurance companies are not going to pay for anything they don't think they should pay for. Seriously, are you sure that car is not covered under insurance? What happens if, within that 30 days you talk about, that car hits and kills a vehicle full of people? What happens then? I still cannot believe that is actually legal in your state.

[silliness7]

Recently I was rear-ended as I was pulling into a parking lot. We had just obtained the car and so we didn't have insurance on it (there is a 30 day grace period and it had been about 3 days). The woman who hit me lied to the insurance company and told them that I was pulling out of the parking lot, making it my fault. Oddly, there was a witness who said the same thing. The police came and looked at the physical evidence which they said proved I was pulling in, but because there was a witness they did not use that information or make a statement of fault, but they DID report the witness. Even though we were in front of a business with many huge windows, the officer would not go in and ask for another witness. Also, I had not yet purchased my bagels (it was a bagel shop) and they all watched me go in and finally buy them.

 

This is being called my fault because of the witness and because the officer did not decide fault. I am not sure if she even reported the physical evidence (I plan to get a copy of the report tomorrow). I cannot afford to pay for damages to this person's car, and of course there is the principle (even if I could afford it, I would not want to since I shouldn't have to), and it will make my car insurance double for three years.

 

So if something happens in that 30 day grace period it's totally your responsibility 100%? Cr@p. What kind of a grace period is that?

 

I don't know what you should do. That just stinks!! :grouphug:

[elegantlion]

All dealers require proof of insurance before releasing the car into your possession. There is no extension of coverage from one owner to the next. Her insurance company should rightly deny any claim because the car was sold and in your name. I don't know of any state that allows 30 days to insure, simply because of incidents like this. That may be true when transferring cars, but not when you're starting a new policy.

 

Is there any video footage from the parking lot?

 

If you don't have insurance, the other company may coverage the repairs to their client's vehicle and then come after you for the expenses.

 

Many years ago I was involved in an accident that was clearly not my fault. It took two years, but my insurance company took her to court to cover costs since she was uninsured (this was before mandatory liability ins). They ended up garnishing her wages.

 

If there is limited damage to the other vehicle I would see if you could find a reasonable solution if they won't concede fault. :grouphug: tough lesson.