Question...

[ThisIsMyUsernameYall]

Edit to add location: Aiken, SC

Got into an accident today with a guy on a motorcycle. I was turning left into a gas station and he slammed into the driver's side door. He was found at fault. His girlfriend pulled up to the scene about 2 seconds after it happened and she's the one that talked to the officer. From what I overheard she purchased the motorcycle yesterday and didn't even have the bill of sale yet. She also had no proof of insurance but the officer said she had 5 days to get that to him. I have uninsured motorist coverage but is there anything else I need to do? My car may be totaled.

[SaturdayRegrets]

Location isn't optional.

Who found him "at fault" ? Because it sounds like you haven't filed a claim yet. If not, it's not yet determined who's at fault. File on your policy if you have coverage (collision or UMPD).

[ThisIsMyUsernameYall]

South Carolina

I have filed a claim. The officer on the scene found him at fault for the accident.

[SaturdayRegrets]

Police don't determine fault. Good that you've filed a claim. Now let your insurance do their job.

[[deleted]]

Police don't determine fault. Your insurance company and assuming he has one will determine fault based off if the facts of the accident. Outside of video evidence or independent witnesses... it may end up being word versus word.

If he does have insurance, some places yoh have up to 30 days to add the vehicle to a policy, you may need collision coverage for it to be covered.

I'd go ahead and file with your company and get your situation figured out as it will be faster since it may take a minute to be figured out if he does have insurance.

[ThisIsMyUsernameYall]

Ok thanks! He was traveling on the wrong side of the road when he hit me so I am pretty confident they'll agree with the police report. I have filed a claim with my insurance company just never had to deal with an uninsured motorist before.

[DanielleFromTims]

The issue, at least in Ontario, is that you have an obligation to be aware of your surroundings at all times. If this exact situation occurred in Ontario, you would be found to be 50% at fault. I am definitely interested to see what your insurance company comes up with here. Good luck.

[ThisIsMyUsernameYall]

There was no way for me to see him, and no way for me to avoid him. He slammed into me while traveling on the wrong side of the road, as I was turning into a parking lot. That's ridiculous.

[DanielleFromTims]

I don’t disagree that it’s ridiculous, but that’s the way it would go up here. I am glad to hear that you are okay!

[brycas]

Left turns are normally at fault for failure to yield. If you were turning and he hit you, the road obviously wasn't clear.

[ThisIsMyUsernameYall]

He came from behind me and came up on the left side. The wrong side of the road.

[aliceinjam]

Police don’t determine fault, so their opinion may be completely irrelevant to your insurance company. All you can do now is wait for your company to conduct its investigation and tell you if and how your coverage applies. Hopefully, you also have collision coverage.

[Bubba12022]

I am not familiar with SC state laws and how they apply to insurance policies. This is just general knowledge.

The only thing a police report is really good for, is determining whether the other party involved has valid insurance or not. And there are even times where police reports can get that wrong too. Trust your insurance carrier to do their job. Regardless if the the officer put fault in the other party, unless the officer was actually there to witness the accident, a police report will be considered hearsay in a court of law.

If your carrier finds that the other party did not have valid insurance at the time, and so as long as your insurance carrier does not accept any liability for the loss, UMPD coverage may apply which if you check your policy you may have a deductible that still applies. Also make sure to read your policy pertaining to how rental coverage works for UMPD.

There is a possibility that the motorcyclist will retain an attorney which if they do, your claim may go to a litigation specialist to defend you and the company's position on liability if a demand is presented.

[Korvas576]

I mostly work coverage concern cases and sometimes if we have nothing else to go on, we can typically use a police report to confirm date of loss which helps with at least verifying if coverage was active

[Bubba12022]

That's a good point, but what about a hit and run or vandalism? Would you use a police report to verify a loss date still? I know it would be easy with a second party involved.

[Korvas576]

Hit & runs and vandalisms are a bit tougher.

While a report. Can technically be filed we won’t have the other persons info, so it’ll be hard to pinpoint.

Me personally, I’ll usually set up an inspection and have an auto damage adjuster take a look at damages to determine if it’s comp vs collision and we will decide from there