What can you do when someone hit your car and has no insurance?

Answer 1

If you maintain collision insurance on your vehicle, you can claim under it. The insurer will pay the reasonable cost of repair subject to the policy deductible. That said, most states have laws that require that an insurer declare a vehicle a total loss if damages exceed a stated percentage of its actual cash value. In that event, the insurer pays the insured the actual cash value less the policy deductible.

If you do not have collision coverage, you are free to file a civil lawsuit against the At Fault driver. If he/she has liability insurance, the insurer will either defend liability and/or damages through an attorney hired to represent the other party, or, if the insurer agrees that its insured was at fault, may voluntarily pay the claim.

If the other party has no liability insurance, you may still sue him/her and if you prevail, you will obtain a judgment. Judgments are not self-executing, meaning that you have to take further steps to collect if the defendant does not voluntarily pay. One effective means of collecting is to provide a copy of the judgment, the police report and other required documentation to that office within the Department of Motor Vehicles that enforces financial responsibility laws. Most states have a provision allowing for the suspension of licenses and tags of persons who do not pay judgments relating to auto collisions. That usually gets the other person's attention.