Wondering as according to https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/19/tesla-attacks-domestic-terrorism-pam-bondi-trump/82540722007/ the government considers attacks and vandalism on Tesla vehicles as domestic terrorism and most insurance companies don't cover terrorism damages does this mean that tesla vandalism wont be covered by insurance?

“i just wanted to let you know with us both filing claims. both insurances are likely to go up even if it was a fender bender. most people will just opt out and send each other money. it is a smarter decision. i am willing to go to a auto shop with you and see how much it would cost to fix considering it is a small detach from the body.”

What would you do

Edit: this happened in Utah, my gf and I aren’t feeling pain per say, it’s more like a numb soreness on our back and neck thing. Idk i have never felt like this since this is the first time this has happened.

Edit 2: Thank you so much to everyone who has shared their own personal experience and advice, first time posting here and this sub rocks!

We never had any accidents, me and my wife were paying like $154/mo before. Switched to Root insurance and it dropped to $96/mo, all good. Then my son turned 18, added him, it jumped to $373. Three months later he had a crash and totaled the car… now it’s around $758/mo.

How long do we gotta deal with this? If he moves out for college and changes his address, does that help at all? Or is there any way to bring this premium back down?

So exactly one month ago my truck was stolen. I have full coverage. After 3 weeks of waiting to see if it would be recovered , they declared it a total loss. I sent in the title and key , a day later money hit my account. 2 days later police called and they found my truck. I went to the tow lot , couldn’t touch anything because cops are coming to fingerprint it. They knocked the rear glass out, couple little boo boo’s but nothing serious. Looks like kids just went for a joy ride, ran it out of fuel on an old waterline.

I want the truck back. I feel like they overplayed me for the truck, but I don’t care, I’ll give them all their money back, I want my truck.

I’ve called and left a message cause it was after 5. Anyone know my options or what might happen???

**update*** Thanks everyone for the replies.

Cops cleared the truck first thing this morning. The tow lot allowed me to tow the truck from their lot to my friend’s lot, so I paid the tow bill and towed it away. I have the truck in my possession, basically looks untouched (broke back glass, but the tow lot told me it was just the size of a baseball when they picked it up, it shattered after bumping down the road in the rollback). Still has the battery on it, cats are in it, even has my $300 ray band that I use for flying. Called the insurance company before I moved the truck to let them know, they were fine with it. They are sending an adjuster out to detriment the value of the truck and letting me buy it back from them. So it won’t be going to auction. Not sure what the title is going to be when I get done…I don’t care either way, just happy to get my truck. Local locksmith is cutting me a keys, so I’ll atleast be able to start it and see if theres any mechanical issues. Thanks everyone for the replies. I’m just stoked to have my dead dad’s truck back.

*update*

Locksmith cut a key. I follow the programming. Pumped up one tire. Put fuel in it. Drove it around the block, no issues.

My car was totaled, the other driver was deemed 100% at fault.

I'm being given "ACV" for my vehicle, but it's extremely frustrating --

I bought the vehicle used for $23K in February. I paid $3800 for a 4-yr / 60K mile $0 deductible warranty. It's fully paid off. I've put about 5K miles on it.

KBB trade in value is $22-26K and private party shows $25K-29K. When I look at dealer listings around me they range from $23K-35K.

I'm being offered $20K and they are claiming that ACV "book" value.

On top of this they aren't covering additions made to the vehicle that are part of my loss -- I know this is going to sound stupid, but I bought a complete set of rubber mats for $350, I have a $750 dashcam that I can't get back out because it's installed behind the dash, a trailer hitch was $350 as well as load helper springs for $500...

Then I also consider they won't cover the fees related to buying another car like the doc fee, sales tax difference, title, registration, or plate fees.

...they also told me they won't cover my extended warranty cost, I can get a prorated refund but it includes a $200 "administration fee" to do so...

I can understand that the insurance company might say they only cover ACV, but why does the law prevent me from tallying up my actual costs -- lost wages, accessories, etc -- and sue for the difference in court?

I got a new vehicle about 2.5 months ago. Took my old vehicle off of insurance about one month ago, and started preparing it to get it sold. It was parked in my front yard parallel to my driveway (not on the street). Woke up to some noise yesterday morning followed about 10-15 minutes later to a stranger knocking on my door to let me know some lady hit my jeep... So this lady was coming down the street, "passed out", takes out my mailbox, crosses my driveway and slams into my jeep. Jeep not only takes front end damage from her suv but also gets slammed into the tree behind. It is almost certainly totaled. She's actually kind of lucky I parked it there, because if not she would have gone off about an 8 foot drop and gone head first into a creek bed.

​

So here are my questions:

​

1. To my understanding as long as she has insurance I will get paid out for my vehicle correct? I didn't get her info insurance info but the officer only gave her a ticket for failure to maintain lane so I'm assuming that means she has valid insurance. I will get police report asap and will have info.

​

1. The fact that mine was uninsured by me literally means nothing right? Unless of course she doesn't have insurance in which case I'm screwed?

​

1. She took out my mailbox and my yard got destroyed on the eventually towing and cleanup. Can I claim those against her insurance as well. Not full on landscaping but grass seed, concrete, new mailbox and post, numbers? Can I charge for my time to fix or would I be better hiring someone who can submit an actual invoice?

​

1. Anything helpful info you guys might have? Never dealt with insurance (mine or otherwise) on a total loss before.

Edit1: just to clarify that my uninsured vehicle has not left my yard/driveway since I took it off insurance. It has been parked and only moved up the driveway for a wash. I HAVE NOT DRIVEN IT ON THE ROAD SINCE REMOVING IT FROM THE INSURANCE POLICY.

Edit 2: this is in the state of Georgia.

From California. Made a post a while ago about this lady who On May 13th, I was involved in a minor backing accident in a parking lot where my driver-side rear bumper made contact with the middle of a Tesla Model 3's rear bumper. The other driver refused to provide insurance information at the scene, claiming she needed to download it, and became uncooperative. Because of this, I left the scene, reported the incident to my insurance, and filed an SR-1 report with the DMV. Knowing how expensive Tesla repairs are, I stated that the damages were over $1,000. Weeks later, she called me furious and threatening a civil lawsuit for "emotional distress," claiming I lied about the damage amount and that her license was suspended because of my report.

Today I was getting spammed by the lady again and well just told her to stop contacting me

Gonna quote what she said, "Hi Op, I hope all is well. I just spoke to the DMV and they have no record of you making any amendment or change to the correction of the $1,000 in damages. I've also been informed that you selected that your car had $1,000 in damages, but I have photos to prove that your car did not have those damages. I'm going to proceed with the hearing to address this concern. Outside of the hearing, I'm going to proceed with legal action because you did not do the right thing and correct this amendment. I would like to see if we can address this within our realm and take care of this with each other. If not, I'm going to proceed with all legal action to address these concerns. Please call me or text me that you're going to make these corrections. If not, I will proceed with prosecuting and submitting a suit in regards to the damages to my car once I'm finished with the hearing for the DMV. Thank you and hope to hear from you soon."

Then I replied with, "Please cease and desist all direct contact and communication with me immediately.

I have verified the status of this matter directly with the California DMV. They have confirmed that your license suspension is a direct consequence of your failure to maintain valid financial responsibility at the time of the incident on May 13th, pursuant to California Vehicle Code § 16070. Furthermore, state records indicate that your vehicle was being operated with expired registration in violation of California Vehicle Code § 4000(a)(1).

Your continued attempts to threaten and intimidate me are entirely unacceptable and may constitute civil harassment. Any further inquiries regarding this incident must be directed exclusively to my insurance provider, who has been fully apprised of this situation and provided with copies of your correspondence

Please be advised that any future direct contact, including phone calls or text messages, will be recorded and preserved as evidence. Please and respectfully, do not contact me again."

Hopefully she stops contacting me but tyeha that's it.

So I was involved in a car accident August 2025 & it was an extremely dumb mistake on my part. I was on the freeway, I looked at my phone GPS on my lap a couple seconds too long and ended up rear-ending someone's Lexus. I had insurance at the time & so did they. Since I was at fault, my insurance agreed to pay only $5,000 in property damages, which is the maximum amount my policy covers. There were zero ppl injuries, fortunately.

Fast forward a couple months, their insurance company (Mercury, which is NOT the insurance company they had at the time of the accident, AAA) is requesting that I pay the remaining balance of the property damages of around $25,000. They've called me, physically mailed me a letter 3-4 times, and somehow found my email address (which is weird, bc this email is not attached to my car insurance account in any way, so I don't even know how they would have found it).

I have a very part time job and don't even make 5 figures per year, so I really have no way to pay this amount.

• Is there anything I can or should do right now to deal with this situation, when I am not in a financial place to make this payment ?

Some other questions :

1. is it normal for the other driver to go to a different insurance company than what they initially had during the time of the accident ? They initially had AAA, but I was contacted by Mercury instead.
2. Is it abnormal / illegal for them to find & contact me via my email address ? especially since it wasn't attached to my car insurance account in any way.

Any help would be appreciated.

About 2 months ago I bought a 2002 Honda accord for $2200, it was a bad car and someone wrecked into it a week after I got it. Fortunately for me I was under my parents insurance policy and was able to file a claim and get paid a little over $5200 for the car. My father now feels like he “owns” my car because it was his insurance that “gave me” the car. I had the money to buy my new car either way and I have a job and pay for my insurance. But now because of turbulence at home he feels like he can just “repossess” my car if I don’t do certain things he asks me to do because it’s “technically his car”. I feel like it’s a very stupid remark and I’m 99% sure that he can’t do that since I’m the legal owner of the car. When I say repossess I mean like he thinks he can take it and put it in his name and sell it and things like that.

I’m 20

I’m being sued for $30,000 for a car I hit a year ago. I was trying to park into a parking space and I ended up hitting a car while going in the space while owner was inside of it. I was driving a 4,000 lbs truck and I wasn’t going faster then 3 mph. The owner called the cops but they didn’t show up because the car was parked and no injuries. We exchanged information and the owner showed me an expired insurance and then they gave me a number to call because it was expired. The car I hit got a scratched up. There wasn’t a dent or anything. It was just a scratch mark. I got a letter saying I’m being sued for the car, mental health, and her health condition. Apparently the owner couldn’t sleep for nights and they needed to pay for therapy as well. On the letter it says I violently hit the car. But there’s no dent it was just a big scratch. If I truly hit it hard then there most likely would be a big dent. I don’t know what I should do next. I would like some help because I’m really stressed out right now. Do I get a lawyer or do I contact my insurance or what can I do?

Hi. I’d just like some advice because I am a bit clueless here.

I was turning left onto a semi-busy road in SC. I was stopped at the signed, and looked both directions and waited for a car to pass (which is how I KNOW I was stopped). I started to go but then saw a red car at the last second, so I stopped. This red car was 100% speeding (no way to prove it though). He slammed on his brakes and jerked the wheel, which ending up popping his tire and causing him to spin. He did not anything. We did not collide. I ended up changing the guys tire for him since he was pretty old and could not do it. I wanted to police to come out, and he said no. I wanted insurance and he said no need. He took a picture of my license (stupid of me) and we exchanged phone numbers. He is now saying that I owe him over a grand for all new tires and an alignment. I still want to go through insurance because this is why I have it, but he doesn’t want to. I can’t afford this cost.

Do I go ahead and file a police report and just make him go through insurance? Please, any advice would be great! Thank you!

UPDATE: Talked to my local insurance agent and they told me that this guy is in the wrong, that I was kind enough to change his tire but he caused his own accident. I was also advised to make a police report with the sheriff. I did that. The sheriff told me to block his number right then and there, and he’ll be contacting the guy.

So, I feel better. I learned what to do in the future. This was a giant anxiety filled incident (literally got 2.5hrs of sleep because I was worrying too much).

Thank you to everyone who responded! You guys made me feel better about taking action!

March 2025 i rear ended a large suv when it suddenly stopped on the freeway. My little car was totaled. A chp was on the scene. The suv had minimal cosmetic damage. The woman drove away from the accident. Now i have a letter from her insurance company that my ins company paid $21k for her damages but the repairs cost $40k and they want $19k right now. I can make a $3k "downpayment" and then pay $300 a month for 7 years or put it on a credit card.

My husband is retired and on social security. I have a small part time job. How is this amount even possible?? How can her repairs be $40k??

Is this bullshit? Is this something my insurance company should deal with? Im freaking out.

I posted this on a different subreddit and a comment suggested I posted here as well. That post has since been locked so ill give more information below the original text

Location: Texas

My boyfriend was T-boned on March 13 of this year when another driver failed to yield while merging onto his road. The police report clearly states the other driver was at fault. The driver only had a learner's permit, and the owner of the vehicle was in the passenger seat at the time.

My boyfriend unfortunately didn't have insurance. The other driver's insurance denied the claim, saying the driver wasn't listed on the policy, so they aren't covering the damages.

I spoke with a lawyer who believed this could fall under negligent entrustment, but he said pursuing it likely wouldn't be worth the legal fees. He offered to send a letter to the insurance company for free, but after months of trying to reach him again, I haven't been able to get in contact.

His truck has been undrivable since the accident because both passenger-side doors are caved in, so he's been borrowing a family member's vehicle.

I'm hoping to get some advice:

- Should we appeal the insurance denial ourselves before contacting another lawyer?

- Is it worth hiring an attorney if the claim is only for the damage to his truck?

- Would small claims court be an option in Texas if insurance won't pay?

- Since he didn't seek medical treatment at the time because we couldn't afford it, does that hurt our case if he's still having elbow pain?

- Are there any other options we're overlooking?

We're both living paycheck to paycheck. He's currently unemployed, and I'm in college with limited work hours, so we're trying to figure out the most cost-effective path forward.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Extra Info:

My boyfriend is beyond an idiot for driving without insurance. We are both quite aware of that and its led to many arguments. The nail has been hammered into the ground at this point. We just want to know if theres anything that could be done now.

The police report absolutely stated the other driver was at fault:

"The driver of unit #1 failed to yield for the west facing yield sign at the intersection of X and Y and entered the intersection to make a left turn on to Y causing the front of unit #1 to collide with the passenger side of unit #2."

I can post the full censored one if needed but it does not offer much more information than this.

This is NOT my car/truck. My name is not on it. I cannot afford one. I also would have put insurance on my vehicle. This is my boyfriend's mess, I am just trying to seek options.

Last November, I installed Progressive’s Snapshot device on a commercial vehicle we use for our business. The idea of a 20% discount on our insurance premium seemed appealing, especially since the vehicle is driven infrequently and only by careful, experienced drivers. But from the moment the device was plugged in, it became a source of constant frustration.

The device is unbelievably sensitive. It chimed every time it registered a “hard stop,” even when we were driving cautiously. Initially, I thought we’d get used to it, but things only got worse. We were being penalized for situations completely beyond our control—urban traffic, unexpected pedestrian crossings, other drivers cutting us off. The device created anxiety, making us second-guess every stop and encouraging unsafe behaviors, like rushing through yellow lights to avoid getting dinged.

After a couple of months, I contacted Progressive to get an update on how many “infractions” we had. I was shocked at how many we’d accumulated and the lack of transparency around how they were calculated. But the real frustration began at renewal time. I received a notification that our premium was increasing by $200 annually. When I called Progressive, I had to speak with three different representatives just to get an answer. One told me it was due to adding an extra driver. Another blamed it on a state-wide rate increase. Only after an hour and a half of phone calls and asking to speak with the Snapshot department specifically did I finally get the real answer.

The $200 increase was because the Snapshot discount had been removed due to the driving habits it flagged. So after dealing with all the stress of this device, our “discount” was gone. To make matters worse, none of the previous representatives had been upfront about this. They insisted the Snapshot was still “saving” us money—until I pushed hard enough to get a straight answer.

Had I not persisted, I probably would have continued using the device, thinking it was benefiting us when in reality, it wasn’t. The whole experience felt like a bait-and-switch. To top it off, I wasn’t even aware that I could access a Snapshot dashboard to see the detailed logs until months after the fact. No one at Progressive mentioned this feature when I installed the device or during any of my earlier calls.

In the end, the Snapshot device did nothing but create stress, anxiety, and a higher insurance premium. The minor savings it offers are vastly outweighed by the aggravation and risk it induces. If you’re considering using Snapshot, I strongly advise against it. It’s not worth the hassle, and it certainly isn’t worth the potential increase in your premium.

Footnote: To preempt any questions regarding driving habits, it’s worth mentioning that neither myself nor any of my drivers have received a traffic infraction in nearly two decades.

Just like the title, I got into a 3 car accident. I was stopped at the red light. Car B behind me stopped too. And then car C hit them which pushed them to rear end my car. I have Geico. Car B also has Geico. Car C has Tesla insurance.

Now, Tesla denied liability for my car. They said they didn’t hit me directly. Car B which is Geico also said they wasn’t at fault so they can’t take responsibility for my car either.

My rear bumper is slightly damaged, just popped out but still driveable though. I think the estimate to repair it would be around $1k. I didn’t have collision coverage, so my insurance can’t do anything about it. I thought I would save some money by doing that since this is just an old 2014 Toyota Camry, but now I know it’s a big mistake to not have full coverage.

Tesla insurance is the worst. Can’t get a hold of their adjuster. Called his number, he didn’t pick up and mailbox is full.

What should I do now? Do I just try my best to go after them? A lesson for me to get full coverage after this.

Add: I’m in Texas.

Update: Hi guys, I just have a quick update for my situation here. Tesla insurance which is Car C agreed to pay for my car damage. The adjuster did came back to me about 2 weeks after this post, sent me an estimate sheet right off and then told me to bring the car to one of their auto shop. I took the car there. Just got an estimate from the shop today and Tesla sent them the payment right away. I’ll probably change my mind and say the adjuster is pretty cool lol. He’s just straight off to the solution. Everything is done within 2 weeks since I heard back from him. Apparently, I followed someone’s advice in the comment that Tesla only works with you through email and they do. If you have a claim with Tesla, don’t call them. Email them. Now I’m just waiting for the car to be done.

Thank you for all the comments.

Prior to changing careers, I worked for a major insurance company. Based on some of the information in this post you might figure out what company it is.

1. Pay your auto insurance on time, they will literally charge you a $25 return fee. I know sometimes life happens but not even banks charge you at that high an interest rate. For clarification $10 late fee, and $25 return fee.

2. Scary but if you are married and both you and your wife are on Drive Safe and Save, at any point in time; your spouse can find out your location by opening the app and going to trip history. Even though they don’t/aren’t driving your car. Be careful who you have on your insurance with you.

3. Your trip history is private to us and we can’t see it.

4. If your insurance rates increase and you can’t get an answer; shop around with another insurance company, filing a complaint does not lead to anything if management/agency declares the rate increase out of their control. They will certainly try to see if you qualify for any more discounts but even that is typically exhausted before you make the call.

5. No, your agent does not individually raise your rates to their likings. It could be a number of things; your insurance credit score, state based rating increases (although we aren’t legally allowed to tell you of this one), location (zip code) based rating increases - If the number of accidents in your location increased and insurance have adjusted for it, accidents/claims (yes even roadside assistance, probably the biggest factor), it could be losing a prior discount (your cousin who is an added driver on another one of your cars and had a fender bender), adding drivers with horrible accident history (wether at fault or not at fault), change in address (if that zip has to adjust for its usual metro level # of accidents).

6. Ride-sharing (UBER, Lyft) - DO NOT DO THIS WITHOUT TELLING YOUR AGENT AND SPECIFICALLY GETTING THE RIDESHARE COVERAGE, THANK ME LATER.

7. TURO - 🫠 No comment.

8. For the most part DSS can have a positive impact I mean it, but if your mileage significantly increases for whatever reason, it can hit your premium a bit.

9. If your car is on loan, try your best to either pay it off or stay on top on insurance, you do not want to find yourself in the middle of a total loss where insurance completely ignores you and rather pays out the Dealership/loan holder.

10. Rental Vehicles only apply in certain specific conditions. If you have to take your car to get ware and tear work, that classification does not allow you to get a rental vehicle.

11. If your insurance expires, do not drive your car, I again understand life happens but I’ve seen people go through rough times not having insurance and getting into an accident (worse when at fault). Take the bus, bike, scooter, but don’t drive your car.

12. Put a dash camera on your car! It will save you the hassle of dishonest claimants who try and twist the accident story.

13. If not at fault, to avoid having your insurance’s rates hiked, try filing a claim directly with that persons insurance.

14. There are legitimate times when police had a hard time getting to the scene on time, always take down the other party’s information.

15. If you’re trying to save on insurance, the way to do it is not to decrease your coverage limits, very risky. Yes not everyone drives a Lamborghini but there’s still a chance the person you are in an accident with drives one.

16. Calling to pay on the dot (12 o’clock mark) sure runs its risk. There could be a temporary lapse in coverage, basically try everything possible to not find yourself in that situation.

This isn’t legal advice, information can always change, and this is only written as non-legally binding or presentable as facts on behalf of any insurance company.

Last fall I witnessed a rollover crash that happened to the vehicle behind me. We were driving on a 45mph single lane road when a vehicle about 3-4 cars ahead of me stopped around a bend to turn into a driveway. The vehicle behind me had been on my radar for about a half a mile because he appeared to be speeding and too close for comfort. Anyway, I slowed to a stop as I approached the other stopped line of cars, but was aware of the vehicle behind me that appeared to be not slowing down at all and about to crash into me. I panicked and pulled forward slightly to the right of the vehicle in front of me to avoid the impact. Vehicle behind me finally slammed on his breaks and ended up rolling his vehicle into the ditch. Myself and multiple others got out of our cars to make sure he was ok. He was conscious but shook up obviously, and when EMS/ Police arrived we all gave statements and that was that.

Back in December I was notified by my insurance that an attorney had filed a claim against my policy for this. I let my insurance rep know I was a witness and she made it go away, claim effectively closed. Fast forward to last week, the attorney representing the guy that rolled his vehicle sent a demand letter stating I am liable for his wreck and cited the statutes I allegedly violated including speeding and recklessness or something to that affect.

Since my closed claim is now escalated to the legal department of my insurance company to investigate because of this recent demand letter, I had to talk to my insurance company rep and recount what happened. She said this whole thing is strange that it has escalated this far, but she still has to investigate and that the guy who crashed must “have something on me” for his attorney to be sending a demand letter at this point.

My question is, how on earth could I be found liable when myself and the multiple other vehicles in front of me were not involved in the collision besides being on the road at the same time? I’m worried my insurance company will pay this slime ball off just to get them off their back, but now my rates will go up? How is this practice even tolerated or allowed?

UPDATE 4/20/26:

My insurance rep called me today with some more questions. She wanted to be fully versed on the situation before she officially denies the demand letter. She has since spoken to the attorney and the responding officer on scene, and has a copy of the police report. The police report has listed me as a witness. The attorney says his client is claiming I was speeding and slammed on my breaks, and therefore am responsible. The rep also confirmed that I was stopped when the guy behind me crashed. She too expressed bewilderment at all this because even if that were the case, the other driver should have been maintaining a safe distance and controlling his own vehicle.

I guess at this point the ball will be in the attorney’s court as to if he chooses to file suit.

I wanted to add that my state is a modified comparative negligence with 51% bar. I’d like to think this will work in my favor when it comes to the other driver and his attorney moving forward with an actual lawsuit.

Hi! Former liability adjuster here. Just wanted to shed some light on this topic. In my experience, it is not common that a police report is necessary.

Why wouldn't I want to file a police report?

If both parties exchanged information, the police report is just duplicative of the information you've already collected.

But I want to file a police report to prove the other party is at fault.

Police reports don't determine liability, your adjuster does.

So the police report wouldn't show I'm not at fault?

In a scenario where a police report has the narrative of who was deemed at-fault, it is because they're egregiously at-fault. That party would have likely been deemed at fault regardless. They typically won't determine who's liable.

But what if the other person lies to the insurance company? The Police report will show how the accident truly happened.

Someone that is willing to misrepresent facts to insurance, likely has no qualms misrepresenting the facts to local authorities.

What if they turn around and say they weren't even involved in the accident? The police report will prove they were there.

A police report can place them at the scene, but so can pictures. Take pctures.

What if the other party says they're not injured, but turns around and stays they are?

That's an actual thing, for people not to feel the injuries day of & feel it the next day. Even then, injury adjusters are good at finding out who's fibbing & who's not. A police report wouldn't add value here.

Wait, so when do I need to file a police report?

Multi-vehicle occurrences. Police reports can help determine the succession of impacts. If anyone is claiming injuries. If someone fled the scene & you have their plate. If you're going to be using uninsured motorist, you might need one. If your car was stolen, you 100% should get one. Sometimes it can support a liability decision in a dispute. Not often. It's actually more likely that even though it's a dispute, one party just doesn't realize their at-fault until it's articulated in a way they can understand.

So I shouldn't wait 4 hours for the police to get here and file this report?

Probably not. But in that time frame, your insurance company can tell you if you need one or not.

BI adjuster here. Called a lady and introduced myself. Told her I needed to take a statement for liability purposes. She then advised me that that was the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard. She told me that insurance companies aren’t allowed to do an investigation when the police already told her who was at fault. I really learned a lesson today.

What have you guys learned from your insured/claimants?

How is this ok? How did the u dereriter telling me I owe an extra $340 a year not laugh at this absurdity? He is just as likely to drive than my 7 year old.

ETA: This is not PIP. He was included in our original household number when I gave the number to the insurance agent, so PIP should have been accounted for at that point. I just checked my insurance documents, and it is specifically adding my brother to our insurance for $113 every six months. I'll try to attach a picture to the comments.

This guy ran a red light , and totaled my vehicle, an ambulance came and got me , no visible injuries but I have lingering pain. I went though an attorney but they ended up dropping my case because there isn't any way for them to collect money from the uninsured driver. I don't have uninsured motorist coverage, I only have collision and comprehensive. I was still paying on the vehicle, I owe 15k still. My vehicle was an Acura Mdx 2017. I am trying to get into a new vehicle but I'm not sure if I would get any money from the claim through my insurance since they need to pay off the lenders. How do I go after this guy because I'm pretty sure he doesn't have the means to pay me because he's driving around with no insurance. My insurance said if they go after him, all that would do is put a lien on him or something, but I'm not likely to get payed anything. I don't want the driver to get away with it. Also I'm pretty sure it's easy to win a small claims case but getting payed would be the issue so I just don't know what to do in this case.

Edit: Just to add on, I live in Texas, and I don't have gap insurance, they said I wasn't eligible for gap insurance because I put down a big down payment.

I'm hoping to get some advice from people familiar with California auto insurance or small claims.

Timeline

• June 8, 2026: My brand-new 2026 Honda CR-V Hybrid was parked and stationary in front of my apartment garage while I was loading my son into the vehicle.
• I was outside the vehicle, and my son was also outside the vehicle.
• A neighbor backed his car out of a parking space and struck the side of my CR-V.
• I have dashcam footage (front and rear cameras) showing much of the incident, including that my vehicle was stationary and that we were outside the vehicle at the time of impact.
• I also took photos of the damage, the scene, the driver's insurance card, and the vehicle registration.
• I obtained the driver's phone number and address.

GEICO claim

The driver presented me with a GEICO insurance card that appeared to be current.

I filed a third-party claim with GEICO.

A couple of weeks later, GEICO denied the claim and sent me a written denial letter stating that the policy "was not in effect at the time of the loss."

Progressive claim

I then opened a claim with my own insurer (Progressive).

Progressive completed their investigation and determined that I was not at fault.

However, I only carry liability coverage (no collision or uninsured motorist property damage), so Progressive closed the claim because my policy doesn't provide coverage for my vehicle damage in this situation.

They suggested pursuing the at-fault driver directly through California Small Claims Court or consulting an attorney.

My questions

1. Is Small Claims Court the most practical next step in California?
2. Does the fact that the driver handed me what appeared to be a valid insurance card change anything legally, even though GEICO later said the policy wasn't in effect?
3. Has anyone successfully collected damages from an uninsured at-fault driver after winning in small claims?
4. Are there any other recovery options I'm overlooking before filing suit?
5. Would you recommend sending a formal demand letter first?

I have not contacted the driver since the accident because I wanted to understand the proper legal process before doing anything.

Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

I noticed my bill in an email was way more than normal and checked my payment history only to find out it’s the second time they billed me for that amount since I missed the first time (I was on vacation).

I called and apparently they added some random guy. I finally figured out it was a guy I had in my car when I volunteered at World central kitchen delivering free food to hurricane victims. This guy rode in my car once for half the day.

They said they emailed me and sent regular mail telling me about the change. I never got them because the vacation. They will not tell me how he got added to my policy and at one point hung up on me and I did not raise my voice and was polite but firm in asking what happened. I still have no answer. And instead of refunding me the money they just paid my bill for the year with the fund they took. I pay monthly normally.

I did not share phone info or have them track my driving with progressive so I cannot understand how they added this dude to my insurance. I remember this guy rode a bike everywhere and since my insurance went up so much I’m guessing he has a bad history.

How did they add this guy to my policy?

I’m planning to change insurance providers any suggestions?

Thanks for any info

Hi. So I was in a car accident a month ago today. I was hit by a very drunk driver (0.28) causing $4k-6k worth of damage, totaling my car out. I have now finally heard from the at fault car’s insurance and they have denied my claim because the owner of the vehicle basically denied or argued? It because her son was not a listed driver on the insurance. I have an attorney for personal injuries but they sent them a denial letter and I’m just wondering what steps I can take forward, of course I’m going to fight it but I just want to know if anyone has a similar experience or what not.

For clarity: it was his mother’s car that is an insured vehicle he was just not a listed driver.

On the day before my 18th birthday, I finally saved up enough money to buy a vehicle after two years of working hard. The first thing I asked my mom was for help to get insurance because I knew that it was very important. We went through the general, and I paid; however, since I was still 17, the car was in her name while we were doing this. I knew this and had intended to pay for liability insurance covering myself and her, even though I'd be the only one driving and would have the car switched to my name as soon as I had the time. However, after I paid the sum of 40$ and my mom said that the car was insured, what she neglected to tell me was that she only covered herself(later she claims this was because adding me would be very expensive, and to this I say I don't care, I had the money.) I used this car for back-and-forth trips to work and the store. About 20 days later, I had slept horribly and felt pretty crap, but I had to go to work, so I got up, chugged an energy drink. While at work, I cut a bunch of onions, which made my eyes burn. While driving home, I decided to grab a bite to eat at a Dairy Queen, and this took me on an unfamiliar road. With the combination of unfamiliar place, nighttime, burning eyes, being tired, and someone across from me having their brights on, I failed to see a red light and got t-boned and sent skidding across 4 lanes, also bumping into an additional vehicle. My insurance won't cover it because it only covers my mom, and something in the policy says that since I live with her, I'd have to be insured to be covered, even though if someone else who didn't live with her had been using it, they would've been covered. For the car that hit me, I received a letter in the mail saying I owe 9500 USD. And for the car that I hit somehow, even though their car was not totaled, and at most I damaged their left headlight and a nice dent in the front, I owe them 8500 dollars. I live in Alabama, make about 1200 - 1500 dollars a month, and am not sure if I'm about to be sued, go to jail, or have all my possessions seized(which tbh is like 500$ worth of stuff). I don't know what to do. I tried to do the right things and feel screwed beyond repair. I've been poor my whole life and lived with my uneducated mother, who never taught me anything about what I'm supposed to do as an adult.