Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 5/12/2010

Question
Hello there,My name is Alexi,hope you're having a good day so far.
I was curious to find out if you could answer a couple of questions about my auto claim.
Here are a few facts I know about the auto accident.
There was a police report made on 5/01/2010,information on it states that Vehicle#1 was a 21 year old male driving under the influence.(((Accident time was around 2:20am)))DUI summons was issued at time of accident. Vehicle #2 (my vehicle) was parked and sustained substantial damage.The driver of vehicle#1 is not covered under the policy for this vehicle as told to me per other vehicles claims personnel. It is registered under a 42 year old female. Different last names

They are currently investigating so to speak. I have no idea what this means. Meanwhile my vehicle is still at the towing place building storage charges.The claims personnel kept insisting I put in a claim with my own insurance which I am sure will raise my rates so I am hesitant to do so.
Is there anything I can do on my part to speed up the process? They also mentioned that they need to find out from the owner of vehicle#1 if the driver had permission to drive the car? What does this mean?

My other question(s) were:

My vehicle is a 2002 and paid in full,I only have Liability coverage on it. The other vehicle was a 2007 and I believe they've mentioned to me their maximum payout if they are liable is $5,000. Would I have to pay out of pocket for the tow and storage charges even if I am 100% not at fault here?
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions,
sincerely,
Alexi

Answer
Hi Alexi,

Don't bothe to contact your insurance company. Since you do not have collision coverage they will not help you.

The person who hit you is liable for what ever amount of damage they caused to you. However, the amount of insurance available is only what they purchased. If the amount of coverage is only $5,000 then yu would hae to sue thedrivr or the vehicle owner personally to get any more than the amount of insurance available. It sounds like you may live in California which has one of helowest coverge equirements in the country. You should complain to your state representitives to increase the coverage requirement in your state.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh