How Pays The Bill After An Accident With An Uninsured Driver?

The experience of a vehicle accident in frightening and stressful just with any physical injuries sustains. It becomes more so if you, as the victim, discover the other driver didn’t have vehicle insurance since this could impact how you will cover repairs and medical costs.

In Canada it’s illegal for a person to drive without insurance. It’s required by law to have. However, just because this is the case, it doesn’t mean that everyone is going to listen to the law. The Ontario Provincial Police highway safety division reports that each year more than 2,000 vehicles involved in accidents on Ontario roadways involve uninsured drivers.

The person driving without insurance in Ontario is breaking the law and is still legally responsible for their actions and any injuries related to the accident they caused. This means that you will not be held responsible for their actions. The uninsured driver could also face criminal charges, fines and vehicle impediment.

When someone breaks the law, they often know that what they did is wrong. The chance of an uninsured driver fleeing an accident to avoid legal action and fines is high. If you’re the victim of an accident involving and uninsured driver, you will still receive compensation for damages and repairs related to the accident caused by the uninsured driver. If the driver ran away and is unknown, you have the right to legal action to pursue for compensation.

Claims against Uninsured Drivers

If you’ve been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, the first thing you do is contact your insurance company. This may seem strange at first to put in a claim with your insurance company for an accident that wasn’t your fault. Ontario’s “no-fault” car insurance system means that you should contact your own insurance company if you have been injured or your car damaged in an accident caused by an uninsured at-fault driver. You do not go after the at-fault driver for compensation, which can be a relief especially, if you don’t know who the at-fault driver is because they ran away.

As per personal injury lawyer in Kingston, every insurance contract must have coverage for those who have sustained injuries caused by unidentified drivers or uninsured drivers. This is according to legislation in the Ontario Insurance Act section 265. The same coverage protects passengers in your car. Your policy will pay for damages to passengers in your vehicle if they do not have any insurance either.Using Fault Determination Rules, insurance companies will assign a percentage of faults for each of the drivers involved in the accident. These rules are regulated under the Insurance Act. They are different from rules under the Highway Traffic Act which is what police will use if any charges are laid.

Keep in mind, that even if you are not at fault for an accident, your premiums could increase as well as your deductible, if you make a claim. It’s a good idea to look into this before proceeding with your claim so that you won’t get any unpleasant surprises later.