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pennyj · Dec 4, 2009, 07:47 PM

My 16 year old daughter rear ended a car. The police were not called and there was no visible damage to other vehicle. Only minor damage to our vehicle. The driver took my name and number, but did not ask for insurance information. I do not think they filed a police report. Other driver called and now says the car is totalled and is sending me the estimate from a body shop. It was an older model car in poor condition. I don't want to turn this ino insurance and have rates go up with a teenage driver, but refuse to be scammed by these people. Is it possible to find out if the vehicle has been in a previous wreck and had existing damage? Please advise.

Fr_Chuck · Dec 4, 2009, 07:55 PM

You can hire a independent adjuster to work for you to look into this and try to reach a settlement.

chloelang · Dec 4, 2009, 10:09 PM

Sounds shady to me. My husband recommends to tell this other party to file a claim with their insurance company. Odds are, if it is an older vehicle, already a little beat up, the driver probably only has plpd. I guess it depends on where you're from and what your state laws are. In Michigan we're a "no fault" state so we do things differently. Eitherway, if this other party wants to file a claim with their insurance company, usually they'll have to file a police report as well. They may consider this too much of a hassle and just leave it at that. If you had the VIN from the car you could have traced any repairs/work that had been done on it.

ScottGem · Dec 5, 2009, 04:29 AM

First, if you have a teen driver, you should have her listed on your insurance. So your rates go up anyway.

Second, if your daughter was allowed to drive your car, why wasn't she schooled in what to do when an accident occurred. She should have known to call the police no matter how minor appearing the accident.

If the other driver was able to drive away, its unlikely the car was totaled. You now have to bite the bullet and call your insurer and report the incident. Then tell the other party to contact their insurer who will contact yours.

JudyKayTee · Dec 5, 2009, 10:32 AM

Originally Posted by chloelang

Sounds shady to me. My husband recommends to tell this other party to file a claim with their insurance company. Odds are, if it is an older vehicle, already a little beat up, the driver probably only has plpd. I guess it depends on where you're from and what your state laws are. In Michigan we're a "no fault" state so we do things differently. Eitherway, if this other party wants to file a claim with their insurance company, usually they'll have to file a police report as well. They may consider this too much of a hassle and just leave it at that. If you had the VIN number from the car you could have traced any repairs/work that had been done on it.

No fault refers to medical bills, expenses - it has nothing to do with collision damage. Is your husband somehow involved in the insurance business?

I'm a liability investigator - my advice is to turn this accident over to the insurance company and let them fight it out. There is no requirement, even "usually," in NY that a Police Report has to be filed. It's good business, of course, but not a requirement.

Also when you use a VIN to track repairs you can only locate repairs done by a shop which actually reports the repairs, usually repairs made using insurance. I pull a lot of reports which indicate the car has never been in for service, never had damage - and then I locate Police Reports and the work was done privately, never reported.

Again - let the insurance companies fight it out. I would guess the premium is already high with a teenage driver and, unfortunately, paying a higher premium because someone was rear ended is the cost of doing business.

I would also settle this quickly before the other driver "decides" he/she has personal injuries and decides to treat with a chiropractor or physical therapist for the next several months, creating a claim.

Fr_Chuck · Dec 5, 2009, 11:23 AM

The answrs have me thinking? You do have your teen listed as a driver on your car??

If you have not listed her, she may actually not be insured while driving your car under some policies since you have a obligation and duty to report drivers of your vechile ( esp living in your home)

As for as car being "totaled" I had a large scratch on my car and they wanted to total it, since the cost to repair was more than value of the car.

To total a car does not mean it can not be driven only that the cost of the repair is more than value of the car.

JudyKayTee · Dec 5, 2009, 12:03 PM

Absolutely agree with Frchuck and will also ask if 16-year old driver was alone in car. Was it her opinion that there was no damage to the other car? She obviously didn't know to call the Police and I am concerned that she knew what to look at/for following an accident.