What happens if I don't pay an insurance company car accident fees?

Question

I recently bought a brand new car. I was turning left at a signal light that had no turn arrow so I waited for all cars to pass so I can safely turn. As soon as the light hit orange and was almost red I made my turn because the cars going straight are suppose to stop since their light is almost at a red too. So I turned left and out of no where some guy hit my car as I was turning, meaning he ran a red light to try and make it while I was still in the middle of the street waiting to turn. And when I did he stepped on it which caused the accident. 

OF COURSE I had no insurance at the one time the accident happens. I was in the process of switching insurance companies. Lets just say my car parts aren't all that affordable. The accident was kinda bad, my airbags went out since he was coming at me full speed and my bumper is all messed up. I busted my lip. I asked him why he stepped on it when he saw me coming and he stuttered and said "he had a long day".

The accident wasn't my fault, but he was insured and I wasn't. I'm assuming since I am illegally driving without insurance its all my fault now. I live in California so I'm not sure what the laws are here. 

About 4 months later his insurance company calls me saying I owe them $9,000 and how I can start a payment plan. I've told them the accident wasn't my fault several times but they wont listen. I don't know what to do. What if I don't pay them the money? Can they arrest me? What if I don't show up in court? HELP.

Answer 1

You should be tarred and feathered for not having insurance

Answer 2

It was your fault for not paying attention and for turning left in front of him. If you don't pay they can take you to civil court to collect the money.

Answer 3

First.  Your car does not have to be insured in order to collect from someone else's insurance.

Second.  The other guy's insurance has determined that YOU were at fault.  Your determination that the other guy was at fault DOES NOT COUNT.  You do not have the right to make a determination as to who was at fault.  That right is given to the involved insurance companies.  Since you have no insurance company, it is no surprise that the other insurance company determined YOU to be at fault.

What can you do?  Since you were stupid and drove while uninsured and have nobody to fight for you, you can either fight them alone or hire a lawyer to fight for you.  Good luck with either.   In my opinion, It would be best for you to make arrangements to pay the $9,000.00 because you are not going to win.  

You ask what will happen if you don't pay the $9000.00 ?

What will happen is you will be sued.  If you are sued, you will lose.  Your wages will be garnished and your credit will be ruined.  You will lose your license, you will find it difficult and very expensive to buy insurance in the future.  You either have already received a ticket for driving uninsured or you will soon receive a ticket.  (How do you spell completely screwed?)

Finally;  You were almost certainly at fault.  It is not allowed to turn left until the oncoming traffic has cleared or has stopped at the light or sign.  It would be best for you to make arrangements to pay the $9,000.00



NOTE:  You say this was a "brand new car".  Was the car financed?  If it was, how can it be that it was not insured?   Lenders always insist that their debtors carry (at least) collision and comprehensive coverage.  Often, if they find that their debtor's insurance has lapsed or has not been paid they will buy coverage for the car themselves.  You should check with them (your lender) to see if they insured the car.  If so, you will be off the hook for the $9,000.00 but will have to pay the (expensive) insurance that they bought for you. 







"Foolish is what foolish does"

Answer 4

A: You took to much for-granted. If you do not pay they will cancel the policy which will make it harder to get new coverage, best advice is pay the extra fee.

Answer 5

You cannot be arrested and cannot be jailed.  The insurance company can only sue you and get a judgment against you.  If you have nothing, they can collect nothing.  But your credit will be ruined for 10 years.

Answer 6

.  you were at fault - I'm sure the police cited you.



.  you can never assume that the other driver will do what you want the to, legal or not.....you must assume they will not do what you expect.



. "of course" you had no insurance.  Really?  Sad.



.  you were "in the process of switching insurance companies"????? Sounds more like you let your coverage lapse and didn't buy a new policy.



If you really had insurance on your old car, policies cover the purchase of a new car automatically - most give you 30 to 45 days to report the new car to them.  



.  Yes, you owe.  Likely that no insurance company will want you in the future - but doesn't sound like that will bother you.



.  If the new car is financed - I don't know of any bank or loan company that does not require Full Coverage on any financed car.  They have every right to repossess the car and you will not only owe for the damage, but the car has depreciated and you no doubt owe more than it is now worth.  They can sue you for that, too.

Answer 7

You get sued ,they garnish your pay, your credit is ruined and in my state they will suspend your drivers license.







* just wait see ...lawsuits take time ,Sparky.

Answer 8

What does the police report say? If they take you to court and you don't show up they get a default judgement which means they have a legal document that says you owe them $9000 and they can garnish your wages to get it. If you were driving without insurance and it's required in your state, you could well be fkd.

Answer 9

You made several mistakes by your own admission. First, you let the existing insurance lapse before you got the new insurance activated. I trust you learned from that error.



Then you presumed the oncoming driver would stop because the light was changing to red. You don't presume a driver is about to stop, you look the driver in the eye and see that he's stopping before you make a turn in front of him.



If you truly owe the other driver's insurance company $9000, then you truly need to pay that or they can take some sort of legal action against you, e.g., a lien on your property. But you need to check first...do you really owe them that money? Get a lawyer ASAP and let him work it out.

Answer 10

So you didn't file a police report when the accident happened and now don't have any evidence to support your claims. Great job, you're screwed. Insurance companies also pay for big expensive lawyers, meaning you're double screwed without them.

Answer 11

Honey, the accident WAS your fault.  If he ran the red light  . . . so did you.  And, you were turning left in front of him - so it was your duty to yield.  This is 100% your fault, due to the circumstances of the accident. 



They're not listening, because you made a left hand turn in front of oncoming traffic - the two red lights will cancel each other out. 



You need to make a payment plan with them.  If you don't, or if you don't make the payments when you are supposed to, your license will be suspended until you've paid it all out.  



If you are caught driving with a suspended license, THEN they can arrest you.  And if you don't show up in court - you automatically lose.  

Answer 12

Legally speaking, you're not allowed to be in the intersection when the light is red. That you're complaining at how a guy went through a red light doesn't change that you were already in an illegal position.



No, there is no law that says "if you're half way through and it turns red you're okay" the reason you have the amber light is to tell you "stop the vehicle NOW, unless you're going too fast to stop" (meaning once you see yellow you only have a few moments before red...

Answer 13

"OF COURSE I had no insurance at the time".  That is the excuse you can use BUT IT DOES NOT HOLD any water.  For insurance companies have a desk at Most if not all ALL NEW CAR DEALERSHIPS. (and at many used lots). You buy insurance right there and you drive away insured.  If you want to change to another insurer you drive to that insurer on another day and show them your insurance and say you want to transfer over to their insurance company.  They do the paperwork WHILE YOU SIT IN THEIR OFFICE AND YOU LEAVE with a new policy which is immediately enforced onto your car.  That is how it works.



So, from the accident story - you made a Left hand turn when it was unsafe to do so.  So your fault.  Who is "suppose to stop and who ACTUALLY DOES STOP is 2 different things.



The car that came through the intersection may have still seen yellow and tried to jump that(we are talking half a second) OR his brakes did not work or he was daydreaming thinking Red is a pretty color for the Xmas tree.

. Whatever, he came through and you turned when it was unsafe to do so.



. The fact you don't have insurance just COMPOUNDS THE ISSUE.  It is more your fault, for you should not even be driving on the road because YOU HAVE NO RIGHT. because having insurance is paying your dues to drive on the road.



It still would have been your fault, even with insurance.  Read you "Driver Training Manual AGAIN" and you will see it is "written there".  They go by the written word in court over heresay.



Well, in 4 months I assume you got insurance for your car.



Bumpers are fixable, Airbags are replaceable.  You are still alive so it was not that bad of an accident. 

Really.  

I have been in worse.



Try asking your now insurance company about this.  Maybe they will go to bat for you.  Try not to point out that you did not have any insurance...and maybe you get a newbie insurance agent who misses that point.

. But he knows how insurance works...and the rules they have.



Hell, you can only hope they don't ask you that exact Yes or No question.  Did you have insurance?  Maybe they will assume that you were always insured...and go from there.



You are not committing  fraud.  You told them the basics and left out some of the "details" as that relies on a perfect memory.



Basically "you got hit by them who ran a red light. Keep it short & sweet."  See where that takes you.  



Don't mention the switching at the time if they don't ask.



Forgetting is not a crime.



But, if the insurance guy is up on his Driving laws and rules, he will know you made a turn when it was unsafe to do so. Meaning your fault (insured or not insured)

So you still don't win. 



But you can just TRY.  Maybe you get Lucky.

Answer 14

There's two things here. 1) it wasn't your fault, so he got the ticket. 2) Your license will be suspended. You were driving for sometime without insurance. And, yes, you owe the money & you also have to fix your car - or let it get repo'd. For $9000 warrant, they'll come & get you.

Answer 15

your fault,  the other driver should have stopped because it was turning red,  wouldn't this also apply to you?   the turning driver must always yield, the straight thru driver has tight of way.    you have no one to blame except yourself. 

Answer 16

Here is a very simple explanation of the law.



When you make a left-hand turn you pull into the intersection.  In insurance lingo that means you "own the intersection." When the light changes AND IT IS SAFE TO PROCEED you make your turn. If you pull in front of some, it would appear it WAS NOT SAFE TO MAKE YOUR TURN.



Your other problem is that the other driver "came out of nowhere." This is usual deadly to your claim.  Then he "stepped on it."  You say him "step on it." Therefore, you saw him coming and turned anyway.



Don't show up in Court?  A judgment will be taken against you for whatever they are asking.  Don't pay?  They will garnishee your wages and in some States invade your bank account.



I am fascinated by the whole "light turned orange and was almost red" when the accident happened.  You timed the light?



I think you are going to lose.

Answer 17

No, that accident was totally your fault.  Even if you had had valid insurance at the time, it would still be 100% your fault.  You turned left in front of an oncoming vehicle, you said so yourself.  That's why they won't listen.



If you had waited until the way was clear before executing your turn, you would have been totally not at-fault.  But you didn't do that, you turned in front of an oncoming vehicle, so you're 100% responsible for the crash.  



You may as well stop insisting it wasn't your fault, because that argument is wrong.  And since you didn't have valid insurance when it happened, that means you agreed to cover those costs personally.  You can't un-agree to that now because you don't like how things worked out.

Answer 18

Two BADD drivers!

Now YOU are in trouble.

Your place REQUIRES insurance?

You don't know what the laws are?

You're going to be taught what the laws are.

Let us know what happens.

People need a dash cam.

The average person lies like an untrained child when caught doing something wrong.

It's part of why our society has so many problems.

Answer 19

The accident was your fault, because you aren't allowed to turn left when there is traffic coming if there is no arrow. And it's not his fault because you said his light was "almost at red" and he doesn't have to stop if it is not yet at red, unless he is turning left.



If you don't pay, then:

1) They will tell the DMV that you were driving without insurance and didn't pay, and then the DMV will suspend your license and registration, so it won't matter what's wrong with your car, because you won't be allowed to drive anyway.

2) In addition to the money you owe the insurance company, you will also owe several hundred dollar fine for driving without insurance.

3) The debt will be sent to collections and your credit will be ruined for many years, during which time you won't be able to get loans, mortgages, credit cards, leases, rental apartments, or even some jobs.

4) The car insurance company will sue in court, and if you don't show up, then they will win and get a judgment, and eventually be able to after your bank accounts in any state and your wages in some states.

5) When you do get insurance, it will cost a lot more than normal. However, since your current car is wrecked and you're not going to be able to get a car loan, or lease another car, the cost of insuring one may not matter to you.

Answer 20

First off when you buy a vehicle you do not move it an inch until insurance coverage is in place.  If you are switching companies you call them and get coverage in place before driving the car.



Secondly, even if you did have coverage at the time at least your company would be representing you but probably lose since it was likely your fault.



And it is the involved insurance companies that determine fault, not something you decide.  And you did make a left when the way was not clear to do that.

Answer 21

"OF COURSE I had no insurance at the one time the accident happens."

Why OF COURSE.?   If you knew you had no insurance you deserve everything that coming to you. Switching insurance companies doesn't mean you have no insurance.

What happens if you don't pay?  The insurance company pursues you. All the way to court. Where it will win. And then continue pursuing you. Eventually it will come down to pay or go to jail.

Answer 22

What you can do is reimburse the other guy's insurance company the $9000 they had to pay out to repair the damage that YOU caused to the other guy's auto.  If you don't reimburse them or work out a payment plan with them, that insurance company will sue you in Court, win a judgement against you, and hound you to death until you pay the $9000. 



You have no defense; the accident WAS your fault. You made a left turn in front of on-coming traffic; and in addition, you were driving without insurance. 

Answer 23

Even going by your own version, the accident was your fault.  You say the light was "almost red", which means it was yellow (not orange), which means you did not have the right of way.  Then you say the other driver came "out of no where" (sic).  He obviously came directly from oncoming traffic, EXACTLY where you should have been looking.  If you weren't looking there, where were you looking?  You should have waited another two seconds and then made your turn, then none of this would have happened.  You're on the hook.  You should consult with your own insurance company as to what exactly you should do (assuming you finally bought some, that is the law).  It will most likely go easier on you if you pay what they say you owe, instead of making them drag you into court.

Answer 24

Lights have 3 colors - red, green, and yellow.

There is no orange



When cars are driving straight (not turning) it is your responsibility to wait until the cars have stopped or gone through the intersection.

- unless the light was red when you started to proceed (which i think orange means yellow) you did not have the right away.



IF you had had insurance, your insurance company would work with the other insurance company to determine percent of fault.  Your insurance company would pay your percentage and the other insurance company would pay the other percentage.

= you are partially at fault for not waiting until the path was completely clear.  In California, at that point, you controlled the intersection and the cars going the opposite direction would be required to wait for you.

= if you can prove that the other car ran a red light (not ran fast through a yellow- it's legal for him to step on the gas to go through the intersection whether he had a long day or not), they would be partially at fault too.  You don't have the tools to do this.



If your car had a loan on it, you were committing loan fraud by not having active liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage on the vehicle.  Obviously, you were breaking state law by driving your car without insurance.



What will happen if you don't pay the other insurance company their money?  They will get a judgement against you.

Answer 25

If you were turning left, the accident WAS your fault. If you don't pay you will be sued and have your wages garnished. You could lose your license until the amount owed is paid. It's better to work out a payment arrangement now than wait until a judge orders it.

Answer 26

Your only option is to GET A LAWYER who specializes in car accidents because you will get sued by the other drivers insurance company. .  . 

Answer 27

Actually sounds to me like it was your fault, regardless of the guy stepping on it or not. You turned into the oncoming traffic. I'm color blind, but have never seen an orange traffic signal, so I have no idea if that is something local or not.

You are screwed basically, if you don;t pay they will take you to court, you don;t show at court and they may reschedule if your lucky. But more often then not they just find you guilty anyways. Still don't pay, nor show up to court when they tell you, they will put out a warrant for your arrest. Running from this will only make it worse. You can also fight it, but you'll have to prove in court that it was not your fault. I don't think you will be able to do that.

Answer 28

It was your fault from the beginning according to your description. I've switched insurance companies before but was never without insurance, your excuses fall flat. If you don't pay they'll, take you to court and garnish your wages or the judge can order a seizure of any bank accounts whether you show up or not. That will also ruin your credit rating, I suggest making payment arrangements. 

Answer 29

You don't get to decide "fault".  Neither does the insurance company.  Fault is determined in a courtroom.  Unless they have won a judgement, the insurance company has no ability to make you pay anything.  No crime was committed, so NO you cannot be arrested.  If there is a court date and you don't show up, the insurance company will win a default judgement and then they can legally pursue your assets (wage garnishments, etc.).