The consequences can be severe if you get into a car accident without insurance. If you’re not at fault, you can file a claim with the other driver’s insurance company. But you may be unable to collect non-economic damages—and you’ll likely face steep penalties for driving without insurance.

If you’re in an accident without auto insurance, you may be eligible to collect damages—but you’ll face penalties for driving uninsured.
Before you can file a claim, check to see if your state has “no pay, no play” laws.
In some states, you may be ineligible for compensation if you’re partially at fault.
Driving without insurance carries stiff penalties, including fines and license suspension.
To avoid future violations, compare quotes to find coverage after a lapse.

You can still file a claim with the other driver’s insurance—but you might not get a full settlement

While driving without insurance is illegal in all but two states, you still have rights when involved in an accident—including the right to seek compensation from the driver at fault. Whether you live in a no-fault state or an at-fault state, the driver responsible for causing the accident is legally required to pay for crash-related expenses, including lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical bills.

As long as you were able to get the at-fault party’s information, you can still file a claim through their liability coverage—even if you don’t have insurance. To do this, you simply need to contact their insurance company by phone. Alternatively, some insurance providers offer online claim-filing portals.

How to file an insurance claim after an auto accident

Even if you don’t have your own insurance policy, you can file a claim with the other driver’s liability insurance if you were injured or your vehicle was damaged in an accident they caused. Simply follow these steps:

Get the other driver’s information: If you didn’t take down the other party’s name, insurance provider, driver’s license number, and vehicle information, you may not have enough information to file a claim.

Call the at-fault driver’s insurance company: Explain that you need to make a claim.

Provide evidence of the incident: Make sure to have the exact time, location, and circumstances of the accident on hand, along with a description of the damage. Include photo evidence and police reports, if possible.

Follow the instructions of the insurance adjuster and wait while your case is evaluated.

How long after an accident can you file a claim?

No pay, no play: If you live in a state with “no pay, no play” laws, your options for recovering damages without insurance may be severely limited. These laws still allow you to file a claim if you’re uninsured but limit the amount of compensation you can receive and the type of damages you can seek.

Does your state have a “no pay, no play” law?

Eleven states have “no pay, no play” laws restricting or limiting the ability of uninsured drivers to recover certain types of damages following a car accident. If an uninsured driver is in an accident, “no pay, no play” laws may prevent them from collecting certain damages or may limit the amount of compensation they’re able to receive. The restrictions vary by state but generally apply to non-economic damages, like pain and suffering or emotional distress.

The table below contains a breakdown of these laws and how they work in each of the eleven states that enforce them.

State	Law
Alaska	Uninsured drivers may not collect non-economic damages unless the at-fault driver acted recklessly or with intent, was under the influence, or fled the scene.
California	Uninsured drivers cannot collect non-economic damages unless the at-fault driver is convicted of driving under the influence.
Indiana	Uninsured drivers with prior violations of Indiana’s financial responsibility laws cannot collect non-economic damages.
Iowa	Uninsured drivers may not collect non-economic damages if, during the accident, they were committing a felony and were then convicted of that felony.
Kansas	Drivers who fail to maintain the minimum level of insurance required by law cannot collect non-economic damages following an accident.
Louisiana	Drivers who fail to maintain the minimum level of insurance coverage cannot collect bodily injury damages for the first $15,000 and property damage compensation for the first $25,000. This restriction does not apply if the at-fault driver was under the influence, acted intentionally, or fled the scene of the accident.
Michigan	Drivers without the state-minimum level of insurance cannot collect damages following an accident, regardless of fault.
Missouri	Uninsured drivers cannot pursue claims unless the at-fault driver was under the influence when they caused the accident.
New Jersey	Uninsured drivers cannot collect economic or non-economic damages.
North Dakota	Uninsured drivers with at least one conviction of driving without insurance cannot collect non-economic damages.
Oregon	Uninsured drivers may not collect non-economic damages unless the at-fault driver acted intentionally or recklessly or was committing a felony at the time of the accident.

Fault is often shared between drivers

Depending on your state’s contributory/comparative negligence laws, you may not be able to collect damages for medical expenses and vehicle repairs following an accident—or you may only be able to collect a limited amount. Shared fault also means that you’ll be vulnerable to personal injury lawsuits if you’re found to have some responsibility for the accident.

Five states and the District of Columbia use contributory negligence laws. These laws state that if a person is partially to blame for an accident, they cannot collect any damages.

The remaining states use comparative negligence laws, which split the blame, and damages, between both parties involved in an accident based on their respective levels of fault.

State	Law
Alabama	Alabama is a pure contributory negligence state. That means you can only collect damages after an accident if you are 0% at fault.
Alaska	Alaska is a pure comparative negligence state, meaning you can collect damages after an accident unless you are found to be 100% at fault.
Arizona	Arizona is a pure comparative negligence state, which means you can seek damages following an accident unless you are 100% at fault.
Arkansas	Arkansas is a modified-comparative negligence state. That means that you can collect compensation after an accident unless you are 50% or more at fault.
California	California is a pure comparative negligence state, meaning you can collect compensation after an accident unless you are 100% at fault.
Colorado	Colorado is a modified-comparative negligence state, meaning that as long as you’re 49% or less at fault, you can collect damages after an accident.
Connecticut	Connecticut uses 51% modified-comparative negligence laws. That means that you can collect compensation as long as you’re less than 51% at fault.
Delaware	Delaware is a 51% modified-comparative negligence state. You can collect compensation following an accident as long as you were less than 51% at fault.
Florida	Florida recently switched to a comparative negligence model, meaning that you can collect damages if you are less than 51% at fault.
Georgia	Georgia is a modified-comparative negligence state, meaning you can collect damages as long as you’re 49% or less at fault.
Hawaii	Hawaii has a 51% comparative negligence law, meaning you can seek compensation after an accident as long as you are less than 51% at fault.
Idaho	Idaho uses modified-comparative negligence laws. That means you can collect damages after an accident as long as you are 49% or less at fault.
Illinois	Illinois follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, meaning that you can collect compensation for losses following an accident if you are less than 51% at fault.
Indiana	Indiana has a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, which states that you’re entitled to compensation following an accident if you’re less than 51% at fault.
Iowa	Iowa uses a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, meaning Iowa drivers are entitled to damages after an accident if they’re less than 51% at fault.
Kansas	Kansas has a modified-comparative negligence law stating that Kansas drivers are entitled to compensation after an accident if they are less than 50% at fault.
Kentucky	Kentucky has a pure comparative negligence law that says Kentucky drivers can collect compensation after an accident if they are less than 100% at fault.
Louisiana	Under Louisiana’s pure comparative negligence law, drivers are eligible for compensation following an accident if they are less than 100% at fault.
Maine	Maine has a modified-comparative negligence law that says drivers are eligible for compensation after an accident if they are 49% or less at fault.
Maryland	Maryland has a contributory negligence law stating that drivers are ineligible for compensation following an accident unless they are 0% responsible.
Massachusetts	Under Massachusetts’ 51% modified-comparative negligence law, drivers can collect damages following an accident if they are found less than 51% at fault.
Michigan	Michigan follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, meaning that drivers can collect damages if they are 50% or less at fault.
Minnesota	Minnesota has a 51% modified-comparative negligence law stating that drivers are entitled to compensation after an accident if they are 50% or less at fault.
Mississippi	Under Mississippi’s pure comparative negligence law, drivers are eligible to collect damages if they are less than 100% at fault.
Missouri	Missouri has a pure comparative negligence law, meaning drivers can collect damages after an accident if they are less than 100% at fault.
Montana	Montana follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, which means that drivers are eligible for compensation after an accident if they are 50% or less at fault.
Nebraska	Under Nebraska’s modified-comparative negligence law, drivers are eligible to collect damages following an accident if they are less than 50% at fault.
Nevada	Nevada’s 51% modified-comparative negligence law states that drivers can collect damages if they are less than 51% at fault.
New Hampshire	Under New Hampshire’s 51% modified-comparative negligence law, drivers are eligible to collect damages after an accident if they are less than 51% at fault.
New Jersey	New Jersey follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, meaning you can seek damages after an accident if you are less than 51% at fault.
New Mexico	Under New Mexico’s pure comparative negligence law, drivers can collect damages after an accident unless they are 100% at fault.
New York	New York is a pure comparative negligence state, meaning you are eligible for compensation after an accident unless you are 100% at fault.
North Carolina	Under North Carolina’s contributory negligence law, you are ineligible for compensation following an accident unless you are 0% at fault.
North Dakota	Under North Dakota’s modified-comparative negligence law, you can collect damages following an accident if you are less than 50% at fault.
Ohio	Ohio follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, meaning you’re eligible for compensation after an accident if you are less than 51% at fault.
Oklahoma	Under Oklahoma’s 51% modified-comparative negligence law, drivers are eligible for compensation after an accident if they are less than 51% at fault.
Oregon	Oregon follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law stating that drivers can collect damages after an accident if they are less than 51% at fault.
Pennsylvania	Pennsylvania has a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, meaning drivers can collect compensation following an accident if they are less than 51% at fault.
Rhode Island	Under Rhode Island’s pure comparative negligence law, drivers are eligible for compensation following an accident unless they are 100% at fault.
South Carolina	South Carolina follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law stating that drivers can collect damages after an accident if they are less than 51% at fault.
South Dakota	South Dakota follows a slight-gross negligence comparative law stating that drivers can only collect damages after an accident if one party displayed “slight” negligence while the other party displayed “gross” negligence.
Tennessee	Under Tennessee’s modified-comparative negligence law, drivers are eligible for compensation after an accident if they are less than 50% at fault.
Texas	Texas follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law stating that you are eligible for compensation after an accident if you are less than 51% at fault.
Utah	Utah has a modified-comparative negligence law, meaning drivers can collect damages after an accident if they are less than 50% at fault.
Vermont	Vermont has a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, meaning that you are eligible for compensation after an accident if you are less than 51% at fault.
Virginia	Under Virginia’s contributory negligence law, drivers are ineligible for compensation after an accident unless they are 0% at fault.
Washington	Under Washington’s pure comparative negligence law, you can collect damages after an accident unless you are 100% at fault.
West Virginia	West Virginia follows a 51% modified-comparative negligence law, meaning that drivers can collect damages following an accident if they are less than 51% at fault.
Wisconsin	Wisconsin has a 51% modified-comparative negligence law that allows drivers to collect compensation after an accident if they are less than 51% at fault.
Wyoming	Under Wyoming’s 51% modified-comparative negligence law, drivers are eligible for compensation after an accident if they are less than 51% at fault.

Note that the

District of Columbia

follows a pure contributory negligence law, which means that DC drivers are ineligible for compensation following an accident unless they are 0% at fault.

You’ll face consequences for driving uninsured—even if you’re not at fault

You may be able to collect damages from the other driver after an accident—but

driving without proof of insurance

is illegal. You’ll likely face harsh consequences, including fines, license suspension, a loss of insurance coverage, vehicle impoundment, and even jail time.

Additionally, once that violation is on your record, insurance companies will likely classify you as a “high-risk” driver. You can expect high premiums on your next auto insurance policy, and you may even have trouble finding an insurance company willing to sell you a policy.

The best way to compare both traditional and non-traditional insurance providers and avoid future violations for driving uninsured, is to shop with

Jerry

—a licensed broker and car insurance super app. Jerry takes the stress out of insurance shopping by comparing over 50 quotes from today’s top agencies to help you find the cheapest rates without sacrificing coverage!

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