Questions About Auto Insurance and Accidents

jwilliams2

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor other cars shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds.

lilyowen

Don't hold me to this but I think PD statute in NJ is 6 years, and PA is 2 years ... he may want to get humpin' if the venue was PA (well, he would want to anyway).

He needs to start with his insurance carrier ... Collision coverage (not UMPD). I would guess that while you think it's very clear who is at fault, it probably isn't. If it were, the USPS would have contacted you in some manner likely. If he doesn't have collision coverage, he can still file with his carrier and they can assist him getting a claim filed with the postal driver's carrier at the very least.

If he has no carrier, the carrier for the USPS (or their contracted driver) should be listed on the accident report ... along with a policy number. You can't go wrong by calling up that carrier and starting a claim.

They may simply say no, but it's worth a shot. Regardless of fault, damages, injuries and whatever else ... EVERYBODY who gets involved from here on out will do so with a healthy degree of skepticism and doubt due to the year delay ... just an FYI.

If all else fails you can file small claims ... but he will need to be able to prove the other driver's negligence, his damages etc. That really is a last resort that will probably cost as much in time and effort as the claim is worth ... but, hey, he's retired so maybe not.

eastonpa

He did contact his insurance company, which refuse to help him out (I don't know why and what coverage he had at the time of the incident), for that reason he opt to change for another insurance company.
The Police report, have the driver Name and home address, but in the box for the Policy#, have " Self Insured", also have the USPS as the owner.
In my first post, I state that was the Postal driver fault, is because the way that the Police found in their investigation, is very clear that the USPS driver failed to yield, I will quote the Police Officer:
"Vehicle #1 was traveling south on riverside way, Phillipsburg, Warren county, NJ. Vehicle #2 was traveling east on union square, Phillipsburg, warren county, NJ.
Vehicle #1, while attempting to cross over union square, failed for an unknown reason to observe vehicle #2, traveling in the right lane of union square. As a result vehicle #1 struck the driver side rear door and corner panel"

Vehicle # 1 - USPS
Vehicle # 2 - Victim

Q: What it means ? "Self insurance", what party should be liable, the driver or the owner.?
Once again..., Thank You..! Very much for the help in this matter.

kyfdx

Big companies with large amounts of assets can post a bond with the state, and pay claims out of their assets, rather than buy insurance through an insurance company.

The owner of the vehicle provides the insurance... in this case, the Post Office.

fushigi

Yep. Utilities, companies with large fleets of vehicles, and gov't entities typically self-insure.

Individuals can as well, at least they used to be able to in Indiana & Illinois. You have to post a bond with the state. The bond covers at least the state's legal minimum requirement. I don't know anyone who has done that, though. People normally buy full coverage, minimum liability, or have none at all. Those I've heard about with no coverage tend to have other "documentation issues".

marsha7

Yes, many large companies are self-insured and pay their own claims...they either post a bond with the state or certify some other way to having sufficient assets to pay claims up to a sum certain...The Post Office could be one of those entities large enough to do so...

I just had an injury case with Kroger, who was self-insured...they usually work thru a TPA (third party administrator) who is better equipped to PROCESS the claims, so Kroger can focus on its primary purpose, groceries...

Also, individuals are not "REQUIRED" to carry auto insurance, either, at least in GA...wealthy individuals can also post a bond with the state that they are able to pay claims up to a certain amount...example: Bill Gates could post a bond and not be required to buy auto insurance, since he could pay virtually any claim against him...I would assume that he WOULD carry insurance, so that he could just turn any claim over to them and not be bothered dealing with it, but he does not have to have insurance, simply the ability to pay...

lilyowen

You've had a good answer for your self-insurance question I believe. Also, the accident report summary provided by you seems pretty conclusive ... especially considering the point of impact ... though it is oddly written.

So I've taken the NJDOI crash course in NJ insurance and liability laws ... it is not a venue I am familliar with and from what I understand is simply a horrible place to write insurance.

I still think I'm correct on the SOL as stated earlier.

NJ is a modified comparative state -- 50/50 ... meaning that if both parties share equal fault than they can both collect their porportionate amount of damages ... if they are more than 50% at fault then they can collect nothing. This does not appear to be an issue in your friend's case.

NJ may as well be a PIP state -- this appears to not be an issue either as you have not mentioned any injuries.

NJ DOES require financial responsibility ... i.e., require insurance (for most people). I imagine the USPS can be self-insured.

Technically your friend's claim is against the driver, and the post office. He should contact both and advise them of the situation. Once their laughter and shock has abated at the year-long delay, he should reaffirm his seriousness. He should request the driver's insurance information, and a contact at his employer who he needs to speak with. In my neck of the woods the USPS works their own claims ... and they are, not surprisingly, about a year behind ... that is in the metro areas. The rural driver's are sub-contracted and have their own insurance (certainly with excess through the USPS). That should get the ball rolling.

mickie15

My wife and I rolled our truck and pull-behind trailer. No other vehicle involved. I was driving. The insurer whats to pay only for my wife's (passenger) bodily injury. She broke her neck in the accident, so med bills are high. Please help if you know the answer to this question.

My question --- If our bodily injury amount doesn't cover her medical expenses, why aren't we covered under our "underinsured" coverage for the rest --- since we are basically underinsured under the bodily injury amount?

Note - Cause of the accident was a unusual gust of wind on an otherwise breezy day...and I was not charged with a violation.

Thank you so much.
Mickie

marsha7

you must have fault coverage, because if you have no-fault, I am unfamiliar with that...

Here in GA, only medpay would cover your injuries, regardless of fault...the "family doctrine" also says that one spouse cannot pursue the other for negligent (or non-negligent) injuries because of the high chance of collusion...in other words, if your wife was MY passenger, breaking her neck in a wreck would be probably worth $100K in damages...if it happened with you, the chance of collusion for the money is high, so one spouse cannot pursue another, and only medpay would cover the med bills...uninsured or underinsured motorists insurance would come into play if the OTHER driver caused an injury and had insufficient insurance...since there was no other driver, UM, in my opinion, would not apply...

I am not accusing you of collusion, but that is why the law in Georgia is that way...also, if you are in a no-fault state, disregard everything I have said as it is probably invalid...

Sorry your wife was injured, but is auto insurance does not cover it, group health insurance probably will...

"If our bodily injury amount doesn't cover her medical expenses"...here in GA, your bodily injury portion (of your liability coverage) would cover injury to the folks in the other car, if there was another car, or folks in your car if not part of your immediate family (wife and children)...it would cover nieces, nephews, siblings, parents, but not you, your wife and kids...

All this would apply in the "fault state" of GA...your situation may be identical, or my thoughts may not apply at all, as all 57 states (according to idiot Obama) have different auto insurance laws...

lilyowen

Hopefully it is a minor fracture and she is healing well.

Your carrier has actually done you a favor in affording your wife a bodily injury claim. Marsha is right in some states; however I've actually seen that dropped in more than one lately -- Nebraska comes to mind. But they are affording her one because they think you are at fault ... though you attribute it to the gust of wind. Thankfully they do not. Otherwise there is no coverage for her beyond your Medpay or PIP.

YOU don't get a bodily injury claim because, well, you can't be liable to yourself ... and the wind does not qualify as an "insured" under your policy.

To your question: No your car does not EVER qualify as either an "uninsured" or "underinsured" motor vehicle. Therefore, you can't ever have a UIM claim against your own vehicle. If you look in your policy under your UM/UIM coverage there will probably be a clear exclusion, or a very clear definition of what is a "uninsured" or "underinsured" motor vehicle.

I know it makes sense to you that you are underinsured ... when you have a pile of bills, but doesn't it seem kind of ridiculous to claim that you, yourself are underinsured, and then ask your own carrier to dig into their pockets again because you paid too little for coverage?? Go to your health insurance or negotiate direct with the providers (they will do this almost without fail). Good luck, and I do hope your wife recovers quickly.

marsha7

"I've actually seen that dropped in more than one lately -- Nebraska comes to mind."

What did they drop???...the aspect of the potential collusion problem between spouses???...will the driver's liability insurance now cover the passenger spouse as tho they were an unrelated passenger???

houdini1

Hopefully you do have regular (not auto) medical insurance. Hope your wife is doing well.

mickie15

Thanks all, and Lily...there is no collusion here, just trying to get what is due. We have 100K bodily injury, but the insurer only pays out the minimum WY requires us to carry, which is 25K. That is why we get the 25K.

We have no health insurance, so we were hoping that our underinsured coverage would come into play since the bodily injury coverage of 25K will not cover even half of her bills. So we thought we had sufficient coverage, but didn't know that we could only get 25 of the 100K in bodily injury that we pay for.

I guess it sounds unanimous that we have no chance of getting anything more...so we will try to work with the medical providers.

You are all very kind to help!! God Bless you all!
Mickie

mickie15

Also, It made sense to us to a degree (or just wishful thinking) that UIM would help us, since we are the insured. Don't understand why other people in the truck or other vehicle are covered better than we are, since we pay the premium. If that makes any sense. Again thanks for your help!

mickie15

LAST QUESTION....is it a consensus among you all that we are lucky to be getting any amount from our bodily injury injury coverage, on top of the med pay (which was only 5K)?

marsha7

#1: "insurer only pays out the minimum WY requires us to carry, which is 25K. That is why we get the 25K."

#2: "It made sense to us to a degree (or just wishful thinking) that UIM would help us, since we are the insured. Don't understand why other people in the truck or other vehicle are covered better than we are, since we pay the premium."

#1: that is the exact reason why I always recommend that people don't just carry the legal minimum, simply because it is never enough, altho, I still maintain that your policy, if here is GA, would not pay a penny on your wife.

#2: You have to loom at the makeup of your policy and how it is broken down...again, I must use the way we do it in GA...when you buy 100K/300K/50K, that means you have basic liability protection FOR THE OTHER GUY in case you cause the accident, it would mean $100K maximum damages for injuries to one person, $300K for the total possible damages to all persons, and $50K in property damage (vehicle damages, broken fences, telephone poles, etc)...

You DO buy UM to protect YOU, kinda like you are buying a mini-insurance policy in case the other guy causes the accident, and he is either uninsured or underinsured, then your UM policy steps in and acts like HIS liability coverage, if he either has none or not enough...which is why you can also buy UM insurance such as 100K/300K/50K, it would be as tho you bought a policy that he SHOULD have bought with coverage similar to your liability coverage...

But, if I understood you, you drove the car and the accident, whether negligent or not, was attributed to you...here, your liability coverage would cover any passenger except your wife and kids (that collusion thing), so having million dollar liability coverage will still not pay a dime to your wife for damages or injuries or meds...the fact that your liability is paying the 25K is quite surprising to me, but, as lilyowen said, some states may not have that fear of husband-wife collusion, so the wife may be covered by your liability...here that would not happen...

So, it is also possible that there may be a limit and your UM may or may not kick in, depending on how the policy is written and what your state law says...hey, for all I know they may allow spouse coverage on liability for medical bills but not allow UM for additional meds or pain and suffering...in other words, and I am speculating now, so the hospitals and doctors get paid, maybe they allow you to use your liability coverage, but not the UM for addl pain and suffering...

So, to now answer #3: "is it a consensus among you all that we are lucky to be getting any amount from our bodily injury injury coverage, on top of the med pay (which was only 5K)?"

It is my opinion that you are damn lucky to be getting ANYTHING from your liability portion of your bodily injury coverage, and, now you know why I carry $100K medpay coverage, because of an accident like yours that may happen to me or any of my occupants, since all occupants are covered by medpay limits...

While many folks think that higher limits on auto ins just puts more $$$ in the pockets if the ins companies (it does), for that small percentage of serious accidents (like yours) that could happen to anyone, regardless of driving skill, I always recommend to clients to carry the maximum limits they can afford...

So, I have 100K/300K/50K on both liability and UM, 100K medpay, comp and collision (until the vehicle have lost value that it no longer pays to have it) and 2 umbrella policies of $1 million dollars, one policy for liability in case I seriously injure them, and the other for UM, in case they seriously injure me and do not have suffficient insurance for MY medical bills, pain and suffering...I hope I never have to use it, but at least it is there, as all you need is one drunk illegal immigrant driving a large van at 80 mph to crash into you and send you into a tree and you can be quite seriously injured...

And all they will do is deport the SOB, when they ought to kill him on the spot with two shots to the head, like they do to the victims on NCIS..."grab your gear"... :P

mickie15

Thanks for the detailed answer, Marsha. I really appreciate your help, and kindness in helping others, even though the answers weren't all that I had hoped for. God Bless and Stay Safe on The Highways of Life!
Mickie

Mr_Shiftright

I got a call from a woman whose brand new car (as in just a few weeks old) was rear-ended resulting in damages equal to about 50% of the value of the vehicle. Aside from the repairs, she wants to claim diminished value---however, the person who hit her has the same insurance company as she does.

in most states, you cannot legally make a claim for DV against your own insurance company. I wonder what happens in this case? Any ideas?

kyfdx

You can't claim diminished value on your own policy.... but, I don't think that restricts you from suing another party.... Who their insurance company is, is irrelevant.. even if it is the same as yours.

(not legal advice, not an attorney... but, interested to see if the experts back me up.... lol)

qbrozen

I would certainly have to take that matter to court if it were me. I mean, talk about conflict of interest. To deny you a claim because it is against your own insurance company has to be illegal, I would hope.

marsha7

I agree...you would not go after the collision portion of YOUR policy, but the liability portion of the other driver's policy...being the same insurance does not matter, at least here in GA (always must use my escape clause, since I only know GA)...

If the car is new, altho the damage is only 50%, is it possible they might total it???...assume $20K car with $10K damages, even tho it does not break the 75-80% threshold, a new car, well, you never know...couldn't hurt to ask, but not surprised if they say no...hopefully the DV claim will amount to enough to matter...

Mr_Shiftright

No they fixed the car. It looks great but upon inspection I could tell it was worked on---I saw new parts stickers on the radiator shroud and (gulp) on the subframe, some overspray on the inner fender lining, and some masking tape that had not been removed.

I would think that a $25K van with 4,000 miles on it with $11K damages would have to suffer ....what...35% diminution in value?

marsha7

"I would think that a $25K van with 4,000 miles on it with $11K damages would have to suffer ....what...35% diminution in value?"

I have a scientific answer to that one...A LOT!!!

Mr_Shiftright

Basically she's screwed here, and a victim of a driver with a suspended license as well, who is a non-collectible deadbeat.

The system is broken, seems to me, to allow this level of unfairness.

kyfdx

So.. a wrecked $25K vehicle that's been repaired is only worth $16,250, after the repairs?

I don't think that's right.... especially a domestic minivan...

I'd put diminished value at 10%... and, that's only if you decided to sell it immediately... 3-4 years later, your loss is $1000, at most..

(again, not an expert opinion... lol)

Mr_Shiftright

Okay, let's put your opinion to a group test of sorts:

I have two Honda Odyssey vans for sale. Both are 2010s with 4,000 miles on them.

One is virgin

The other has an $11,400 repair bill taped to the window, showing repairs to hood, radiator, fender, subframe, airbags, bumper, upper and lower control arms, wheel, axle. Also a receipt for 3 alignment attempts, the last still "slightly out of spec".

The "virgin" is for sale for $25000.

How much would I have to lower the price of the other one to get you to buy it. Would $22,500 tempt you?

kyfdx

Well... I'm not a good example....

I'm pretty sure, though.... that you start getting into the $20K-$21K range, and it will get snapped up....

You'll have plenty of customers that won't look at it, no matter what... but, what really matters is how much a professional (UCM) will knock it down. Even a professional appraiser (lol) is only giving an opinion... Someone putting the bosses money upfront is a better gauge, IMO..

So, let's assume that unit has a wholesale value of $21K... How much does a UCM knock off his bid? (not 35%, I dont' think...).

Plus, once the UCM puts it on his lot, he has salespeople that will tell you that it's just as good as a new one (not), and that 90% of used cars have body work (prob true)...

Mr_Shiftright

I wonder what would happen if someone buys that car used, and is told only that "it had some bodywork" and then finds out the next day, by looking in the glove box, that it had an $11K front end collision with frame damage----

do you think they would say "oh well" or would the law suits be flying?

I guess it depends on what level of "disclosure" was delivered, right?

kyfdx

I bet that happens all the time...

stever

How much would I have to lower the price of the other one to get you to buy it

Maybe you could tempt me for half price. But subframe repairs? I dunno, even at half off. I have this vision of my van crabbing down the road with the front wheels a foot to the left of the rear wheels.

lilyowen

Can't drop the potential collusion problem ... you know it and I know it, but for some reason jurys just see a bunch of roses.

Can drop interspousal tort immunity ... somthing close to home, you probably have it on a shelf:

Georgia Law Review
ARTICLE: Interspousal Tort Immunity in America
Winter 1989
23 Ga. L. Rev. 359

Nebraska aborgated it recently, and from what I see it seems to be becoming few and far between. I know that in the venues that I am familliar with it is allowed in all now ... as ridiculous as it sounds. I am, however, not very familliar with WY laws. I imagine that they allow claims by spouses but have a step down to state minimum limits in the policy somewhere ... at least that is how the description sounds. Seems like a way to combat the collusion problem a little, without going adverse to laws and/or the DOI.

kyfdx

Ironically, in 2001, my wife's 11-month-old 2001 Accord was rear-ended, causing... almost exactly $11K in damage.... Rear end was pushed in all the way to the rear window.

Other than a small problem a few months later, due to a mis-routed fuel line, we never had any trouble with the car... no crabbing, alignment issues, etc, etc.

But, the best part?

2 years later, I turned the leased vehicle back into Honda Finance.. no muss, no fuss.. One of the advantages of leasing that no one talks about.

stever

So, would you have purchased that vehicle coming off the lease, ignoring your other reasons for continuing to lease?

kyfdx

Nope...

But, I don't think it was worth $8500 less because of the damage, either....

Mr_Shiftright

I've done a lot of calculating and research on this one, and my opinion is that a 2010 Honda Odyssey LX with 7800 miles has a fair market value of $23,250, and after suffering $11,500 in damages to front end and subframe, is now worth $4400 less than that.

kyfdx

You know.... that seems about right.. A little less than 20%...

I'm guessing that you'd be lucky to get half that, from a diminished value claim....

Mr_Shiftright

Well we all know how insurance companies hate DV claims but really, they make enough money to cover them.

Did y'all see this?
HOW MUCH WILL YOU SPEND ON CAR INSURANCE IN YOUR LIFETIME?

kyfdx

$84k seems low... :surprise:

Car insurance sucks... but, we spend more eating out, each month... (and, I have a teenage boy with his own car... )

marsha7

on car insurance in our lifetimes, but what would that cost be if we had to pay out of our own pockets for the damages that we MIGHT suffer ourselves or inflict on others???...I think a little perspective is needed...

We need to look at the total cost of what a wreck might do to us...it isn't difficult these days to have a wreck that causes $5-7,000 to each vehicle, so, let's round up to $15,000...and if each car had 2 occupants that suffered injuries, let's add $4,000 in meds per person, for another $16,000 (you could add another $25K if just one needed surgery)...and suppose two of them were off work for two weeks, so add another $4,000...so far we have $35,000 in total damages, and no one has received any compensation for pain and suffering (we will pretend that nobody wants to hire a scummy PI lawyer... ...)...

Who here has the $35K in their checking account to pay all this $$$ out???...I would bet very few...while many minor wrecks may only cause a total of $5-10,000 in total damages, a fair number go much higher...

Now let's total out a collision between a new $40K Silverado pickup truck with an LS460 Lexus...combined damage to the vehicles could easily exceed $50,000...both drivers needed hospitalization with surgery to repair a broken bone, plus rehab therapy for all that spasm and pain, so both could have med bills exceeding $20K each, for $40K total...add in a month of lost earnings each, and we have another $10K...grand total now $100,000, and that was just with only a driver in each vehicle, how much would it be if two families of four (i.e. 8 vehicle occupants) were heading off to church on a Sunday morning???

So, it is good to see how much we pay in auto insurance, and it is worthwhile to see where we can shave the premium somewhat, with higher deductibles for comp and collision...

But we must put in into the perspective of how much an accident could cost if things really were bad, serious collision, serious injuries, etc...then the cost of insurance may not be so bad...

Plus, we can seriously cut the cost by not having kids or not letting them drive... :P :shades:

So, someone who drives for 50 years pays out $80,000 in premiums...seems like quite a good deal to me...

How much does it cost to raise a child from birth to age 21, assuming parents pay for a portion of undergraduate college or trade school???

How much does food cost over that much time???

Auto insurance is a great deal when you consider how much you pay compared to the total amount that a wreck COULD cost you...

michaellno

Who here has the $35K in their checking account to pay all this $$$ out???...I would bet very few...while many minor wrecks may only cause a total of $5-10,000 in total damages, a fair number go much higher...

Exactly.

My wife once commented why we pay so much for insurance. Five weeks after our son turned 16, he rolled his car and sent his sister to the hospital via air ambulance. The car was totaled, and she spent 4 days in the hospital (no serious injuries, fortunately).

Never saw a bill from anybody. State Farm paid everything and gave us fair market value for the vehicle that was totaled. We figured that the medical expenses and the car added up to over $35K.

Wife will never, ever ask about insurance premiums again.

Mr_Shiftright

Okay, everyone who has made $84,000 in claims on their auto insurance please raise their hands.

(chirp, chirp)

Okay, let's rephrase that. If we presume that the "driving life" of an individual is 60 years, then we can come up with a year per dollar ratio (based on $84K total) of $1400 a year in claims.

How many of you have, at this point in your lives, made claims totalling $1400 a year for every year you have been driving? (just roughly, I don't want to waste your time here)

NOW BE HONEST....include only claims where your insurance company paid out--and this could include no-fault situations.

ME? I am so far behind I could drive through a shopping mall and still probably not make up the $84K.

marsha7

michaell: I forgot the possible cost of Lifeflight...usually around $10K by itself...

shifty: I, too have never had a serious accident, so my average is like yours...but, since you never know what will happen, and the odds of a serious injury are always there, it pays to insure...you may have only one accident in your driving life of 60 years, but if that collision is with a semi-truck or an out-of-control loaded dump truck driven by an illegal immigrant, you will be glad you have the insurance...

Just because most collisions are non-serious injuries, does not mean that yours will be...after all, the odds of you dying on any given day are low, does that mean you should not have life insurance???...

michaellno

shifty: I, too have never had a serious accident, so my average is like yours...but, since you never know what will happen, and the odds of a serious injury are always there, it pays to insure...you may have only one accident in your driving life of 60 years, but if that collision is with a semi-truck or an out-of-control loaded dump truck driven by an illegal immigrant, you will be glad you have the insurance...

Anyone here want to self-insure?

All over these boards there are suggestions that one shouldn't purchase an extended warranty, but rather keep the money in the bank should repairs be needed after the factory warranty expires.

Why isn't the same advice offered for auto insurance? Life insurance?

Answer: 'Cuz it's too darned hard to keep that much money in the bank!

Ergo, it makes sense for some folks to purchase an extended warranty so that the costs can be built into their monthly budget, since they can't (or won't) sock the money away.

marsha7

The analogy is almost accurate...most auto repairs do not exceed $3-4,000, so it could be budgeted on a credit card...

But the potential damages from a wreck or the loss of income due to death is much more than almost anybody can budget for, except for Warren Buffet and Bill Gates...

lilyowen

What Marsha said. If the engine on your car locks up you can replace it for thousands, not tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

It's already been said, but insurance is a way to share the risk. I too have never been in a serious accident, never had a homeowners claim, etc... That's many thousands of dollars that I could have invested. But, even still, we have insurance, primarily, for the catastrophic incidents. You know there's a reason that you can't run into your agent after you've been involved in an accident and have them backdate you a policy (legally), be it a fender bender or something that involves multiple fatalities.

More importantly, it's really the ethical thing to do in having insurance. Clearly many people have insurance at minimum limits, because they have no assets and are pretty much non-collectible. However, that can leave others exposed to the costs of your own negligence that exist beyond your assets.

People often overlook UM/UIM coverage ... it's really the best coverage you can get for protecting yourself against those that would rather go on vacation or drive a new car than purchase a reasonable amount of insurance. Clearly that vacation is not an asset you can collect on, and that new car isn't worth snot by the time litigation is resolved.

Mr_Shiftright

Yeah but UM is no good unless you can identify the person who hit you. Where I live, they are just as likely to take off on you and insurance won't pay on it as a UM claim, only on your own comp/collision, if you have it.

marsha7

"UM is no good unless you can identify the person who hit you"...not necessarily, but here in GA, the quirk is that there must be an impact unless you can produce independent witnesses who can testify that there was another car...

In other words, if you swerve to miss somebody and hit a tree, the accident is your fault unless you have a visible impact to the car (say, a dent in the rear or a newly broken taillight), or have independent witnesses who saw you swerve to miss the car...then, if you claim it under UM (hit and run) you may recover for your injuries...

If you are alone with no other witnesses, and no other vehicle damage, the damages are deemed to be your fault...even with witnesses, they would need to be strangers, assuming they were willing to stop...if the "independent" witnesses are your brother in one car and your cousin in another car, let's just say that it would be a judgment call on the part of the adjuster, and I wouldn't hold my breath...

lilyowen

This is very venue specific. Some venues don't require anything more than your word that there was a phantom vehicle that cut you off in the middle of nowhere with no witnesses. Others .... well, they put a bit more burden on the insured.

Mr_Shiftright

Well I guess you're right---in a hit and run, you couldn't actually prove they were uninsured, even thought that's usually why they take off of course....

marsha7

"Some venues don't require anything more than your word that there was a phantom vehicle that cut you off in the middle of nowhere with no witnesses"

Here in Ga that dog won't hunt...unless maybe if it was the Pope... :P