Car insurance is much like a driver’s license. You technically need to have it to drive, but there are always people who will break the law.
Your risk of getting into a wreck caused by an uninsured driver in New York is lower than in most of the rest of the country. New York has the third-fewest uninsured drivers, at least based on data from 2019. Only 4.1% of drivers don’t have coverage at any given time. That’s a huge difference when compared with the 29.4% of drivers uninsured in Mississippi.
Ideally, you will have excellent insurance coverage of your own and will fully understand your rights if another driver causes the crash. Provided that they have good insurance as well, you can make a claim against their coverage to pay for repairs to your vehicle and any medical expenses beyond what personal injury protection (PIP) will pay. How do you protect yourself if you get in a crash caused by a driver who doesn’t have an active insurance policy?
You need to know your rights
When a driver doesn’t have insurance, they are in violation of state law. Not only could they face an expensive citation for the lack of coverage, as well as whatever citation they will have to hey because they caused a crash, but they are also liable for any costs they cost you or your passengers.
Understanding those rights will help you take the right steps to protect yourself after a crash. From getting proper identifying information for the other driver to capturing photographic and video evidence of the scene of the crash, there are numerous steps that you can take to show how serious the collision was and that the uninsured driver is the one to blame.
You can make use of your own PIP coverage while you prepare to take the driver at fault for the crash to court. A lawsuit can be a way to recover lost wages, pay to replace your vehicle and collect money for your current and future medical bills, including medical expenses beyond what your PIP would cover.
You can protect yourself ahead of time, too
Although your risk of encountering an uninsured driver is lower in New York than in most other places, it is still a serious concern to your financial well-being. You can add uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to your liability and no-fault insurance. The more insurance you have, the less likely you are to have expenses that you have to pay out of pocket following a crash.
Learning more about common risk factors for motor vehicle collision will help you stay safe on the road and seek justice after a wreck.