State laws do vary however no, we know of no such law that states if you do not report an accident within 30 minutes no action can be taken. There are states where by law if the damage is over a certain monetary amount then you are required to submit to the state, Department of Motor Vehicles or Department of Transportation an accident or traffic report within a certain period of time, say 7 to 10 days.

For example if you are involved in a vehicle accident that occurred in California, you must report it to DMV if:

• There was property damage of more than $750 or
• Anyone was injured (no matter how minor) or
• Anyone was killed.

Each driver must make a report to CA DMV within 10 days, whether you caused the accident or not and even if the accident occurred on private property

There are usually state laws in regards to the statute of limitations for property damages sustained in an accident and trying to receive compensation from the at fault party. The time limit to place a claim or go after the person liable for the damages in court to obtain a judgment against them is normally a year or two, so there is time in which to negotiate before heading to court.

If you are in an accident it is usually advisable to call the police and get a report so a situation such as what you had occur does not happen. It appears that the other party, who you say was at fault was able to get money for more damage that was even done because you did not want the police involved due to the car being uninsured in which you were driving. While you may have been cited for driving without insurance, if you were not at fault you should have been able to place a claim with the at fault party's insurance for your car's damage and would not have had to pay for their damages.

It is important to have at least your state's minimum auto insurance on your vehicle so that if you are in an accident you will be covered for damages you cause to others and will not be ticketed for being an uninsured motorist. Also if you are properly covered you can call the police so that you cannot be taken advantage of by another motorist who claims more damages then they sustained and require you to pay this out of pocket.

If you still need auto insurance on your vehicle you can get an auto insurance quote here with us.