therm8

So, I'm out to grab some fast food. The roads are wet from a light rain. I don't know exactly what the guy on the bike did, but he passes a car, loses it and lays the bike down. He ends up in the turn lane, while his bike continues into my lane. I almost got to a full stop, but still hit the bike. Long story - short...I'm looking at a new front clip and grill, to the tune of 700 bucks and he has no insurance. My only consolation is he pays a fine and has a very large repair bill. He was ok, just a little road rash, but I almost throttled him when I found out he had no insurance.


On a humorous note, my first thought when I saw the bike coming was, "Man, I hope these 4 airbags don't go off."

kbull

Yeah, I'm always worried about my airbags when I see some guy sliding down the road.

What's the Florida state law on insurance? In CA, it's illegal to go uninsured, so I think that guy would have gotten arrested here.

Rotary Nut

........then I would take the irresponsible bastard to court or maybe you have uninsured motorist insurance....

poolsidenaz

NO insurance? That's illegal here in AZ. And we have to sign a waiver if we decline uninsured motorist coverage (last I remember). LOL about the passing thought on the airbags :D

Sorry not a funny situation. $700? Take the idiot to small claims court maybe?

therm8

I have uninsured motorist coverage. However with a $500 deductible, and being screwed in the past by insurance companies, I'm just gonna pay out of pocket. I thought about a lawsuit, but the headache just isn't worth it. The dealership collision center will have the parts painted and ready to install by Tuesday. Thankfully I've been blessed with probably one of the best dealerships in the country.

ranger4277

Sure he has $700. The laid over bike must be worth at least that.

mmmdowning

Take his bike!

Winning_BlueRX8

I don't understand people with low deductibles. If you have any damage under $1,000 you're just gonna pay out of pocket anyways, to keep your rates from going up. Yet you pay more for lower deductibles.... Hope this helps.

moRotorMotor

I thought you were going to say "Mazdaspeed bumper... here I come!":D

Rotary Nut

How will his rates gp up in was not his fault! He would have to be found at fault to cause his rates to go up.

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

Not necessarily... many insurance companies will raise your rate if you are INVOLVED in accidents a few times even if you were found at no fault - you'll be considered an insurance risk based on the past pattern.

Also, if he's not at fault but has a CLAIM against his coverage (uninsured motorist), the rate might (will?) go up as well.

davidwarren

i think he was talking about the payment. A lower deductible has a higher payment because the likelyhood of a claim being filed increases. instead of always paying out of pocket on an amount over the deductible, raise your deductible, which would lower the payment, saving money in the long run. that is of course, if you have the free cash to pay for the repairs, a low deductible is benifical for someone that has low, or unsteady cash flows:D

Winning_BlueRX8

I didn't design the system, I'm just buttfucked by it. Some companies will raise your rates regardless of fault. It's all based on statistics.

Winning_BlueRX8

correct. That was my point. Although I don't agree with the liklihood of filing more claims with a lower deductible. In theory, it makes sense. But we all know it's just the insurance company's way of screwing you over.

davidwarren

the liklihood of filing more claims is from the insurance co.'s point of view, not the drivers POV. As therm8 showed us, there is inherent risk in driving a car. In a large pool of insured drivers, events like this can happen often. If the insurance co. has a lot of drivers with a low deductible, the chance that they will have to have a cash outflow increases, as opposed to having drivers with high deductibles, where the driver would pay for repairs out of pocket. Because the insurance co. bears more risk of having to pay you cash, as opposed to someone with a high deductible, you have to pay them a higher payment to compensate their risk. I hope that cleared it up.

Winning_BlueRX8

Like I said, the insurance company's way of screwing you over. :p

ptiemann

Tamas is right. At least Progressive does that.

Rotary Nut

I had a friend that was a passenger in a car that was hit by someone else. His medical biil was paid by the other cars insurance (State farm) When his car insurance (Geico) came up for renewal it was cancelled citing the likelyhood of him becoming involved in an accident was great!

WTF!

He was only a passenger and waen't even in control of the situation.

memrie

Now thats taking it in the rear.

fluque

Recently Progressive increased my policy for no particular reason. I was not involved in any accidents and the sales agent on the phone could not give me an explanation. Obviously, I went somewhere else and got a better deal.

tblazer

Sorry about the accident - glad you're ok. The bastard on the bike deserves a little road rash for not having insurance. That really pisses me off. We play by the rules and still end up having to eat it on behalf of the losers out there with no insurance. And to add insult to injury, we have to pay for uninsured motorist insurance for all of the slimebags who don't have it, then we can't even use it or our rates get jacked. Come to think of it, maybe the guys with no insurance ARE the smart ones...

Anyway, good things the bags didn't go off or you'd be paying for that too!

Rotary Nut

Another thing that is stuck in my mind.

Was it a new bike? Did he finance or pay outright cash? If so then if he has a lien on the thing from the bank then he is required by law to maintain full coverage insurance on it!

Butt Dyno

Did you get a police report?

john

SiMplyBluE

Glad the damage was that bad even though it cost you $700!

rx8miami

your rates will only be affected if you make a claim to your carrier company. other instances exist liek a dui, points on your license etc...... Bottom line if you don't mess with your existing policy and there are no payouts your premiums should remain the same. the problem with the victim in this case that he basically has 3 options. 1)sue the guy and take him to small claims court and surely win, but will be a pain in the ***. 2)have the jerkoff crotch rocket driver pay him somehow. 3)make a claim to his insuarance company which will result in an eventual rate hike.

Moral of the story is................accidents suck!