My Husband Got Hit by a Drunk Driver Without Insurance. Here's What Happened Next

Shortly before my husband and I met, he was driving home one night when the driver in the oncoming lane swerved over the centerline and hit him. Luckily, no one was seriously hurt, though both cars were totaled.

The police showed up and quickly determined that the woman driving the other vehicle was heavily intoxicated. Since she caused the accident, she was responsible for the damages to my husband's vehicle. But she didn't have auto insurance, even though it's a legal requirement in our state. It wound up causing massive financial headaches for both drivers -- one that's still not cleared up more than a decade later.

What happened next

The woman didn't have the cash she needed to pay for the damages, so my husband had to file a claim with his own auto insurance company. This raised his premium. He's pretty handy, so he decided to repair the car himself. He did it, but it cost him even more money out of his own pocket because the payout he got from his insurer didn't cover all the parts he needed to fix it.

The driver who caused the accident faced even worse consequences. With an accident, a DUI, and driving without insurance on her record, she almost certainly couldn't find a cheap car insurance policy for a long time afterward. She also had no help paying for her own vehicle repairs.

She wasn't off the hook for my husband's bills either. To this day, he still gets a portion of her tax refund, though most payments don't amount to much. It could easily be another decade before he recoups all that he's owed. 

What you can do to protect yourself against uninsured drivers

Roughly 14% of all U.S. drivers don't have car insurance, even though nearly every state requires it to drive legally. In some states, a quarter of drivers are uninsured. So getting hit by an uninsured driver is always a possibility. There are steps you can take to prepare yourself, though.

Get uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

This protection is required in some states and it's an optional protection in all the others. It pays for your medical bills if you're injured by a driver who lacks insurance or one who doesn't have enough insurance to cover the full cost of the damages. 

Usually, your coverage limits for this are tied to your bodily injury liability coverage limits. For example, if you have $25,000 of bodily injury liability coverage per person and $50,000 per accident (known as 25/50 coverage) and you opt into uninsured motorist coverage, the insurer would automatically give you 25/50 coverage for this as well.

Consider collision coverage

If an uninsured driver hits you and cannot pay, you'll need collision coverage to pay for the damages to your own vehicle. This is an optional protection, though your lender or lessor may require you to have it if you have a lease or loan on your vehicle. 

There is a deductible associated with this coverage, but you usually have several options to choose from -- often between $100 and $2,000. A low deductible sounds appealing because it reduces your out-of-pocket costs in an accident, but this raises your monthly premiums.

Build an emergency fund

If you have to file a collision claim with your insurance, you'll need to pay for your deductible out of pocket. Even then, if your car is totaled, the payout you get might not be enough to cover the cost of a new vehicle. Having emergency savings on hand can make this situation a lot less stressful.

Ideally, you'd have three to six months of living expenses saved. Some people feel comfortable setting aside even more. But at a minimum, aim to save at least enough to cover your collision deductible.

Hopefully, you never find yourself in the situation my husband did. But if it does happen, the above steps will minimize the toll it takes on your wallet. If you're struggling to find affordable rates on insurance, compare quotes from some of the best insurance companies to see which offers the cheapest deal. Get quotes from three to five companies before deciding which you want to work with.