In the moments after a car crash, your head will probably flood with all kinds of worries and concerns. If you don’t seem to be injured, the overall financial impact of the crash will likely be one of the issues that come to mind. You may be able to dismiss that concern and refocus on handling the situation in front of you because you know that you have good insurance on your vehicle.
However, the same may not be true of the other driver involved in the collision. Under Louisiana state law, drivers have an obligation to carry liability insurance for damage and injuries they cause. That could mean that you are reliant on the coverage of the other driver for your losses, which can be a big problem if they don’t have an active policy.
You may have insurance to protect from irresponsible drivers
While the state does not mandate uninsured and underinsured driver coverage, many insurance agents will recommend this coverage as a form of protection against a crash with a driver who doesn’t have insurance.
Provided that you purchased this kind of coverage, you can file a claim with your own insurance company for the damage to your vehicle, your medical bills and other costs after a crash caused by someone without insurance on their car.
What are the odds of a crash with an uninsured driver?
It is impossible to predict the exact risk that a specific person has for a crash. However, you only need to look at the statistics for uninsured drivers in the state to recognize how serious of a concern uninsured collisions could be for you.
Roughly 13% of drivers in Louisiana don’t have insurance, which means that you have roughly 1 in 10 chance of the driver responsible for your crash not having coverage to protect you.
In a situation where there is not an insurance policy, you may have to consider taking civil action against the driver to recoup your losses.