nothing wrong with being self insured guys.
you just need to remember that without third party, you are responsible for any damage to other people's property. it's one thing not to have your car covered, but to not cover what damage you might cause to other people's property - with no means to pay it back later - it socially irresponsible IMHO. 3rd party only is VERY cheap, I like to refer to it as "rolls royce" insurance - ie: you won't have to fit the bill for a rolls royce if you hit one
Be ready for a shit fight mate, insurance companies often fight hard against people with no insurance. they will automatically assume that you won't be able to afford a lawyer also and will use theirs to try and put some blame onto you.
You'll also have to respond to all of THEIR demands if you want your money as you don't have someone to keep up the fight for you. It is very hard to battle against an insurance company as a layman.
watch 'em try and value your car at around $13K as a start too - this is redbook low end for trade in value. and be careful with quoting costs for modified parts - got a quote on a factory exhaust before? it will cost WAY more than any HKS/APEXi/TRUST jobbie you can find, used or new. I saw someone try and up receipts for mods once, the insurance company argued that the cost of all the factory parts should be DEDUCTED from the cost of the vehicle prior to adding on the cost of the aftermarket pieces. They may even begin to bring into account the relative roadworthyness of your car if you start quoting things like coilovers etc - if they can do that, all of a sudden blame starts to head your way"in court "His car was un-roadworthy and un-insurable, look he couldn't even get insurance, his car should not have been on the road!
your best bet is to find cars in similar condition and level of modification to yours for sale and argue the value that way.
Be VERY careful in your wordings, make sure all your correspondance is written and get legal advice - QUICK. the couple of grand a lawyer might cost for a couple of quick letters (like, tomorrow or tuesday) may mean the difference in $10-15K payout.