<prompt> Human: Hubby rented a car for us to drive to North Carolina. On our way back home to DC we got in a car accident. The person in front of us suddenly swerved over it was raining and in trying to dodge her we got in an accident we hit her car. She admitted to the police that she was wrong, BUT because of North Carolinas rules, it was our fault we were behind so it was automatically our fault.We had limited liability coverage on the car and got an email from Budget and Sedgwick saying we were responsible for the costs of the damage. Once they removed the salvable amount, they said we owe 8246.00. Has anyone had experience dealing with something like this or with these companies? Is there any way we could get this amount down? I plan to negotiate, but would love any inside information I could get from you lovely people. A million thank yous  <response>: Just to clarify the issue here: at the end of the day you have to pay the rental company no matter what. Nobody out there is obligated to do it on your behalf. Theyre out 8k, and they need to be compensated. And since you didnt buy their insurance, and didnt have your own, you owe them 8k. Thats the risk when you dont buy the insurance add-on. Your options are to pay them, or let them try to collect it from you via other means.The question is if you can then in turn get someone _else_ to pay _you_. And if you dont have an insurance company to fight for you, then you need to pursue legal action against the other driver and their insurance. For that, youll probably need a lawyer of your own, and thats where you should go to rlegaladvice. Though if the police report doesnt exonerate you, youll have a hard time in court, and you could wind up just paying legal fees and still being stuck with the bill.Although, to echo other commenters, you should double-check and be certain that you had no coverage either through your own auto insurance or through your credit card. 