I was in a car accident when I was a minor. I just turned 18 and I am receiving letters attempting to collect payment for damages due to not having liability insurance. I also have a “block” on my license, the OMV stated I still have my driving privileges and I have to negotiate with the insurance so they can relieve me. The insurance wants to negotiate payment (over $15K) which is impossible for me, I am finishing my last week of classes about to graduate high school.
My father is not helping me at all, he says I’m 18 now and it’s my responsibility. He also is receiving letters and has a block on his license but he isn’t doing anything about it because he says he’s not responsible. The car was in my father’s name and he provided the insurance at the time of the accident. He told me I was properly insured and was allowed to drive.
What are my options? I am trying to start my adult life right. I am due to start college this summer but now I’m worried I won’t have a means to get there and have this debt and legal mess looming over me due to my parent’s irresponsible actions.
Subrogation Claim Louisiana (Minor Child)
byu/Unusual_Muffin4036 inInsurance
Posted by Unusual_Muffin4036
5 Comments
Call the insurance and tell them your story and that you aren’t able to pay anything
You ain’t working and starting college with student loans. Don’t tell them you can start paying later
You want them off your ass.
The sad part is while your parents should have held proper insurance and taught you these things. Driving is a privilege that comes with responsibilities. Operating a motor vehicle without insurance coverage is as much if not more on the driver than the owner.
Luckily it sounds like the damages in your accident were relatively minor, but at the end of the day is it fair to the other driver or insurance company to lose money because you were negligent and caused an accident?
I would recommend finding a job or two and set up a payment plan to start chipping away at the debt. You are young and have plenty of time to make up the lost time.
1) What did your insurance company say? Did they deny the claim because you were driving? Sounds like your dad didn’t add you to his policy because he didn’t want to pay for it.
2) If 1 is true, you and he are equally and jointly responsible legally for the claim. You caused an accident, and he allowed you to drive a vehicle that wasn’t properly insured. Now on a personal level he can say that it’s your fault and you have to pay, but the repercussions (License block, possible legal suit) are on him as well. Especially true since you were a minor at the time of the accident.
Your options here aren’t great, and this frankly is more of a personal relationship issue at this point between you and your dad.
You can negotiate a payment plan with the insurance company or their collection agency to get the block off your license with whatever is within your means, but they are 100% within their right to demand a high monthly payment or large lump sum in return for removing the block. But they should also be able to negotiate with you and remove the block on just your license if you’re on a consistent payment plan while still pursuing your dad for the rest of the balance. Be realistic with what you can pay, they can’t force you to have money to give them, but if you can make some payments on it, they’ll go towards the balance. Also, this won’t affect your credit score and you shouldn’t be accruing interest on this so that should help.
You can ignore this, and hope your dad takes responsibility (or someone can convince him to take responsibility) before they file a lawsuit or live with a suspended license for the next few years.
Don’t put your plans on hold for this, go to college, live your life, while this isn’t ideal it also isn’t going to ruin you as you start your adulthood. I’d suggest you make payments on this as you can, if that’s $25 a month do that until you can make more progress on it. Maybe your dad will have a change of heart after a few tickets for driving on a suspended license or having to come pick you up and drop you off at college.
Take your question to r/legaladvice. This is more of a legal question; can a minor be liable for auto accidents with a vehicle owned by a parent? Your Dad is an A hole for not helping you figure this out, that’s his job as a parent.
Presumably the insurance company knows you were a minor and knows that in your state a minor can be held liable for damages.
If in fact you are in a state where you can be held financially responsible for damages you caused and you did not have insurance then you are going to be on the hook for repayment. If the amount is sufficiently large you can file for bankruptcy to get your driver’s license back