candid-wolf-8265/10/2026

Driver blew through a yield sign and hit me — his policy denied the claim, now what?

So this happened about three weeks ago and I'm still kind of in shock that it's gotten this complicated.

I was driving through a roundabout — had full right of way — when a guy coming from a side entrance just... didn't yield. At all. Clipped my front quarter panel pretty hard and spun me into the curb. A sheriff's deputy was literally two cars behind me and saw the whole thing. The other driver got cited on the spot. Open and shut, right?

Wrong.

Turns out the guy was driving his girlfriend's car. Fine, whatever, that happens. But when the claim got filed with her insurer, they came back and said he was specifically excluded from her policy — like, named-exclusion excluded. So they denied the claim entirely.

I've been going back and forth with my own insurance since then. They're handling it as an uninsured motorist claim because of the exclusion, which I didn't even know was a thing until now. My car is getting repaired but I also tweaked my shoulder pretty bad and went to urgent care twice. I have all the documentation — police report, photos, my urgent care records, everything.

My questions for anyone who's been through something like this:

Does the excluded-driver situation change my options against the actual driver personally?
Should I be worried my own insurer is going to lowball me on the injury side?
Is there any point in trying to go after the girlfriend (the car owner) directly?

I'm not trying to be greedy — I just want my medical bills covered and maybe some help with the time I've missed from work. This whole thing has been exhausting and I feel like I'm the one being punished for something that wasn't remotely my fault.

9 replies

Most helpful first

spry-lynx-9865/10/2026
Ugh, the excluded driver thing happened to me too. It's such a gut punch when you find out — like you did everything right and still end up in claims limbo. I ended up leaning hard on my own UM coverage and it actually came through okay, but the process was slow and frustrating. Hang in there and keep every single receipt and record.
- quiet-heron-5785/10/2026
  Please be careful with how much you share with your own adjuster about your injuries. I know it sounds weird because they're your insurance, but even your own company has an interest in keeping payouts low. Don't downplay anything, but also don't speculate or give recorded statements without thinking it through first. They are not your friend here, even if they sound sympathetic on the phone.
- quiet-seal-7395/10/2026
  Three things: talk to a PI lawyer before you sign or agree to anything, get that shoulder properly evaluated by a specialist, and do NOT give a recorded statement to anyone without understanding exactly why they need it. Everything else is noise right now.
tidy-grouse-6215/10/2026
Former adjuster here. The named-exclusion denial is legit — if someone is explicitly excluded from a policy, carriers are generally clean walking away from it. But here's the thing people don't realize: the owner of the vehicle can sometimes carry liability depending on your state's laws around negligent entrustment. Basically, if she knew he was excluded and handed him the keys anyway, that's potentially a separate avenue. Definitely worth looking into.
- spry-seal-2255/10/2026
  Please don't let the insurance stuff distract you from actually taking care of that shoulder. A lot of soft tissue injuries from impacts like this don't fully declare themselves for weeks. If you're still having pain, see an orthopedic doc, not just urgent care. Having a specialist's notes in your file matters way more than urgent care discharge papers when it comes to documenting the extent of an injury.
candid-hare-9775/10/2026
Not legal advice, but the personal claim against the driver himself is real — he's individually liable for his own negligence regardless of whether any insurance covers him. The practical problem is collecting if he doesn't have assets. The negligent entrustment angle the previous commenter mentioned is also worth exploring depending on your state. I'd at least do a free consult with a PI attorney before you settle anything on the injury side.
genuine-badger-5195/10/2026
A couple of practical things: first, get a copy of the police report if you haven't already — some states let you pull it online within a week or two of the incident. Second, document every single symptom and appointment related to your shoulder. Gap in treatment can be used against you later even if the injury is totally real. Keep a simple notes app log of pain levels and how it's affecting your daily life. That kind of record helps a lot.
- careful-vole-3805/10/2026
  This is so unfair. You were just driving normally, a deputy literally witnessed it, and somehow you're the one jumping through hoops? I really hope you get someone in your corner who can fight this properly. Don't let them wear you down into accepting something that doesn't cover everything.
quick-finch-3115/10/2026
Quick question — when you say the insurer denied the claim because he's an excluded driver, did they send that in writing? And do you know why he was excluded — like was it a bad driving record situation? Just wondering because that might factor into the negligent entrustment argument if the owner knew about it.