The At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance, Here Is Exactly What to Do and How You Can Still Recover Money

What happens if the at-fault driver in your accident has no insurance?

You still have options. You can file a claim under your own uninsured motorist coverage, use your personal injury protection or MedPay policy, or sue the driver directly in civil court. A denial from the other driver’s insurer cannot happen here because there is no insurer — but that does not mean you are stuck paying for someone else’s mistake.

How Common Uninsured Drivers Are — and Why This Happens More Than You Think

You did everything right. You drove carefully, followed traffic laws, and carried insurance. Then someone who did none of those things blew through a red light and hit you.

According to the Insurance Research Council’s 2023 report, more than one in seven drivers — 15.4 percent — were completely uninsured. Combined with underinsured drivers, one in three drivers on U.S. roads either had no coverage or not enough to cover a serious accident.

The uninsured motorist rate varies widely by state. Mississippi had the highest rate at 28.2 percent of drivers with no coverage, followed by New Mexico at 24.1 percent and Washington D.C. at 23.1 percent. Maine had the lowest rate at 5.7 percent.

The point is this: being hit by an uninsured driver is not a freak event. It happens every single day, and the law gives you tools to recover money even when the person who hit you carries none.

Your Four Options When the At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance

You do not have just one path forward. Depending on your own policy and the driver’s situation, you may have several.

Option 1 — File a Claim Under Your Own Uninsured Motorist Coverage

This is your strongest and fastest route. Uninsured motorist coverage is specifically designed to cover your losses when you are hit by a driver who does not have liability insurance. It typically pays for your medical bills, lost income if you cannot work because of your injuries, and compensation for your pain and suffering.

UM and UIM coverage is required in 22 states and Washington D.C. In all other states, it is optional — but because the national uninsured driver rate is 15.4 percent and UM/UIM costs an average of $199 a year, most insurance experts recommend carrying it regardless of state mandates.

You file this claim with your own insurer, not the at-fault driver’s. Your insurer steps into the shoes of the uninsured driver and pays what they should have paid.

Option 2 — Use Your Personal Injury Protection or MedPay Coverage

Personal injury protection or MedPay is no-fault coverage that pays for your and your passengers’ initial medical bills up to your policy limit, no matter who caused the accident. This kicks in immediately, while your UM claim is processed, and does not require you to prove the other driver was at fault first.

Option 3 — Sue the At-Fault Driver Directly in Civil Court

You can sue the uninsured driver for the damages not covered by your insurance policy. Unfortunately, uninsured drivers often do not have the money to pay a judgment — but there are collection tools an attorney can use, including wage garnishment, if you obtain a judgment.

We cover this in detail below, including when it is worth doing and when it is not.

Option 4 — Identify Other Liable Parties

Depending on the facts, other parties may share liability — an employer if the driver was working at the time, a vehicle manufacturer if a defect contributed to the crash, or a government entity if poor road conditions played a role. A personal injury attorney can investigate who else may owe you money. Our full guide on bicycle accident lawsuits explains how multiple-party liability works in practice.

Speaking with a personal injury attorney early — most offer a free legal consultation — is the fastest way to know which of these options applies to your specific situation.

Related article: Accepted Insurance Money After Your Car Accident, Can You Still Sue? Here Is the Honest Answer

How Uninsured Motorist Coverage Actually Works — Step by Step

Filing a UM claim with your own insurer is not as simple as reporting a fender bender. Your insurer is still a business, and they will look for reasons to pay less. Here is how the process works:

Step 1 — Report the accident immediately. Notify your insurance provider promptly, tell them the other driver was at fault and has no insurance, and let them explain your next steps under your specific policy.

Step 2 — Get a police report. A police report gives your insurance company an objective summary of the crash and confirms that the other driver was uninsured. Ask the officers for the report number before you leave the scene.

Step 3 — Collect witness information. Get the names and contact information of anyone nearby who saw the crash. You will need to prove the other driver was at fault when you file your uninsured motorist claim. Witness statements help with that.

Step 4 — Do not accept cash from the uninsured driver. The uninsured driver might offer you cash on the spot if you handle repairs without involving insurance. Always refuse. This may leave you without enough money for hidden damage or future medical bills, and you will have no legal recourse if the driver later disappears.

Step 5 — Do not sign anything from the insurer without review. Your own insurer, while handling a UM claim, is still trying to limit its payout. Before signing any settlement documents, have a personal injury attorney review the offer to make sure it covers your full losses.

When Suing the At-Fault Uninsured Driver Directly Is Worth It — and When It Is Not

A lawsuit against the uninsured driver is always legally available to you. Whether it is practically worth it depends on one thing: whether they have anything to collect from.

The unfortunate reality is that many drivers who do not carry car insurance are judgment-proof — meaning they have no meaningful assets or income that can legally be taken to pay a debt. Many people who cannot afford monthly insurance premiums also lack significant savings, property, or high-paying jobs.

If the driver does have assets, these collection tools are available after you win a judgment:

Wage garnishment. If the court sides in your favor, wage garnishment might be an option — a certain percentage of the driver’s paychecks is withheld by their employer and sent to you until the judgment is satisfied.

Property lien. You can place a lien on any real estate the driver owns. You would not get paid immediately, but you must be paid if and when they sell or refinance the property.

Bank account levy. A court order can require the driver’s bank to turn over funds from their account to satisfy the judgment.

License suspension. In many states, if a personal injury judgment resulted from a motor vehicle accident where the driver had no valid insurance, you can seek a suspension of their driver’s license until the judgment is satisfied.

Before filing a lawsuit against an uninsured driver, a personal injury attorney can do an asset check — looking at property records, employment status, and bank data — to tell you whether there is actually anything to collect. This saves you time and legal fees.

What Happens If the Driver Had Insurance but It Was Not Enough — Underinsured Motorist Claims

Sometimes the driver has insurance, but their policy limit is lower than your actual losses. This is the underinsured driver scenario, and it is just as damaging.

A driver carrying a $25,000 liability minimum hits you at an intersection. Your injuries total $70,000. Their insurer pays the $25,000 maximum and closes the file. Without UIM coverage, the remaining $45,000 is yours to absorb. With UIM coverage, your policy bridges that gap up to your UIM limit.

In 2023, more than one in six drivers — 18.0 percent — were underinsured, meaning their coverage limits were not enough to pay for the accident victim’s injuries and losses.

The process for filing a UIM claim works the same way as a UM claim — you file with your own insurer after the at-fault driver’s policy has been exhausted. If your insurer then tries to deny or lowball that claim, the bad faith insurance rights explained in our guide on what to do when insurance denies your injury claim apply directly to your situation.

How Long You Have to File a Claim After an Uninsured Driver Accident — Deadlines That Matter

Two separate deadlines run at the same time after an accident with an uninsured driver.

Your UM claim deadline — most insurance policies require you to report a UM claim promptly, sometimes within 30 to 90 days. Check your policy immediately after the accident.

Your lawsuit deadline — the personal injury statute of limitations sets the window to sue the at-fault driver directly. Kentucky and Tennessee impose the shortest deadline at just one year. California and Texas give you two years. New York gives you three years from the date of injury.

Once your right to sue expires, the driver knows they are off the hook entirely. They will stop any negotiation because you can no longer force a payout through the courts.

Do not wait. Talk to a personal injury attorney as soon as possible after the accident to make sure neither deadline passes before you act. For commercial vehicle cases where the driver was working at the time, our truck accident section explains how employer liability can give you a much deeper pocket to recover from.

Frequently Asked Questions About Uninsured Driver Accident Claims

What do I do immediately at the scene when I find out the at-fault driver has no insurance?

Call the police, get a report number, collect witness names and contact details, and photograph everything. Do not accept a cash deal from the uninsured driver — this leaves you without legal recourse if hidden damage or future medical bills appear. Then call your own insurer to start the UM claim process.

Does filing an uninsured motorist claim raise my own insurance rates?

Filing an uninsured motorist claim does not automatically raise your rates because UM/UIM claims are triggered by another driver’s fault, not yours. Most states prohibit insurers from penalizing policyholders for not-at-fault claims. However, insurer policies vary, and in states without explicit protections some companies may factor UM claims into renewal pricing — check your policy or ask your insurer directly before filing.

How long does it take to resolve an uninsured motorist claim?

Simple claims with clear liability and limited injuries often settle within 30 to 90 days. Claims involving serious injuries, disputed fault, or a UM insurer acting in bad faith can take six months to two years. If your own insurer is stalling, an attorney can often resolve the claim faster by putting the bad faith threat on the table.

Is it worth suing an uninsured driver who has no money or assets?

Most uninsured drivers are uninsured precisely because they are broke. Someone can win a lawsuit and get a judgment for $100,000, but when the other person has no assets or wages to garnish, that judgment is effectively a paper win — it will not pay bills. An attorney can run an asset check first to tell you whether a lawsuit is worth the time and cost before you file.

What if I do not have uninsured motorist coverage on my own policy?

Your options narrow significantly. You can still sue the driver directly, use any PIP or MedPay coverage you carry, file a claim through your health insurance for medical costs, and explore whether any other party shares liability. Because the national uninsured driver rate is 15.4 percent and UM/UIM costs an average of $199 a year, most insurance experts recommend adding it to every policy regardless of whether your state requires it.

What if it was a hit-and-run and I cannot identify the driver at all?

UM coverage covers hit-and-run accidents in most states — the unknown driver is treated legally the same as an uninsured driver. File a police report immediately, as most policies require one within a short window for hit-and-run UM claims to be valid.

Legal Terms Used in Uninsured Driver Accident Claims

Uninsured Motorist Coverage (UM): Insurance on your own policy that pays your losses when the at-fault driver has no insurance or flees the scene. You file this claim with your own insurer.

Underinsured Motorist Coverage (UIM): Insurance on your own policy that covers the gap between your actual losses and what the at-fault driver’s too-low policy limit paid. Kicks in after their insurance is exhausted.

Personal Injury Protection (PIP): No-fault coverage that pays your medical bills and some lost wages after an accident regardless of who caused it. Required in 12 states.

MedPay: Similar to PIP but simpler — pays your medical costs only, no matter who was at fault. Optional in most states.

Judgment-Proof: A legal term for someone who has no assets or income that can be legally collected to pay a court judgment. Winning a lawsuit against a judgment-proof defendant produces a paper win but no actual money.

Wage Garnishment: A court order that forces an employer to deduct a percentage of the defendant’s paycheck and send it to you until a judgment is paid off. Subject to federal and state limits on how much can be taken.

Subrogation: When your insurer pays your UM claim and then sues the at-fault uninsured driver on your behalf to recover what it paid. After securing a legal judgment, the insurer can use collection agencies, wage garnishment, property liens, or bank account levies to recover the debt from the uninsured driver.

Statute of Limitations: The legal deadline to file your lawsuit. Miss it and you permanently lose the right to sue, regardless of how clear the fault was.

What to Do Right Now If You Were Hit by an Uninsured Driver

You now know that being hit by an uninsured driver does not mean you are stuck. With one in three drivers either uninsured or underinsured in the United States as of 2023, the law gives you multiple tools to recover your medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering — through your own UM coverage, through your PIP or MedPay policy, through a direct lawsuit, or through liability claims against other responsible parties.

The worst thing you can do right now is wait. Your UM claim window and your lawsuit deadline are both running. Visit AllAboutLawyer.com to connect with a personal injury attorney who handles uninsured driver claims — most consultations are free and most attorneys work on contingency, meaning no fee unless you recover money.

Prepared by the AllAboutLawyer.com Editorial Team and reviewed for factual accuracy against Insurance Research Council 2023 data, state insurance statutes, and official state minimum coverage requirements. Last Updated: June 1, 2026

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary by state and individual circumstances differ. For advice about your specific situation, consult a qualified attorney licensed in your state.