By One_Wheel_Wonder - 06/10/2016 15:36 - United Kingdom - London

Today, I finally bought my first car after saving around £5000 and finding an absolute bargain that ticked all the boxes! Today was also the day of my first ever car accident, resulting in the car being written off by an uninsured driver. I had it less than 9 hours. FML
I agree, your life sucks 11 861
You deserved it 1 084

One_Wheel_Wonder tells us more.

OP here! I had insurance on the car, I did it over the phone the day before I collected the car so I was all legal to drive it. The guy who hit me had no insurance on his car, and was promptly taken away by the police who were called to the scene by a passing motorist. It was a head-on collision caused by the other driver, so I'm not at fault. My car is what my insurance call "a total loss" so it's beyond economical repair and wouldn't be safe to be back on the road anyway. My insurance company are going to deal with all the valuations and payouts (I can get a payout on the value of the car) but it's just such a shame as the car was super-low mileage, factory-spec, high-specification and in MINT condition. It was a car I'd always wanted but alas, it was not meant to be! No serious injuries to report, couple of cracked ribs from the impact/airbags and bruises but I was able to walk away from the accident, which is a plus. Not sure what affect this will have on my insurance premiums though, but time will tell.

Top comments

cheshireau 26

I've never been in this situation before so what happens? The driver is uninsured, does your insurance pay for the damages to your car? Sorry for the stupid question.

TweetAnne 13

U.K. Must be lenient since here in Texas you need to have insurance before you take the car.

Comments

i think OP was insured. he/she got hit by an uninsured person so they probably cant get money for the car because the person probably doesnt have that amount of money

I work in insurance in the U.K. Most policies (providing they're comprehensive cover) would cover OP being hit by an uninsured driver, but it would most likely show as a fault claim on their insurance. Thing is though, if their car was written off then they're unlikely to get back what they just spent on it, and the policy excess would be deducted from the pay out, so OP is likely to be out of pocket straight away. Not to mention the premium increases for the next few years.

OP wasn't the uninsured driver, they were hit by one

Geevee made many of the points I came in to make (happy to see another insurance professional, on this!), but I can still add, in response to everyone wondering how the idiot who hit OP could be without insurance, that it is horrifying common. Check your auto policy today, and make sure you have uninsured/underinsured motorist on it. These uninsured lunatics are EVERYWHERE. How do I know? I'm in the force-placed insurance business. When people take our a loan, and then don't insure their collateral, I help banks get a policy on it to protect their investment. The figures on auto are terrifying. And a force-place policy doesn't cover liability, it only pays the bank their loss if the collateral us damaged or destroyed, so no, if these people hit you, they still don't have liability coverage and you still need uninsured/underinsured. DON'T RISK IT. It's worth the extra premium to have that peace of mind. I was hit by a guy who's insurance company was being liquidated by the state, and my uninsured picked it up. This would also pay you for a hit and run, or cases where the at fault party didn't have enough insurance (say in a multi-car accident where their limit must be split between so many other drivers).

Well that sucks but the main thing is that no one was injured....i hope?

I feel your pain op I had my second car for hole month before someone crossed the yellow line an hit me head on

OP here! I had insurance on the car, I did it over the phone the day before I collected the car so I was all legal to drive it. The guy who hit me had no insurance on his car, and was promptly taken away by the police who were called to the scene by a passing motorist. It was a head-on collision caused by the other driver, so I'm not at fault. My car is what my insurance call "a total loss" so it's beyond economical repair and wouldn't be safe to be back on the road anyway. My insurance company are going to deal with all the valuations and payouts (I can get a payout on the value of the car) but it's just such a shame as the car was super-low mileage, factory-spec, high-specification and in MINT condition. It was a car I'd always wanted but alas, it was not meant to be! No serious injuries to report, couple of cracked ribs from the impact/airbags and bruises but I was able to walk away from the accident, which is a plus. Not sure what affect this will have on my insurance premiums though, but time will tell.

if you are not at fault, your rates shouldn't change.

I'm so sorry this happened bit I'm glad you're okay. I had this happen to me too. Just I'd had the car a couple months.

This basically happened to me, only I was hit by a drunk driver. Glad you walked away, I did too.

Im so glad you're ok! I know how shotty it is to have someone **** up driving and leave you carless.

That same thing happened to my brother 20 years ago. But his car only cost about $400. Sorry for your loss.