What to do while you are still with them
Get the information regardless of what they tell you. Name, address, date of birth, plate number, and a photo of their driver’s license and the vehicle. People who say they will pay you directly on Monday are frequently unreachable by Tuesday, and without those details there is nobody to pursue.
Call police. An uninsured driver will often push hard to keep police out of it, which is precisely why the report matters — Minnesota requires drivers to carry insurance, and the report documents both the crash and the fact that they had none.
- Photo of their license, plate, and the vehicle itself
- Their name, address, and phone number written down separately
- The crash report number and responding agency
- Photos of both vehicles before anything moves
- Witness names, which matter more when one party may vanish
Which of your coverages actually pays
Minnesota requires uninsured motorist coverage for bodily injury, and PIP handles initial medical costs under the state’s no-fault system. Vehicle damage is the gap: uninsured motorist property damage is an optional coverage here, and many drivers do not carry it without realizing.
So in practice, if you carry collision coverage, that is what repairs your car — you pay your deductible and the claim is recorded as not at fault. Your insurance company can then pursue the uninsured driver directly, and if it recovers, your deductible comes back. Check your declarations page or ask your agent which applies.
- Collision coverage, and the deductible attached to it
- Whether you bought uninsured motorist property damage
- Rental reimbursement, if you need a car during the repair
- Towing and roadside coverage you may already be paying for
- Who to call to open the claim, and the claim number once it exists
Getting the car repaired properly
The repair itself does not change because the other driver was uninsured — the standard is still restoring the vehicle to its pre-accident condition. Teardown comes before the final estimate, structural damage gets measured against factory specification, and the refinish is blended into the surrounding panels.
What does change is documentation. When your insurance company intends to pursue an uninsured driver, a thoroughly photographed file supports that effort, so we document teardown findings and supplements with images and keep the whole record available to you.
Where to start
Send three photos for a free written estimate within 24 hours, and bring the crash report number if you have it. Knowing the repair number early tells you whether this is worth a claim on your own policy or whether it sits near your deductible.
We accept every insurance company and will meet your adjuster here at 8080 W 125th St in Savage. If the car is not drivable, call (651) 460-9996 and we will coordinate the tow — you should not be paying storage while an uninsured driver stops answering the phone.
