While entering a left turn lane from the middle straight lane at an intersection, another car behind me was driving up the yellow markings halfway into the opposing lane trying to roll into the left turn lane before it opened up on the road for them and they sideswiped my vehicle. I have dash cam footage of me entering the left turn lane legally where it opens on the road and them coming up on the side of me on the yellow markings / in the opposing lane hitting the side of my car.
After the driver pulled over, I asked if he had insurance and he said yes, and he asked me and I said yes. I showed him my insurance card, and then when I asked for his, he said what happened was my fault so he doesn’t have to show me his. He barely spoke English so he said this to me while using Google translate on his phone. I then said back to him that he has to present his insurance info to me regardless of if he thinks it’s his fault or not. He got belligerent and sped off with a photo of my insurance card, and all I have is his license plate and the dash cam video.
I called the police and they made a report. The officer did tell me the plate came back to the same vehicle I said he was driving. I want to make a claim against his insurance since this vehicle I’m driving is old and high mileage, I only have liability coverage for it. However, I am not sure if the police report will have his insurance information on it or just the vehicle registration info being that he was not there and the officer didn’t check his info. I called the police precinct to ask if this report will contain their insurance info and the lady who answered told me that I should be making this claim through “my insurance that I pay for every month” and that they will figure it out.
I called the claims line for my insurance carrier without telling them my policy info and asked if they would be able to help me find out what insurance this person has based on a plate, and they told me they wouldn’t be able to and that I need to wait for the police report.
I feel very confused and not sure what the best next step is. I feel very confident that if this person actually has a valid insurance policy, that their insurance would find him at fault and would fix my vehicle. I feel stupid because I showed him my insurance card and never got his, so now I’m also worried he’s going to try and file a claim against my policy while I can’t do anything to his (if it exists).
Any advice would be appreciated.
Car hit me – I gave them my insurance info but they wouldn’t give me theirs
byu/LobsterFamiliar7827 inInsurance
Posted by LobsterFamiliar7827
1 Comment
Yeah, very unfortunate situation but you have done the right thing.
The other driver has now committed a traffic offense by refusing to provide his information. Let the police sort it out and obtain a copy of their report once they have spoken to the individual. From there you’ll have his insurance information and would file a claim through his insurer – not yours. If he does file a claim against you that’s great – then you’ll have his insurance info.
A couple caveats, this is assuming everything you provided for accident details is correct, which still may not place him 100% at fault. Without seeing the dash cam and doing a more in depth analysis I can’t say.
Your individual state/province may have some local laws that add nuance.
It’s also worth noting, it may be the other individual simply has no insurance, and that’s why he refused to provide it. So be ready for that as well, in which case you would need to obtain a lawyer and pursue him directly.