Question about Insurance Post Tesla Crash in California

[ElectronNic]

I was hit by an underinsured insured driver in early May in my 2016 Model S. There was $30K of damage to my what was previosly to the accident perfect car. The driver was 100% at fault carried $15K in property damage liability coverage. In CA the minimum required by law is $5k! I was horrified to learn this. My damages for LOU (going on 3 months now no actual end date yet) , DV (approximately $20K) and repairs ($30K) far exceed this limit. My first party insurance will of course pay for the repairs of my vehicle but I am left with a vehicle which is not what I started with because of another's negligence. If I were hit my someone with a reasonable insurance policy limit the vehicle would have been totaled. I don't want to drive the car after this much damage and will want to sell it and replace it with a new car but will likely sustain a huge loss because of the diminished value and the frame damage. I have talked to a few lawyers and insurance agents and as far as I can tell there is no way to protect yourself in CA against this. If anyone has any info I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[gabeincal]

Doesn't uninsured coverage the answer to this? You basically deal with your insurance company as it was theirs and you discuss the numbers that make it right?

 

[bishoppeak]

You could try suing the other driver for those losses, but probably a dry hole.

 

[sorka]

Doesn't uninsured coverage the answer to this? You basically deal with your insurance company as it was theirs and you discuss the numbers that make it right?

Uninsured motorist doesn't cover DV.

The OPs only recourse is to sue the at fault driver. I'd probably cut my losses and sue for the maximum $10K in small claims court. It will take almost no time and it's a slam dunk.

Make sure you sue for the actual DV amout. The judge will lower it to $10K.

The bigger issue is collection. But if the at fault driver has a W2 regular wage job, then it's easy to attach wages. If they're unemployed or self employed it can be a lot more difficult. If they own property, you can lien on the property and the judgement will grow 10% / year in California which can be a really good deal.

I had a judgement get dismissed because the lady filed for bankruptcy 6 years after it was granted which I didn't collect on. Once she declared bankruptcy I was able to declare it as a loss against capital gains. In the end, I ended up getting everything back due to offsetting capital gains.

 

[ElectronNic]

Yes uninsured motorist does not cover DV or LOU unless you have explicit rental coverage but I have not found a policy that has limits to cover the cost of renting a Tesla. Thanks Sorka. This is helpful.