Getting in a car accident is bad enough, but it can be even worse when you find out that the person responsible for causing the accident does not have any auto insurance. If you are in this situation and if you have auto insurance, you might have nothing to worry about. Here are several things to know about this type of situation and tips to help you know how to handle it if you are ever involved in an accident like this.  

Use your uninsured motorist coverage

When a driver does something that leads to an accident, that person is generally responsible to pay for the damages caused to other cars involved. When this person has insurance, the insurance company pays the damages, but this creates a problem when the driver does not have any auto insurance. Fortunately, you may have coverage for situations like this, and the main type is called uninsured motorist coverage. This is the type of coverage that you could use in this particular situation, and it would involve your own insurance company paying the claim, even though the other person's insurance should be doing that. The only downside to this coverage is that the limits are generally lower than the limits for other types of auto insurance coverage. This means that your coverage amounts might not be sufficient to cover all the damages you encountered from the accident.

Sue the other driver

If your policy does not offer enough coverage to pay for all the damages you have, you could sue the other driver to get more money. The downside to this is that you would only be able to get money from the person if he or she has money, and the person may not have any money or assets to take.

Press charges if the driver committed a criminal act

One last thing to know is that if the person that caused the accident committed a criminal act, you could also press criminal charges against him or her. For example, was the person under the influence while driving? Was he or she driving without a valid driver's license? If the person committed a criminal act, he or she may end up facing criminal charges from this incident.

If you would like to find out if your policy covers accidents like this, contact your insurance agent. You can also check around for quotes for coverage from other companies if you would like to.