It’s unfortunately not an unusual situation – someone steals a car and, whether they are “joy-riding” and lose control, or are trying to avoid being caught by police, they crash the stolen car. Many times, they crash into another car, someone who had nothing to do with the theft and was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
The question for you, whether you’re the owner of the stolen vehicle or the victim of a crash involving the stolen vehicle, is who pays for the damage and injuries caused by the crash?
The Stolen Car’s Owner Rarely Pays
As Marlo Greer makes clear in her video on this topic, if you are the owner of the stolen vehicle and that vehicle is involved in a crash, your insurance policy will not cover the damages or injuries caused by that crash. This doesn’t mean that you absolutely won’t be held responsible – there are some scenarios where, if your negligence led to your car being stolen, someone could try to come after you – but those situations are rare and are also difficult in terms of being able to prove.
The Car Thief Rarely Pays
So who does pay when a thief crashes a stolen car, and someone is injured, or there is property damage as a result? The thief could be held responsible, but the thief is also not likely to have a lot of money sitting around that can be used to compensate the injured party.
Underinsured Motorist Insurance Usually Pays
That leaves the third option: the victim’s auto insurance. What Marlo notes will happen in cases where the stolen car crashes into your car is that your auto insurance will compensate you for your injuries and damage – but only if you have what is called “underinsured motorist coverage.” This is insurance coverage that kicks in when the person who hits you either doesn’t have any insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your injuries and damages.
Unlike some other states, Colorado does not require you to carry uninsured motorist insurance. But because so many people drive without adequate amounts of insurance – or any insurance at all, even though it’s against the law for them to do so – you really should include underinsurance motorist coverage as a part of your auto insurance package. As Marlo notes, someone who steals a vehicle and is involved in a police chase is likely to be going “pretty fricking fast” (this is not a legal term of art), and if they’re going “pretty fricking fast,” they are likely to do a lot of damage if they crash into you.
As difficult as it might be to accept the fact that you have to insure yourself against some idiot who steals a car or refuses to insure their own car, you unfortunately need to have underinsured motorist insurance to protect you and your family against those idiots.
The Greer Law Group Can Help You Collect if You’re in a Crash with an Idiot
At the Greer Law Group, our personal injury practice is focused on helping clients get the compensation they deserve for injuries or damages that they suffer because of the negligent or intentional acts of other people. If you have been injured or have suffered damages because someone stole a car and crashed it into yours, contact us for help. We can review the situation with you and let you know what your options are.
We can also help in cases where you are looking to your own underinsured motorist coverage for compensation. It is important to understand that no insurance company is going to make its best offer first. They hope you will take their first “lowball” offer with no negotiation, when in the vast majority of cases it is possible to get them to significantly increase what they are willing to pay. At the Greer Law Group, we are constantly negotiating with insurance companies, and we know what it takes to convince them to do better when it comes to paying for your injuries and damages.
Call the Greer Law Group today at 303-331-6460 or by submitting our contact form to schedule a free case evaluation. Tell us about your case, and let us explain how we can help.
META title: Who Pays When a Stolen Car Crashes? | Greer Law Group
Description: Many times, when a stolen car crashes, the victim’s underinsured motorist insurance pays; the Greer Law Group can help you collect
You read about it all the time, somebody steals a car and at some point – whether while joyriding it around town, or fleeing from the cops – the car is involved in a crash. This raises a couple of questions:
First, does the owner of the stolen car have to pay for the damage that the car thief does? As Marlo Greer points out in her video on this topic (link in the comments), the answer to this is almost always “No.” Auto insurance does not cover damages caused when the insured vehicle is stolen.
Second, does the thief have to pay for the damage they are responsible for? Technically, they should – but most car thieves don’t have nearly enough money or assets to make this a real option.
That leaves the insurance on the car that was hit by the stolen vehicle. If the car was covered by “underinsured motorist” coverage, that insurance should pay for the damages and injuries caused by the driver of the stolen vehicle. This is why it is so important not to decline underinsured motorist coverage even if you have that option.
The Greer Law Group can help you get the most from any insurance payout you may be entitled to if you’ve been the victim of a crash caused by the driver of a stolen car. Contact us to learn more.
