accidents

[Fab]

I had a quick question regarding accidents. I just received my bike just a couple of days ago. I'm on my way to dmv with the bike and someone makes a left turn right from on coming traffic right in front of me. My bike smashes into her car, and I go flying over the top. I got up with little injuries. She is aware as well as I am that the accident was her fault. A great portion of my bike is totalled and her car is dented a little. Unfortunately I did not have insurance yet. Even if the accident is 100% her fault will I be found liable for not having insurance. What should I do?

 

[motorman4life]

If you were not at fault, you should not be liiable. It is best to arrange for insurance in advance, but in most cases, if you have another insured vehicle, it is standard practice for them to provide at least minimum coverage for your new vehicle, for about 30 days from when you make the purchase. You can contact your agent for details on what services they provide.

If there is over $750 damage, or any injury, an SR-1 form must be filed with DMV. Failure to do so may result in a DL suspension, even if you were not at fault.

You will need to provide your insurance information on that form and it will be verified.

Glad to hear you fared well in your get-off. Good luck with your claim!

 

[Baptistro]

excellent post motorman

Additionally, if it is a new bike from the dealer, and especially if it is financed (in this case it is mandatory), even if you do not have insurance for another vehicle, the dealership will provide coverage for up to 30 days from the date of purchase.

If you do not own another vehicle or carry any sort of insurance that covers your liability insurance, and you bought the bike from a private party, you may be shit out of luck as far as insuracne coverage of your own.

All this means is that, as long as you can establish solid liability on the other party, you can still collect for economic damages, the lack of insurance coverage on your part only precludes you from receiving any award for pain and suffering.

 

[Fab]

Thanks alot for the reply, I appreciate it.

 

[motorman4life]

All this means is that, as long as you can establish solid liability on the other party, you can still collect for economic damages, the lack of insurance coverage on your part only precludes you from receiving any award for pain and suffering.

I'm not quite sure how a lack of coverage on your part would preclude you from any pain and suffering award, if the other party is found to be 100% at fault.

Maybe Baptistro can elaborate on this? His conclusion does not seem quite right to me. If you had injuries and saw a doctor, I would think the other insurance company would be looking to settle the claim (damage, injuries, medical bills and pain/suffering) as quickly as possible to avoid having you feel a need to get a lawyer and take them to the cleaners!

If the damages and injuries are significant, you should seek legal advice from a competent injury attorney.

 

[summitdog]

I'm not quite sure how a lack of coverage on your part would preclude you from any pain and suffering award, if the other party is found to be 100% at fault.

Maybe Baptistro can elaborate on this? His conclusion does not seem quite right to me. If you had injuries and saw a doctor, I would think the other insurance company would be looking to settle the claim (damage, injuries, medical bills and pain/suffering) as quickly as possible to avoid having you feel a need to get a lawyer and take them to the cleaners!

If the damages and injuries are significant, you should seek legal advice from a competent injury attorney.

Civil Code Section 3333.4 says that a person that does not have vehicle insurance can only receive economic damages, to include loss of wages.

Baptistro is correct!!! What's behind door #3 for the correct answer???

 

[scrubbed flat]

while i understood that if you have insurance and bought a new vehicle it would automatically be covered under your policy for 30 days i checked with my carrier (mercury) to make sure before i took the bike off the lot.turns out they would not cover a motorcycle,had to find another carrier in a hurry that would write a policy .one carrier said sure they would just bring it in so they could take a picture of it and we will give you a policy.no insurance til they had it in their lot.I said are you nuts ride my brand new bike there without any insurance?they didnt understand why i had a problem with that.:nerd

 

[motorman4life]

Baptistro is correct!!! What's behind door #3 for the correct answer???

Thank you very much. Good to know. I don't deal with the civil code much.

I remember back to my first new bike purchase. The dealer submitted me for their coverage and said I could cancel with no fee or obligation if I had proof of insurance to them within 3 working days. He gave me proof of insurance what showed it was good for 30 days.

I took the bike to my agent and he took 2 photos and wrote up a policy. He faxed proof to the dealer right then.. but, I remember, he back-dated my policy to the date of purchase and explained that I would have been covered by them for up to 30 days after purchase, but I was obligated to start the policy on the purchase date. Seemed fair.

 

[Trogdor]

Make sure you read the fine print on your policy. My auto policy would not cover me for the 30 day period for a bike purchase. So my first bike came out the door with a dealer policy that I soon replaced with a cheaper one.

 

[Gragorin]

I know that State Farm has the 30 day period for motorcycles, but I think only if you already had motorcycle insurance with them...

 

[Hyperlite]

check with your insurance company. You may very well have been covered if you filed soon enough, as I know Farmers Insurance will cover a new vehicle from the moment of purchase if you register it with them fairly soon. This is assuming that you already have a policy with them