Ok after reading through all your comments and trying to piece things together - this is where I'm at
The Jetta is registered to the Mom/Grandma but was primarily driven by the nephew before he moved and insured as such
When he moved, the car wasn't going to be used an coverage was reduced to the minimum and his name was removed as primary driver. It may have had liability insurance, but sometimes people choose an absurdly low limit (looks like CA is $5k minimum). To be helpful, we need more details on the exact coverage on the vehicle
It sounds like your nephew being the driver might be irrelevant UNLESS he was specifically excluded from the policy, but that doesn't sound like its the case.
My guess is that the property damage limit was just extremely low and he totaled a Sprinter, which when new can easily push $60-70K with options. A $5k limit (the state minimum) and being unfortunate enough to hit a nearly new van would explain the bill he received.
There isn't much to be done if the above is true. I assume insurance also didn't cover the Jetta if it was liability only. Simply put, your nephew causes north of $60k in damages that he or the family will be sued for.
Logic_Delivery t1_iye1csj wrote
Reply to comment by MyFreeAccount in My 19yo nephew was at fault and uninsured in an auto accident. He received a bill for $54k from the opposing insurance company. by MyFreeAccount
Ok after reading through all your comments and trying to piece things together - this is where I'm at
The Jetta is registered to the Mom/Grandma but was primarily driven by the nephew before he moved and insured as such
When he moved, the car wasn't going to be used an coverage was reduced to the minimum and his name was removed as primary driver. It may have had liability insurance, but sometimes people choose an absurdly low limit (looks like CA is $5k minimum). To be helpful, we need more details on the exact coverage on the vehicle
It sounds like your nephew being the driver might be irrelevant UNLESS he was specifically excluded from the policy, but that doesn't sound like its the case.
My guess is that the property damage limit was just extremely low and he totaled a Sprinter, which when new can easily push $60-70K with options. A $5k limit (the state minimum) and being unfortunate enough to hit a nearly new van would explain the bill he received.
There isn't much to be done if the above is true. I assume insurance also didn't cover the Jetta if it was liability only. Simply put, your nephew causes north of $60k in damages that he or the family will be sued for.