Driver who hit me is now claiming her car was stolen — what do I do??

Oh wow, this is almost exactly what happened to me a couple years ago. The other driver gave me bogus insurance info and then suddenly had a whole alternate story once I tried to follow up. What ended up helping me was going back to the police department and asking them to look into whether a stolen vehicle report was actually filed — and when. If she's lying about the theft, there will be no report, or the report will be dated after the accident. That caught the person in my situation in a flat-out lie.

Don't let your own insurance company just close the file on you either. Sometimes they'll drag their feet on uninsured motorist claims hoping you'll give up. Keep everything in writing — every call, every email. If you have uninsured motorist coverage, you may be able to use it even if your deductible hurts. Push them to actually investigate her stolen-car claim rather than just taking her word for it.

I used to work claims and the 'my car was stolen' story comes up more than you'd think when someone gets caught with no valid insurance. Here's the thing — adjusters know how to verify this. A legitimate theft report has a case number, a date, and it gets logged in databases we check. If she's making it up, it usually falls apart pretty quickly once someone actually digs in. The problem is your insurer has less motivation to dig than you do. You may need to push them or get someone else involved.

A few things worth knowing: driving without valid insurance is illegal in most states, and giving false insurance information at the scene of an accident can be a separate offense. You can go back to the police and share what you've found — that her insurance wasn't valid and that she's now claiming the car was stolen. They may or may not act on it, but it creates a paper trail. Also look into whether your state has an uninsured motorist fund or a similar program for situations like this. Some states have them specifically for hit-and-runs or uninsured drivers. Not legal advice, just stuff I've seen come up in cases like this.

Situations like this — a clearly at-fault driver with no valid coverage and a suspicious after-the-fact story — are actually where talking to a PI attorney can be really useful, even if your damages feel 'too small.' Some attorneys will at least give you a free consult and tell you if small claims court makes sense or if there's another angle. If she gave false insurance info at the scene, that could be fraud, which changes things. Not legal advice, just saying it might be worth a conversation.

Small claims court. Seriously. File against her personally. You have a police report with her name, her ID was checked at the scene, and her 'stolen car' alibi is almost certainly provably false. Small claims is designed for exactly this — you don't need a lawyer, the filing fee is usually pretty low, and judges have seen every version of this story. Bring the police report, the denial from her insurance company, and screenshots of any texts or messages where she changed her story.

This is so unfair and I'm sorry you're dealing with it. You did everything right and now you're stuck cleaning up her mess. Please don't just let it go — I know it feels like fighting uphill but you deserve to at least try.