Hello everyone!
As we all know the Houston roads can be crazy. This week we wanted to touch on what you can expect if you are at fault in an accident and you don’t have insurance, otherwise known as an Uninsured Motorist.
To begin with, at the scene the police will give you a ticket for no insurance with a court date. This of course triggers what I discussed in the previous article regarding traffic violations. After the accident, the other driver will then file their claim with their own insurance company to get their injuries treated, if any, and to get their car repaired. After all their damages have been resolved and they have the total amount of damages that they paid for the claim, let’s say for example $25,000. The insurance company will notify the State of Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) . They will tell the DMV that you caused an accident, that you were driving without insurance and that they had to pay $25,000 for the damages that you caused.
The DMV then sends you a letter which states that you have 20 days to show proof that you had insurance on the day of the accident, pay the $25,000 or enter into a contract with the insurance company to pay them the $25,000. If you are unable to pay they will suspend your drivers license and all registrations for vehicles that you have in your name. The DMV also give you the option to request a hearing to show proof that you were not at fault at the accident. If you fail to comply with any of these request, then your Drivers license and registrations go into suspension.
As you can see this can turn into a real nightmare! We strongly recommend that you maintain Liability insurance. However if you find yourself in a similar situation we strongly recomend reaching out to us we can help!
Tomorrow we will be continuing with the uninsured motorist topic and elaborating on how an experienced attorney can make all the difference in your case.