mchne

iTrader: (3)

I'm at work right now, so I have to make this as quick as possible.. here goes:

I woke up this morning and found that my rear bumper was smashed in and scraped up on the driver's side... blue paint marks, big fat dent probably about a foot wide.

A few hours later, someone called my house and let me know that they saw it happen at 6:00am this morning (I was still sleeping), it was a blue saturn, and they got the plate number before the woman drove away. It was some woman who apparently delivers newspapers around here.

I have two options:

a) Wait for her tomorrow morning (if she delivers newspapers, she very likely could come back if she thinks no one saw her this morning) and confront her politely to handle the situation privately. If she doesn't respond positively or plays dumb, then I'll have to file a police report.

b) File a police report today while I'm at work and have them handle the situation.

Obviously option B is the legitimate and perhaps simpler way to go about this... but my insurance is currently almost $500 a month for JUST liability (welcome to NY), and I'm really afraid that if I file a police report, my insurance company will get wind of this and either raise my premium even higher, or just drop me entirely.

Basically, my bottom line question here is, does anyone know if my insurance company will penalize me AT ALL for someone crashing into my car while it was parked?

Thoughts?

SkullMonkey

They might raise your rates just by you making a claim regardless of fault.

If the person that hit your car just took off without leaving a note I would not trust them to cough up any money even if they agree to it.

DJ Technischer

iTrader: (1)

Take the chance and ask her to , usally when some one hits a car they get nervious and dont know what to do , And run away...

And if you find out she had no intentions to even pay up , Then slighty threten her , Telling her your going to file a police report.

Zach95SE

iTrader: (3)

Your insurance should not go up if you are not at fault. Just call the police file a report and they will contact the person who hit your car.

mchne

iTrader: (3)

Agreed... I wasn't really going to give the woman much slack considering she DID leave the scene of the accident without so much as a note. My plan is/was to give her a strict deadline and go straight to the police if she didn't pay on time.

This is what I'm afraid of. Anyone know for sure? Keep in mind, I'm under 21 (for another 10 days, anyway) and I have a few tickets and a couple of at fault accidents on my record (such explains my astronomical premium).

mchne

iTrader: (3)

Thanks. I have a feeling I'll end up going to the police with this even if I do choose to confront her tomorrow morning.. so I hope you're right.

njmaxseltd

iTrader: (19)

$500 a month for insurance Sell the car and get a bicycle.

Thats completely nuts, even worse off is the fact that your actually paying it.

X-Vert

Make sure to take pictures of her damage and yours.

Teufelhunden

iTrader: (8)

500 a month? man thats more than my car payment. i hope your maxima is worth all that money... why dont u just take the train? bus?

Brushedpewter

you pay a year what your car costs. Good God

djfrestyl

iTrader: (89)

Hit and run is a very serious offense, quite a few points (5-8?) IIRC in NJ. That is a lot of leverage you have when speaking to this person that hit you.

Scooobay

iTrader: (5)

i'd confront her, if she knwos she's cought, she most likely wont want to risk her insurance going up as well, and will probably prefer to pay up, if i were you, i would also have the person who seen it happen be there with you if possible, AND walk out to her with a disposable camera, take pictures of her front bumper, there should be scratch marks of your paint or w/e, there should be somein, chances are if she's sellin papers she didnt get that repaired in one day O_o ...and if she doesnt come, call the cops, once she fixes that damage it's your word vs hers O_o...

Brushedpewter

liability+hit and run= bad combo

I only had liability on my last car and when I was in a hit and run my insurance didn't want to pay unless I had the plates of the other person.

You're lucky. You got her plates. I'd say sue her for what she's worth. Nothing is sweeter than revenge on a hit and run.

Screw the "she got scared" angle. Some people go to great lenghts to run away from an accident including running people over.

Cliff Clavin

iTrader: (11)

$500/month for car insurance? That's only a few hundred less than my mortgage and almost double my car payment! I think I would rather put $500/month toward a place nearer your work.

I would just go file a police report and make sure to get her insurance. You don't have to make a claim to your insurance. Not only that, there are criminal charges involved. Fleeing an accident scene is more than just a traffic crime.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

Seriously, $6000 a year, ugh

Scooobay

iTrader: (5)

that would suck..i PAID 2000 for my car....seriously, consider a closer place to work, and taxi's and trains are your friend.

D-Bo

iTrader: (9)

You need to develop a relationship with your insurance agent. For that much of a premium you should have somebody willing to answer these types of questions.

Football/ Drinking buddy insurance agent FTW!!!

bigEL

My experience is that nothing gets done without a police report. The driver or her insurance will just drag their feet as long as they can or just not pay up at all.

Don't quote me on this, but I recall reading in the paper last year that Congress passed a law making it illegal for insurance companies to dump you or raise your rates because of accidents (your fault or not). It was pushed forward by professional driver interest groups (truckers, expediters, cabbies, etc.) to make insurance more affordable and lower uninsurance rates. That's why I roll my eyes whenever I see one of those Allstate comercials saying how they care so much about you as a customer that they won't raise your rates because of accidents, etc. Talk about marketing!

BTW, I'm curious whether it actually was a Saturn that hit you. AFAIK, their composite panels are dyed not painted, so I wouldn't imagine the color getting transfered to your car.

Brushedpewter

Allstate is all nice as long as you pay your premium but as soon as you get into a crash, doesn't matter if it's not your fault they go Darth Vader all over you.

I speak this from first hand experience.

MrGone

iTrader: (30)

I told my old insurance agent to fawk off 2 years ago, switched to my Dad's and . He works in soo many discounts and stuff




I've never even met the guy

FunLovinMaxima

Chances are, if the woman delivers newspapers for a living, she won't have the cash to give you. File a report.

PS - talk to your agent about lowering rates. Maybe driving something other than a max will save you a few hundred bucks. $500 a month is completely insane. You probably pay more than any of their ten million other customers.

FLMaxima

First, if all you have is liability, your insurance will not cover this. You would need Comprehensive to cover a hit and run. And by the way, No they cannot raise your rates for a claim against your comprehensive coverage. At least here in FL they can't. I don't know if that's a state law or federal.

Second, definitely get a police report ASAP, and be sure the officer takes a statement from the witness. Without a police report, the other driver's insurance company will not even give you the time of day.


Take pictures of your car, and if at all possible get pictures of the damage to the offending persons vehicle.

Like the others have said, if she's delivering newspapers she probably doesn't have money to give anyway.
Just hope she has insurance! If she doesn't you may have some recourse against her employer.

Again, most importantly, get that police report filed, and do all you can to help the investigating officer locate and determine who did it. This is a big thing to you, but it's small beans to them. Be prepared to do a lot of the legwork yourself to keep things moving.

Good luck!

Maximum Tune

$500 a month just for basic coverage! You have to feel like you are being violated every month by the company! I don't have to tell you that a few years of that would buy you a really nice and FAST car! Just do something! That money could be making money in some type of investment!

I would get something that counts as a motorcycle to the insurance company and state (i.e. something with upto 3 wheels), along the lines of a BMW Isseta or other microcar like the Subaru 360. OR, just get a Honda CBX 1000 Super Sport. Great bikes with an awesome IN-LINE SIX! Also maybe a Honda CX500, as they are cheap and run forever. Maybe a sidecar would be a good addition...

Majestic303

I agree, take pictures of both the cars with the damage, her plates, and her . Get a written statement from the witness if she's willing to provide, but I'm definitely all about NOT dealing with insurance agencies as I've been there done that and its sometimes easier to work it out with the person that hit your car, if possible.

1) Question her whether she did infact hit your car, if she denies, move on to option # 2
2) Tell her you have a witness and trying to avoid insurance agencies and would rather settle this between each other.
3) If she agrees to work it out, and settle out of pocket, still get her insurance, personal info, and witness statement just incase it falls through. I think there's a time limit to report an accident, so make sure you do this deal out-of-pocket (if that's the way it's gonna go) in a short amount of time. Find the shop you want the work done at and have her meet you there so she can tell the shop there in person she's responsible for the payment (if she agrees)
4) Filing a police report wouldn't hurt, this way its on file.

(No disrespect, but if i recall, its under your dads insurance and hopefully he has a good rep with his agent who can give him info without actually filing the claim.)


It's easier to make a decision when you have options. If she doesn't want to work something out with you, then your ONLY option is to persue insurance. I don't think it'll make a difference whether you have full coverage, liability, or what have you as it was HER fault, therefore it'll be her insurance paying for it. So if anyone's insurance will go up, it'll be hers. You could go directly to her insurance and coordinate with them as well.

I've never had just liability, just full coverage, so i can't say exactly how it works, but I'd imagine YOUR coverage would come into play if it was your fault and/or you hit a person or personal property besides a vehicle.

There's no real science to getting this all done, but I'd definitely try to avoid the insurance company if possible.

Sorry for the long reply! Hope this helps....

SHOman

No brainer...

Let me share my story with you...

My roommate last week experienced the same thing as you, except the other driver left a note w/contact info on the winshield. This occurred on a private parking lot shared by several businesses.

One of the other business owners son backed a rental Ryder truck into my roomies parked z71 top ' the line pickup. Roomie went over to the business, spoke with Mr 18 year old boy. Dad came out and took over. Son stupidly asks dad if they should claim company ins. or the ins. they bought from Ryder. Dad doesn't want to make another claim period. Dad gave my roomie the impression he wanted his "friends" to fix the truck.

Roomie does not like the "vibe" he got. Wants to go to the body shop he trusts. Goes back the next day and talks to dad and tells him he really doesn't feel comfortable with this, wants to get ins. co involved, etc. Dad blows up, pretty much got in roomie's face. Told him "you're screwed, this was on private property, I won't pay you a cent". Roomie likes his cush job so he doesn't smack the ole' man up, lets it go and walks away.

Roomie made a claim with Ryder and is getting his money now!

In a nutshell, you really don't know how this other person is going to react. They obviously cannot be trusted already as they hit and run you. Any promise or excuse they make is meaningless.

If I were you, I wouldn't even call the loser who hit and run me. Report them to the police, the newspaper they work for, DMV, and anyone else I missed.

Relying on people to do the honest thing is a poor choice these days... There are already "established" processes to deal with things like this. I have dealt with enough of these issues and seen enough of them like your's and Roomie's to have learned your generally better off sticking with those established processes. You making demands from the other person, at the least, won't get you anywhere, and at most, waste your time and could be counterproductive.

BTW, DMV in Cali has a law requiring reporting of ANY accident over $600, and in a certain amount of days (amount may be off a bit). Even for the "victim". So you may be in violation of some law yourself if ou don't report it.

I wonder how many points given for a hit and run?

Time to actually read the replies to your thread...

Added later. I tend to agree that your insurance cannot be increased due to a an incident like this. You should always feel comfortable calling your insurance agent and asking something like this. If you aren't you need a new insurance agent my friend.

GL

mchne

iTrader: (3)

alrighty...
Here's an update:

I had a friend of mine do a little research and run the plates on the woman who hit me. Story checks out, as the description of the car matches what the witness saw, and matches the color of the paint on my quarter-panel. The vehicle is insured with geico, however, it's insured under a man's name.

Yup, same here in NY, as I found out. I'm in the process of filing a police report, so that's covered. Thanks for the heads up.

Now, here's the good part:
I called geico to let them know that one of their insured hit and ran on my car. They were actually more cooperative and helpful than the police were.. by a longshot. They took down some information from me over the phone, and I had an appointment today to have one of their adjusters give me an estimate on the damage. $1050. Geico went ahead and left the guy multiple voicemails until they finally got in touch with him today, and typically he claimed no knowledge of anything. According to the rep I spoke to at geico, he said "I wasn't there, I don't know anything". Obviously he wasn't there, my witness saw a woman driving the car. So, he's either playing dumb, or the woman was his wife/girlfriend/sister/whatever and is hiding the accident from him. Either way, a geico adjuster is going to this guy's apartment tomorrow to inspect his car for damages (or fresh repairs). Hopefully once they find definitive evidence, this guy will just give in and I'll get my check without having to sue him. A check for $1,000 could go a long way considering I have a friend who owns a body shop nearby that will do the work for me a bit cheaper than that.

We'll see.

dank104

hope things work out. that was probably the best route to go...filing a claim through geico so your insurance isn't involved.