Driver crashed into my garage — I don't have homeowners insurance, what happens now?

Something similar happened to my uncle — a driver jumped a curb and took out his fence and part of his front porch. He didn't have homeowners at the time either and was freaking out. The at-fault driver's liability insurance ended up covering the property damage after an adjuster came out. It took a few weeks and some back-and-forth but it did get paid. Your photos and that witness are going to be really valuable — don't lose that contact info.

So the good news is that your lack of homeowners insurance doesn't really come into play here — this should go through the at-fault driver's property damage liability coverage, which is specifically designed to cover damage they cause to other people's stuff, including structures. What you'll want to do pretty quickly: get the police report number, send a formal written notice to the driver's insurer that you're making a claim, and get at least two independent repair estimates from licensed contractors before you agree to anything. Don't let the adjuster's estimate be the only number on the table.

Please be careful with the other driver's insurance company. They are NOT on your side — their job is to minimize the payout. They may try to lowball the repair estimate or drag it out hoping you'll just accept whatever they offer. Get your own contractor quotes. If the structural damage is serious, consider getting a structural engineer involved too. Document everything obsessively.

I worked in claims for years. Here's the insider reality: when a driver causes property damage, their liability coverage does apply to third-party structures like your garage. BUT — adjusters are trained to scope repairs as narrowly as possible. They'll try to repair rather than replace, and they'll use the cheapest comparable materials. Push back if the estimate feels low. You're entitled to restore your property to the condition it was in before the crash, not just a patch job. Also — get everything in writing. Every conversation, every offer.

Not legal advice, but if that structural beam damage turns out to be more extensive than it looks, or if there are any safety issues that make part of the house uninhabitable, this could become more complicated than a standard property damage claim. At that point it might be worth a free consultation with a PI attorney just to understand your options. Many will look at property damage situations for free even if they don't ultimately take the case.

Oh wow, I'm so sorry. You're 21, you inherited this house and you're doing your best — this is SO not your fault and you shouldn't have to be navigating this alone. Please lean on that neighbor witness, keep all your photos backed up somewhere safe (cloud, email yourself, whatever), and don't sign or agree to anything from the insurance company until you've had time to think it through.

Three things right now: 1) Call the at-fault driver's insurer TODAY and open a property damage claim — don't wait for them to call you. 2) Get a licensed contractor out this week for a written estimate. 3) If that beam is load-bearing, don't ignore it for cost reasons — a compromised structure is a safety issue. Everything else can wait. Those three things cannot.

Quick question — do you know yet whether the driver was fully insured and whether their liability limits are high enough to cover serious structural repair? Because if they were driving with minimum coverage and the damage is significant, you could hit a ceiling on what their policy pays out. Worth finding out their coverage limits early.