What to Do If the At-Fault Driver Doesn’t Have Insurance

When the driver who caused your accident has no auto insurance, you still have options for recovering compensation for your injuries, vehicle damage, and other losses. Your first priority after any crash should be safety: check yourself and any passengers for injuries, call 911 if anyone needs medical attention, and make sure the vehicles are out of traffic if it is safe to move them. Once the immediate scene is handled, Nebraska drivers are required to carry uninsured motorist coverage on their own policies, and depending on the circumstances, you may also be able to use collision coverage, health insurance, or a direct claim against the at-fault driver to cover your costs. The right combination of options depends on the coverage you carry, the extent of your injuries, and whether the uninsured driver has any assets worth pursuing.

Our attorneys at Knowles Law Firm regularly help Nebraska accident victims sort through these options after learning the other driver was uninsured. Our uninsured motorist accident attorneys have spent nearly six decades handling Nebraska personal injury claims, including cases in which the responsible party had no insurance to cover the damage caused. Below, we walk through the coverage options available to you, common mistakes to avoid, and what Nebraska law says about your right to pursue compensation.

Your Options When the At-Fault Driver Has No Insurance

When another driver causes an accident but carries no insurance, you still have several potential paths to compensation for your injuries and other losses. Which combination makes sense for your situation depends on your own insurance coverage, the severity of your injuries, and whether the at-fault driver has assets that could satisfy a judgment. Many accident victims assume that an uninsured driver means an unrecoverable loss, but that is rarely the full picture once every available coverage source has been reviewed.

Generally speaking, Nebraska accident victims dealing with an uninsured driver can pursue compensation through one or more of the following avenues.

• Uninsured motorist coverage: A claim filed with your own insurer under your uninsured motorist policy.
• Collision coverage: Coverage that can pay for vehicle repairs regardless of fault, minus your deductible.
• Health insurance: Coverage that can help with medical bills while other claims are pending, though your health insurer may later seek reimbursement from any settlement.
• A direct lawsuit: A claim filed against the uninsured driver personally.
• Other liable parties: A claim against a third party who may share responsibility for the crash.

Working with an attorney at Knowles Law Firm can help you determine which option, or combination of options, gives you the strongest chance of recovering what you are owed. In many cases, more than one of these avenues applies at the same time, and coordinating them correctly can make a real difference in how much of your loss is ultimately covered.

Using Your Own Auto Insurance After an Accident With an Uninsured Driver

Most Nebraska drivers already carry some protection against uninsured motorists through their own auto policy, even if they have never had to rely on it before. Two coverages in particular tend to matter most when the at-fault driver has no insurance to offer, and reviewing your declarations page early can save time later in the claims process.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Nebraska

Nebraska law requires every auto insurance policy to include uninsured motorist (UM) coverage, along with underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage, at minimum limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, the same as the state’s minimum liability requirements. UM coverage applies when the at-fault driver has no insurance at all, while UIM coverage can help when the other driver has some coverage, but not enough to pay for the full extent of your damages.

Depending on your policy limits, UM and UIM coverage may help pay for medical treatment, lost income, pain and suffering, and other injury-related losses. This coverage generally applies only to bodily injury, not property damage, so a separate source of coverage is usually needed for vehicle repairs. Because UM and UIM claims involve their own negotiation process with your own insurer, many accident victims benefit from having an attorney review any settlement offer before accepting it. For a closer look at how these two coverages differ and interact, see our guide to Nebraska’s uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage.

Collision Coverage for Vehicle Repairs

Collision coverage is not required under Nebraska law, but it can be one of the fastest ways to get your vehicle repaired when the at-fault driver has no insurance to pay for the damage. This coverage generally pays for repairs regardless of who caused the crash, minus your deductible, though filing a claim may affect your future premiums.

Accidents involving an uninsured driver sometimes involve more than one potential source of coverage, particularly if you were a passenger or the crash involved a rideshare or commercial vehicle. Understanding how those policies interact can affect how much of your damage is ultimately covered and by whom. Our overview of what happens when multiple insurance policies apply to your claim explains how those situations are typically handled.

What to Do if the Other Driver Flees or Cannot Be Identified

Some uninsured drivers leave the scene rather than face the consequences of driving without coverage, turning an already difficult situation into a hit-and-run case. If the other driver flees, try to note the vehicle’s color, make, model, and any part of the license plate you can remember, and report this information to police as soon as possible.

A hit-and-run does not automatically end your ability to recover compensation. Uninsured motorist coverage often extends to hit-and-run accidents as well, since the at-fault driver is effectively uninsured from a claims standpoint once they cannot be identified. Insurers generally require prompt reporting to police to preserve this type of claim, so delaying that report can complicate matters later. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses or homes can also help identify a driver who fled, so it is worth asking around the accident scene before that footage is deleted or overwritten.

If you are dealing with a driver who fled the scene, our guide on whether you can sue for a hit-and-run in Omaha covers the additional steps involved in these cases, including how fault is established when the driver is later identified.

Avoiding Common Mistakes After an Accident With an Uninsured Driver

A few decisions made in the days after an accident can make it harder to recover compensation later, especially when the other driver has no insurance to fall back on.

One common misstep is accepting an informal cash payment from the uninsured driver in exchange for not filing a claim or police report. This may seem like a convenient way to resolve things quickly, but injuries and additional vehicle damage do not always show up right away, and an informal agreement rarely covers costs that appear later. Another mistake is assuming that because the other driver has no insurance, there is nothing more to do. In reality, your own insurer still needs to be notified promptly, since most policies require timely reporting to preserve your right to file a UM claim.

It also helps to have realistic expectations about how your own insurer will handle the claim. Insurers do not always offer full value on a UM or UIM claim on the first attempt, and an initial low offer is not necessarily the final word. If your insurance company is undervaluing your claim or disputing coverage altogether, our page on resolving car insurance disputes outlines the options available to you.

A third mistake worth avoiding is letting paperwork slip through the cracks. Between medical appointments, repair estimates, and calls from your own insurer, it is easy to lose track of dates and documents that later become important to a UM claim or lawsuit. Keeping a single folder, physical or digital, for every accident-related document can make the process considerably smoother if your case takes months to resolve.

Filing a Lawsuit Against an Uninsured Driver

You may also file an injury lawsuit directly against the uninsured driver, though this route comes with its own challenges. Many drivers go without insurance because they cannot afford it or have a history of driving violations, which often means limited assets are available to satisfy a judgment. Even a favorable verdict can be difficult to collect on if the driver has no meaningful income, property, or savings.

Before recommending litigation, an attorney can typically help investigate whether the uninsured driver has assets worth pursuing, such as real estate, a steady income, business ownership, or other property that could realistically be reached to satisfy a judgment. This kind of investigation matters because a judgment is only as useful as your ability to collect on it. When a lawsuit is unlikely to result in a collectible judgment, your own UM coverage or another available source of compensation may be the more practical path forward. An attorney can help weigh these options together rather than treating a lawsuit as the only route available to you.

Litigation also takes time, often more time than an insurance claim, since it involves court filings, discovery, and potentially a trial before any recovery is finalized. Some accident victims pursue a UM claim first and hold a lawsuit against the uninsured driver in reserve, particularly when the driver appears to have few assets worth pursuing right away. An attorney can help you weigh the potential benefit of litigation against the time and effort it requires, based on the specific facts of your case.

Nebraska also follows a modified comparative negligence rule, under which a driver who is found fifty percent or more at fault for the crash cannot recover damages, and a partially at-fault driver has their recovery reduced by their share of fault. This matters in a lawsuit against an uninsured driver, since the driver’s attorney or insurer defending a UM claim may argue that you bore some responsibility for the crash. Building a strong record of how the accident happened, through photos, witness statements, and the police report, can help counter this kind of argument.

Documenting Your Accident and Injuries

Thorough documentation becomes even more important when the at-fault driver has no insurance, since the police report and your own records may carry more weight in a UM claim or lawsuit. Taking the following steps soon after the crash can help protect your ability to recover compensation later.

1. Check yourself and any passengers for injuries, and call 911 if anyone needs medical attention.
2. Contact law enforcement so an official report is filed, even if the damage looks minor at first.
3. Exchange names, contact information, and, if possible, insurance details with the other driver.
4. Photograph or record video of the vehicles, the accident scene, and any visible injuries.
5. Collect contact information from any witnesses who saw the accident happen.
6. Seek medical attention promptly, since some injuries do not appear until days later.
7. Keep copies of medical bills, repair estimates, and other accident-related expenses.

Video evidence in particular can help establish what happened when the other driver disputes fault or the facts of the crash. If your vehicle has a dash camera, our article on how dash cam footage can strengthen your accident claim explains how that footage is typically used to support a claim. Even without a dash camera, nearby traffic or business cameras sometimes capture useful footage, so it can help to ask around the area before evidence is overwritten.

Nebraska Law on Uninsured Motorists and Your Time to File a Claim

Nebraska law requires drivers to carry minimum liability coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, along with $25,000 for property damage, and every auto policy must also include UM and UIM coverage at those same minimum limits. Despite this requirement, some drivers remain uninsured. According to the Insurance Information Institute, an estimated 14.0 percent of drivers nationwide were uninsured in 2022, while Nebraska’s rate was estimated at 7.8 percent, among the lower rates in the country that year.

Nebraska also places a time limit on how long you have to pursue a claim in court. Under Nebraska Revised Statute Section 25-207, most personal injury claims, including those arising from a car accident, generally must be filed within four years of the date of the crash. This deadline can affect a lawsuit against an uninsured driver directly, though claims made under your own UM or UIM coverage are typically governed by the terms of your insurance policy instead, which may set different notice requirements. Because these timelines can vary depending on the type of claim involved, it is worth having an attorney confirm the deadlines that apply to your specific situation soon after an accident.

How Knowles Law Firm Can Help After an Accident With an Uninsured Driver

Sorting through UM claims, collision coverage, and the possibility of a lawsuit can be confusing enough without also worrying about medical bills and repair costs. Our attorneys have represented Nebraska accident victims for nearly six decades, including clients whose cases involved an uninsured or underinsured driver, and we work to identify every available source of compensation before recommending a path forward.

Beyond identifying coverage, we can also help you understand what a reasonable resolution might look like for your specific losses. Every case is different, and outcomes depend on your policy limits, the severity of your injuries, and the facts of the crash, but our attorneys can walk you through the factors that tend to influence a claim’s value. Our page on how car accident settlements are calculated covers many of those factors in more detail.

We also handle the back-and-forth with insurance adjusters on your behalf, so you can focus on medical treatment and daily responsibilities rather than repeated phone calls and paperwork. When an insurer disputes coverage or offers less than a claim appears to be worth, our attorneys can push back with the documentation and legal arguments needed to support a stronger position.

Knowles Law Firm is a family-operated firm whose attorneys have collectively brought more than 130 years of combined experience to personal injury cases throughout Nebraska. Every attorney at our firm dedicates their practice to representing injured clients, and we are prepared to take a case to trial when an insurance company does not offer a fair resolution. We do not charge a fee unless we recover compensation on your behalf.

If the driver who caused your accident had no insurance, you do not have to sort through your options alone. Our attorneys can review your policy, evaluate the uninsured driver’s potential assets, and help you pursue every available avenue for compensation. Reach out through our contact form to discuss your accident with our team.

Frequently Asked Questions About Uninsured Driver Accidents in Nebraska