Finding an At Fault Driver's Insurance Information

jt3mcguire

New Member
Jurisdiction
Florida
There's a huge problem I see in personal injury auto accident cases:

When there is an accident and the at fault driver is different than the at fault owner of the car, the police only list a very limited amount of information about the at fault driver, (D.O.B., address, phone number, DL#) but they do not provide the person's insurance information.

I believe the only method available to lookup a person's insurance information is directly through the DMV Insurance Request, but they will only provide the vehicle owner's information and not the at fault driver's!

The at fault driver's insurance is mandated to provide coverage for this type of accident, but yet there is no way to access this information, other than doing an underground type of investigation on the person to try and find it.

Does anyone know the statutes governing this or have a solution to this huge problem?
 
Does anyone know the statutes governing this or have a solution to this huge problem?

The other driver's insurance isn't AUTOMATICALLY responsible for YOUR damages.

The best way to ensure you are made whole is to report the collision to YOUR insurer who'll see to it the you're made whole.
 
This is not a "huge" problem. It's not even a small problem.

I think there is only one state in the US that doesn't have mandatory auto insurance laws. For the sake of this discussion let's start with the fact that the driver of a motor vehicle must present proof of insurance when involved in an accident or pulled over by the police.

Here's the important part.

He doesn't have to show that HE has insurance, only that the car is insured. If he is driving somebody else's car, it's the owner's insurance that counts. This is usually accomplished by the owner either leaving the insurance ID card in the glove compartment or giving a copy to the driver.

If there is no evidence of insurance, the driver gets cited and has the opportunity to prove, in court, that there was insurance. You have indicated that the owner's insurance information is available to you one way or another.

The driver is covered by the owner's liability insurance. You don't need the driver's insurance information because you make your claim against the driver through the owner's insurance company.

It's possible that the driver doesn't have insurance if he doesn't own a car. Even if he owns a car and has insurance, his insurance is irrelevant if your claim is within the owner's liability limit, which is your primary source of compensation for your damage or injury.

If the value of your claim exceeds the owner's liability insurance limit, your next source of compensation is your Underinsured Motorist coverage.

If that's not enough, then you look to the driver's insurance. By then the claim will have been in process for a while and the driver's insurance will be on notice, whether you know what company it is or not.

So, you see, you don't have to know the driver's insurance information at the time of the accident. Hence, no problem. And no need to look for laws about it.

The driver's insurance is always the last resort after you've claimed against the owner's liability insurance and your Underinsured Motorist coverage.

I anticipate that your next question is "What if the owner has no insurance?"

Then you go to your Uninsured Motorist coverage.

The driver's insurance is always the last resort. Why? Because his, and every other, auto liability insurance says so in the policy:

"However, any insurance we provide for a vehicle or trailer, other than a covered auto, will be excess over any other collectible insurance, self-insurance, or bond."

You can find that statement, or words to that effect, in your own auto policy.
 
I had this problem in the past, I found the insurance information of the at-fault driver by using a license plate lookup website. There are probably apps that can do a license plate lookup too. This website gave me the driver's address and insurance carrier on the website. Google, license plates lookup.
No, you did not and no, it did not. You received information regarding the owner of the vehicle (assuming the license plate was on the correct vehicle.) It was coincidence that the driver happened to be the same person. Furthermore, your method doesn't apply in every state.
 
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