Claiming directly against the other driver's insurer

Attorney Answer

Yes — claiming directly against the at-fault driver's insurer is the normal route, and on your policy it is the only one. Liability-only coverage pays other people for damage you cause; it does not repair your own car, so there is nothing on your side for the two insurers to settle between them.

You are a claimant, not their customer, and that distinction explains most of what follows. The other driver's insurer owes its duties to the person it insures. To you it owes what its insured owes you — which is why it will want to establish that its insured was at fault before it pays, and why its adjuster is not working on your behalf even when they are perfectly pleasant about it.

This is called a third-party claim, and it is ordinary business. You contact the other driver's insurer, give them the date, place and their insured's details, and they open a claim. There is no requirement that your own insurer be involved, and with liability-only cover there is no reason for them to be — you would simply be reporting a loss they do not pay.

There is one Alabama feature that works strongly in your favor here, and it is worth understanding because in most cases it runs the other way. Alabama applies contributory negligence: a claimant whose own negligence helped cause the harm recovers nothing at all — not a reduced share. It is the harshest rule in the country and it is the first thing a defense looks for. A lawfully parked, unoccupied car gives it almost nothing to work with. You were not driving, not moving and not making decisions. Where the car was parked can occasionally matter, but the ordinary route by which Alabama claims fail is largely closed to them here.

On the practical mechanics, expect this shape. The insurer will normally want to inspect the car or have it estimated before agreeing a figure, and it is entitled to satisfy itself about the damage. You are entitled to get your own estimates too, and doing so is the single most effective thing you can do: a figure you can compare against is worth more than an argument about the first one. Payment is usually made to you as the owner, and being paid directly rather than through a repairer is common.

Where it goes wrong is almost always the recorded statement and the first offer. An adjuster will often ask for a recorded statement early. You are not obliged to give the other side's insurer one, and there is rarely anything to gain from doing it before you know the extent of the damage. A first offer is an opening position, not a valuation.

If the insurer will not engage at all, denies liability without explanation, or simply stops responding, that is a complaint to the state insurance regulator rather than something to keep chasing by phone.

What you can do

1. Get the other driver's insurer name, policy number and their full details from the police report or exchange, and open the claim directly with that insurer. 2. Photograph all the damage and the car's overall condition before any repair, and keep the photographs. 3. Get two independent repair estimates of your own before you discuss any figure. This is the step that changes the outcome most often and costs nothing. 4. Do not give the other side's insurer a recorded statement without thinking about it first, and never before you know the full extent of the damage. 5. If the car is a total loss, ask for the valuation report the insurer relied on and check the comparable vehicles it used. 6. If the insurer stops responding or refuses without explanation, file a complaint with the Alabama Department of Insurance. A regulator complaint moves a stalled claim more reliably than another call. 7. Speak to an Alabama attorney before signing any release, particularly if you were hurt as well as your car being damaged.

⏱ Time limits apply. Ala. Code § 6-2-38(l) gives two years: “all actions for any injury to the person or rights of another not arising from contract and not specifically enumerated in this section must be brought within two years.” Evidence goes sooner — footage is overwritten and memories fade — so the practical deadline is usually much earlier than the legal one.

An Alabama attorney can tell you quickly how the facts here line up, and most will look at a matter like this at no cost.