Car Accident Not at Fault with an Uninsured Driver Who Was Likely Drunk

shamid202 on 05/08/2020 - 12:49
Last edited 05/08/2020 - 13:04

Hi everyone, Just another car accident topic
Someone probably drunk hits my car from back, I was very lucky that someone else noticed their abnormal driving behaviour and started recording his driving.
Here is the video its longer but i have cropped it to accident moment

Video: https://linksharing.samsungcloud.com/C8DLOvZEElPN

He stopped we exchanged information. However he never gave me his insurance details.
I called him and hes been playing up to give me the info. I have only 3rd party insurance.

I have contacted my insurer and they said if driver is uninsured they will cover only $5000 and if they are I will get full amount.
at fault Driver said they have insurance with budget direct, they lied i called and budget direct said their policy was cancelled back in May.
The Driver who hit me was a total Junkie, it wasnt his car, it was his mother's car. Also i checked his license fee in NSW was $0 so he is on Centrelink most likely.

my situation is he is uninsured, It was not his car, I called him last time he started swearing at me so no more communications directly. my insurance covers max $5K my car is around $20K. I have 3 witnesses as well.
My car is written off.

should I take the matter to court? get a lawyer? what Can I do?

I know already the benefits of comprehensive insurance so please dont start telling me thats why u should have got comprehensive.

Automotive Car Insurance Insurance

closed Comments

  • kerfuffle on 05/08/2020 - 12:57
    -1

    Also i checked his license fee in NSW was $0

    Did you mean rego? No one except those in Service NSW can see how much someone paid for their driver licence.

    • shamid202 on 05/08/2020 - 13:03
      +3

      no his drivers license, when i took a photo from the back of his license it says license fee=$0

    • yippy on 05/08/2020 - 14:05
      +2

      My NSW license shows the license fee I paid on the back top right corner. It always has unless it's changed in the last couple of years.

      • kerfuffle on 05/08/2020 - 14:48

        So does mine. It hasn't changed in the 16 years I've held a licence. I incorrrectly assumed that OP got rego (where anyone can check your rego online and see whether you got a concession on it or not) and licence mixed up.

      • YadaYadaYada on 05/08/2020 - 14:48
        +5

        The license fee doesn't mean much. My old license said license fee $0 because the RMS replaced it for free when they used the wrong signature on the first one (that I paid for) that they mailed to me.

        • crentist on 05/08/2020 - 15:20
          +2

          Same here, got a replacement license with new conditions (no more glasses) and the stated fee is $0

  • 87percent on 05/08/2020 - 12:58
    +5

    You’ve hit the mother load… good luck

    • kkmenon1156 on 05/08/2020 - 15:30

      Did somebody say TEQUILA!?

  • picklewizard on 05/08/2020 - 12:58
    +2

    I have contacted my insurer and they said if driver is uninsured they will cover only $5000 and if they are I will get full amount.

    This is your answer my dude! Just do this.

    Source: I had to do so a few years ago, repairs came in at about $2k with $0 out of pocket with me, with only 3PP insurance.

    • ykwon10 on 05/08/2020 - 14:10

      OP says his car is a write off

      • Euphemistic on 05/08/2020 - 14:17

        OP might not be a qualified insurance assessor though. (I haven’t seen video, it won’t work)

      • picklewizard on 05/08/2020 - 14:38
        +4

        Who told him that?

        Edit: OP is a massive liar. Everybody disregard. A millionaire who drives a VE Commodore, rents a house and can't afford 3PP insurance. OK bro.

  • Drakesy on 05/08/2020 - 13:02

    Does the $5,000 cover the damages? else is the car a write off?

    • shamid202 on 05/08/2020 - 13:06

      its write off.

      • Drakesy on 05/08/2020 - 13:11

        Ahh, might want to include that in the post.

        Surely a decent body shop and mechanic could fix it for $5,000 given it's largely rear impact, unless he broke the sub frame?

        Surely the insurance company can go after him for damages.

        But yeah, that's rough.

  • vindator on 05/08/2020 - 13:04

    seems like you stop horizontally at the parking place as well, could it be that you took his parking spot thats why he rammed at your car

    • shamid202 on 05/08/2020 - 13:05
      +1

      thats not a problem its safely out of the road, when cops came by they said thats ok. also we didnt leave the car its was a very short stop and we had all lights on.

  • EightImmortals on 05/08/2020 - 13:04

    "I have contacted my insurer and they said if driver is uninsured they will cover only $5000 and if they are I will get full amount."

    Huh? Do you not have comprehensive insurance?

    • shamid202 on 05/08/2020 - 13:06

      No, 3rd party only.

      • EightImmortals on 05/08/2020 - 13:06

        OK that makes sense then. I have the same since my car got written off to hail damage a couple of years back.

  • mskeggs on 05/08/2020 - 13:07
    +17

    I don’t see why you would have a problem insuring your $20k car for only 3rd party damage.
    Oh, actually, I can see where you might have a bit of a problem.

    • [Deactivated] on 05/08/2020 - 18:46

      My car was 12k, comp was at least 2k and about 3k in excess if I had an accident. I went TP because it was $500 and $600 excess. I almost bought a 20k car too which was actually illegal for me but the car dealer seemed okay with it. Unfortunately not everyone looks at this stuff before they buy a car.

      • witsa on 05/08/2020 - 19:13

        Wow have you got a really bad driving history? Why would it be so high?

  • cille745 on 05/08/2020 - 13:07
    +9

    20k car on third party is pretty ballsy, good luck OP

      • Luo18740 on 05/08/2020 - 13:19
        +13

        End of thread, OP can buy a new car. And then buy comprehensive insurance for it.

      • MS Paint on 05/08/2020 - 13:20
        +19

        To be honest I have good ideas where to invest my money. but i was looking to see if i can find better ideas.

        Invest in comprehensive insurance. What a Muppet.

        • Luo18740 on 05/08/2020 - 13:22
          +6

          He may only have 900k left after investing 10% in a Franchise though.

          • djkelly69 on 05/08/2020 - 13:34
            +4

            @Luo18740: Probably a lot less if he has been 'investing' in a franchise

      • Fredfloresjr on 05/08/2020 - 13:35

        My GAWD. Glad to call myself slightly poor at least can afford to have comprehensive insurance.

      • someone else on 05/08/2020 - 14:16
        +6

        After that, I'm sorry but this tragic thread became ridiculous, maybe even funny… A self-proclaimed millionaire who doesn't want to spend $600/year (more or less, probably less) to have a decent car insurance.

      • netjock on 05/08/2020 - 15:47
        +3

        Losing $15k of $1m. 1.5%. Cheap lesson I'd say.

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 05/08/2020 - 17:29
        +1

        @kerfuffle is creating a kerfuffle.

      • Piranha2004 on 05/08/2020 - 18:21

        This should end the thread. Nice to see he has more money than brains for under insuring his car.

  • PissLUR on 05/08/2020 - 13:10
    +2

    20K car and only third-party property insurance.

    • bdl on 05/08/2020 - 13:33
      +8

      low yield investment

  • kanmen on 05/08/2020 - 13:12
    +1

    The likely drunk part is irrelevant in this case unless you had the police attend and breathalyse him. Then they at least would have pressed charges for a DUI or whatever it's called, and there would be a paper trail there.

  • brendanm on 05/08/2020 - 13:12
    +8

    Looks like you're getting $5k for your $20k car. Expensive lesson as to why you should get comprehensive insurance if you don't have a shitbox.

  • onetwothreefour on 05/08/2020 - 13:14
    +2

    20k car and only 3rd party?

    • ThithLord on 05/08/2020 - 13:21
      +11

      OP doesn't become a millionaire by wasting money on pesky insurance!

      • onetwothreefour on 05/08/2020 - 13:54

        Lol well spotted. If I was a millionaire I'd definitely drive a 20k car.

  • MS Paint on 05/08/2020 - 13:19
    +2

    If you thought the other driver was drunk or cooked you should have called the cops to the scene.

    • ssquid on 05/08/2020 - 13:35
      +6

      According to other threads: OP rents a house, has a sh!tbox car (with no insurance) and has $1m in cash at his disposal. Guessing he didn't want the cops looking in his own car.

      • Hardly Normal on 05/08/2020 - 16:35

        Detective ssquid is on the case.

  • follow on 05/08/2020 - 13:19
    +2

    you'll need to send a letter of demand then take it court if not satisfied with outcome. but if you are correct in your assumptions, you'll be lucky to get anything.

    see how much independent shops say it'll cost to fix. comes in quite a bit cheaper than insurance quotes sometimes. what's the damage?

  • tamckinnon on 05/08/2020 - 13:20
    +2

    Take the $5k and scrap the car for whatever you can get for it.

    Up to you if you want to go the legal route - I mean you can't get blood out of a stone so are the costs and heartache worth it?

  • bdl on 05/08/2020 - 13:34
    +2

    thats why u should have got comprehensive

  • Porker on 05/08/2020 - 13:53
    -5

    Did you know your insurance would cover only $5k?

    This seems quite odd, but I haven't held 3rd party only for a long time. But I would've thought it would be the insurances job to pay for your car and then recover the damages from the offending vehicle/person.

    Have you reviewed your policy conditions etc to be sure that what they're saying about the $5k is accurate? No point coming to OZB saying that it's not enough if indeed your policy actually says that that's the amount paid in this circumstance.

    • Ughhh on 05/08/2020 - 13:56
      +2

      But I would've thought it would be the insurances job to pay for your car and then recover the damages from the offending vehicle/person.

      That's if op has comprehensive, which he doesn't. You get what you pay for.

    • JimmyF on 05/08/2020 - 13:59
      +1

      but I haven't held 3rd party only for a long time

      Then maybe you shouldn't be making claims that are wrong.

      Go look up the different between full comp and 3rd party.

    • tsunamisurfer on 05/08/2020 - 14:04

      But I would've thought it would be the insurances job to pay for your car and then recover the damages from the offending vehicle/person.

      Can I ask what coverage you currently have if you believe Third Party covers you entirely?

      • Porker on 05/08/2020 - 14:21

        My car is under novated lease so I haven't had to deal with insurances for a long time.

        I thought it to be the case that 3rd party would cover others damage in an at-fault crash, but cover your costs in a not-at-fault (by virtue that they would recover the costs from the at-fault party).

        Either way, not here to argue but to just highlight that if $5k is what OPs insurance is offering, to check that that is what the policy states.

        • PissLUR on 05/08/2020 - 14:43

          no there is no such insurance cover.

        • ssquid on 05/08/2020 - 14:44

          Third-party only covers damage to third-parties i.e. damage you do to others. Whether they cover any damages at all to your car depends on the individual insurer/policy.

  • enzioFirenze on 05/08/2020 - 13:54
    +3

    you are a millionaire but can't afford to get comprehensive insurance?

  • JimmyF on 05/08/2020 - 13:58
    +2

    should I take the matter to court? get a lawyer? what Can I do?

    If they are on gov payments like you think, then the best you'll get is a payment plan of like a few dollars a week for the next 20 years ;)

    Ok maybe not 20 years, but you get the idea and thats assuming they bother to pay it.

    I know already the benefits of comprehensive insurance so please dont start telling me thats why u should have got comprehensive.

    all you can do is take the $5k and learn your lesson to get full comp.

  • tsunamisurfer on 05/08/2020 - 14:02
    +10

    I know already the benefits of comprehensive insurance so please dont start telling me thats why u should have got comprehensive.

    I'm going to look past the suggestion you are a millionaire.

    I'm going to look past the decision to go 3rd party on a $20k car whilst having 7 figures in the bank.

    You knew the benefits and therefore the drawbacks of not having comprehensive.

    You accepted those risks when you decided to self-insure.

    Now it is simply a matter of taking ownership of that realised risk.

    • shamid202 on 05/08/2020 - 14:18
      -3

      Yes you are right, i found out that people are generally not helpful here to get any advise. I am not talking about you.

      You are right i self insured my self and to be honest i dont care too much and am glad no one was injured.

      I will take the 5K and get the vehicle to a local repair shop to see if its fixable ill spend the 5K on it.

      Its my first accident in life so i have no experience thats why I am asking here.

      • Luo18740 on 05/08/2020 - 14:29
        +5

        The advice you are getting is actually really helpful. Wear the 15k loss, buy comprehensive insurance next time. Move on.

      • Mitch889 on 05/08/2020 - 17:47
        +1

        If the insurance company writes it off you can’t ever register it in NSW again. That, and the insurance company will likely keep the wreck.

        https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/registration/get-nsw-regist…

    • Windows98 on 05/08/2020 - 16:52

      Truer words have never been said.

  • whooah1979 on 05/08/2020 - 14:04
    +1

    Get your vehicle repaired and send a letter of demand to the driver. Don't send it to the registered operator nor owner.
    https://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/Pages/representing/lawassis…

  • [Deactivated] on 05/08/2020 - 14:05
    +5

    Junkie. Getting money from.

    Mate, you know, I know, he knows. It ain't gonna happen.

    Take the $5k, grieve a little, learn a lot and move on. Take the small win - you know early on to not waste time.

  • toniyellow on 05/08/2020 - 14:07
    +1

    The Financial Rights legal centre has a website with advice for different scenarios - e.g. https://mva.financialrights.org.au/dtop/the-other-party-has-…
    and lots of templates - https://mva.financialrights.org.au/sample-letter/

  • dogboy on 05/08/2020 - 14:12
    +4

    How can someone this stupid have saved up $1M?

      • rompastompa on 05/08/2020 - 14:45
        +3

        If you saved $8k on insurance over the years, and invested that to receive $80k, then chalk your $15k loss to a $65k win.

      • ssquid on 05/08/2020 - 14:48
        +7

        $8K x 11 = $88K… Where did the other $912K come from?

        • netjock on 05/08/2020 - 15:51
          +3

          Maybe they are not a millionaire, a zero short. They are a hundredthousandaire.

        • pegaxs on 05/08/2020 - 18:48
          +1

          Smart enough to invest $8k, get a return of x10 on that investment and then come up with a figure in the millions… I need a new accountant…

          I WaS sMaRt…

  • jtc13 on 05/08/2020 - 14:36
    +3

    Hey OP - sorry you had to learn this insurance lesson. One more thing that I don't think anyone has mentioned with the 3rd party insurance. If your insurance company has deemed it a write off they in most cases only give you the $5000. They keep the vehicle in most scenarios to get whatever salvage price they can for it. I know this is true for comprehensive but I am pretty sure it would work the same way with 3rd party.

    For this reason it can be well worth getting an independent quote as if you can get a repairer to fix it at a reasonable price you may be able to go back to them and prove you can get it fixed under $5k etc or negotiate to keep the wreck of the vehicle as well as get some form of payout from them ( probably $5k less what they think the scrap is worth)

    • shamid202 on 05/08/2020 - 14:43

      thanks

    • Blitzfx on 05/08/2020 - 15:07

      Your comment must be the only one here so far who isn't criticising the OP and implicitly giving the junkie a free pass lol
      Whole community has values in the wrong place

      • Mitch889 on 05/08/2020 - 17:45
        +1

        Free pass? What exactly do you expect to get out of them except maybe a good place to score a little somethin somethin?

      • brendanm on 05/08/2020 - 18:55

        Free pass? Who do you think the insurance company is going to chase for their money?

  • jtc13 on 05/08/2020 - 14:38

    Note re above *true for most comp insurance. Some policies specifically spell out that you have the right to salvage of the vehicle but most of these are special vehicle type insurance for enthusiast's like Shannons

  • jv on 05/08/2020 - 14:50
    +4

    I have only 3rd party insurance.

    there's the problem right there…

    • [Deactivated] on 05/08/2020 - 15:26

      how original..
      how helpful…

  • Godric on 05/08/2020 - 15:33
    +4

    When you're a millionaire and don't bother to purchase Full Comp Policy, then seek free advice on a bargain forum……

    • lachhelix on 05/08/2020 - 15:37
      +5

      Fixed your comment :D

      When you claim you're a millionaire and don't bother to purchase Full Comp Policy, then seek free advice on a bargain forum……

  • netjock on 05/08/2020 - 15:52
    -1

    Take the $5k. Get the write off car and see if you can get it fixed. But remember you probably will have low resale value as it would be marked a statutory write off. Not sure if getting insurance would be easy on a written off vehicle.

    • Mitch889 on 05/08/2020 - 17:43
      +2

      If he’s in NSW pretty sure it can’t be reregistered if it’s been written off.

  • ssjwill on 05/08/2020 - 16:09

    someone upload the vid to streamable please

  • Zephyrus on 05/08/2020 - 16:20

    The only thing you can really do is get a lawyer. It's possible a legal latter will get them to pay or at least start a useful dialogue.
    If you have to go to court and get a judgement against them, it may be very challenging to enforce, you might be able garnish their payments but I'm no expert on that.

  • innov on 05/08/2020 - 16:20

    Can someone re-upload the video?

  • [Deactivated] on 05/08/2020 - 16:29
    +1

    bikies

    • Yummy on 05/08/2020 - 17:19

      You can get a Bike with $5k.

  • spackbace on 05/08/2020 - 16:45
    +2

    In before comments closed 😂 holy hell what a train wreck

    • cashless on 05/08/2020 - 17:00
      +1

      A train got wrecked as well as OP's car?
      I'll get my coat

      • spackbace on 05/08/2020 - 17:05
        +2

        Well, OP can afford both!

  • Mitch889 on 05/08/2020 - 17:43

    Sounds like you’re stuffed. If the other driver is a deadbeat as you say, the chances of getting anything out of them is basically zero.

    Driving around a $20,000 car with a maximum of $5k of coverage (even then only if someone hits you!) is just foolish. Proper coverage just isn’t that expensive.

    • 420dream on 05/08/2020 - 17:50
      +1

      How dare you judge OP foolish
      He clearly said this on above comment

      "Because i was smart enough to invest the $8K i saved and make 10 times more from that"

      He is still $68.000 ahead by not having comprehensive insurance!

  • imurgod on 05/08/2020 - 18:22

    You're out of luck, friend.

    By opting for 3rd party, you've decided that your car isn't worth repairing.

    You can issue a statement of claim upon the 3rd party (although I would issue on both him and the owner of the car), but if he's got nothing, it'll be a waste of time getting a judgement.

    This type of thing comes up again and again on these forums; the fact remains that comprehensive with a reputable insurer (not budget insurers or NRMA, etc.) is well worth it unless your car is a piece of junk.

    Insurance is essentially just shifting risk from your balance sheet to the insurers balance sheet.

    Save yourself the time, learn a lesson and move on.

  • pegaxs on 05/08/2020 - 18:44

    I'm a 27yo millionaire, AMA

    nek minnit…

    comprehensive insurance is too much.

    You have more than enough money to A: lawyer up, B: write it off as a life experience ($15k is 1.5% of $1M), C: pay for comprehensive insurance on your next vehicle.

  • El cheepo on 05/08/2020 - 19:15

    Invest the 5k and make 10x more to add another 6million to your portfolio

    maths✔️
  • Moderatorscrimshaw on 05/08/2020 - 19:24

    Thread closed by OP's request

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