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emmaline · Jul 24, 2007, 11:07 AM

My teenager got into a fender bender and the vehilce she hit was a older SUV and our car is a 4 door small vehicle. The other driver was a teenager as well and had 2 other teen age passengers in the car. They pulled over and was asked if they were okay and everyone said yes. The gave each others information and both got in their vehilces and drove on.

There were no police officers called so no accident report was written up. My insurance had lapsed at the time and about almost a month later I get a call informing me of such by my insurance and that a claim had been presented from their insurance company. I did not hear anymore for a few more weeks until I got something in the mail stating that I owed them a couple thousand dollars for damages to the vehicle. The vehicle was a bigger car then mine and my car only had damages done to the license plate so I could not understand why they would have damages with that price.

I have sense received letters from their insurance company saying that I owe this amount and that if I don't contact them to pay they are going to report me to the DMV and it will be on my record.

Is this true and if so how could that be if no police were called and they didn't report an accident after the fact and if they have insurance it is covered by their insurance company and how could they put that information on my record or my teenager if no accident report was filled out by a police officer, no wittness other then the friends the other teenager had in the car and no pictures were take at the scene of the accident.

Will this go on our record, can I be taken to court by the insurance company and what could I do to stop this after the fact accident.

GlindaofOz · Jul 24, 2007, 11:10 AM

You can report an accident to the insurance without a police report. The police report is there to protect both parties and determine fault. This helps with insurance issues and rates. You will have to pay since they went through your insurance. If I was you I'd be having my teenager pay me back and suspend driving for a while.

ScottGem · Jul 24, 2007, 11:18 AM

Sorry but you are stuck. What happened is the other car owner filed a claim with their insurance company. Their company examined the vehicle and determined the damages. They then paid out on the claim. They then filed a claim against your insurance company probably because their policyholder told them it was your kid's fault. Your insurance company told them the policy had lapsed and you were not covered. Ergo you are on the hook.

The fact that no police report was filed only means that their insurer is going by what their policyholder told them.

If you don't pay, this will go on your record as well as your child's. You can and probably will be taken to court by their insurer to recover the amount they paid out.

Your only defense here (and it's a long shot) is showing that the accident was solely or partially the fault of the other driver. If you can establish any fault at all the amount of the claim would be reduced by that %. For example, If the amount they paid was $2K and their child is considered 50% at fault then you only owe them $1K.

What were the circumstances of the accident?

emmaline · Jul 24, 2007, 12:04 PM

Originally Posted by GlindaofOz

You can report an accident to the insurance without a police report. The police report is there to protect both parties and determine fault. This helps with insurance issues and rates. You will have to pay since they went through your insurance. If I was you I'd be having my teenager pay me back and suspend driving for a while.

Thanks, it really wasn't my teenagers fault being that I am the parent and let the insurance lapse. Paying attention was in effect it is just that the driver slammed her brakes on after she just started to proceed to turn and for whatever reason decided to break again which then caused my teenager to slam on the breaks. I just think that the amount was more then it should have been because the damage was not that major.

Again, thanks for the advise.

emmaline · Jul 24, 2007, 12:18 PM

Originally Posted by ScottGem

Sorry but you are stuck. What happened is the other car owner filed a claim with their insurance company. Their company examined the vehicle and determined the damages. They then paid out on the claim. They then filed a claim against your insurance company probably because their policyholder told them it was your kid's fault. Your insurance company told them the policy had lapsed and you were not covered. Ergo you are on the hook.

The fact that no police report was filed only means that their insurer is going by what their policyholder told them.

If you don't pay, this will go on your record as well as your child's. You can and probably will be taken to court by their insurer to recover the amount they paid out.

Your only defense here (and its a long shot) is showing that the accident was solely or partially the fault of the other driver. If you can establish any fault at all the amount of the claim would be reduced by that %. For example, If the amount they paid was $2K and their child is considered 50% at fault then you only owe them $1K.

What were the circumstances of the accident?

The vehicle was hit from behind but the person in front let up on the break and proceeded forward to turn but then decided to slam the breaks on which caused my teenager to slam and slide slightly to hit the back of the car causing hardly no damage to my vehicle. Pictures were not taken so I don't really know how badly damaged the car was so not sure if the amount is right. Could I request the 3 quotes they got and see pictures of the vehicle damage?

ScottGem · Jul 24, 2007, 12:26 PM

Ok, first, in a rear end collision the person in the rear is almost always deemed at fault. In this case, your kid should not have been following so closely that they could not stop in time. So I doubt if you would have any chance of sharing fault.

As to the question of cost. How do you know they got three quotes? If they put in a claim with their insurance, generally the insurance company would have a claims adjuster look at the damage and estimate the damage cost. The only reason for them to get 3 quotes is if they weren't going through their insurance.

From what I understand it's their insurance company, not the car owner that is coming after you. You can ask for a copy of the bill from the body shop, but I'm sure that will support their claim. A Couple of thousand for even a minor fender bender is probably not out of line.

And you are right it was your fault for letting the insurance lapse. But it was still your kid's fault for driving carelessly. I would split the cost with him (or her).

emmaline · Jul 24, 2007, 12:40 PM

Yes, I know that the person in a rear end is always at fault and I thought that more then one quoate should be given, I have not been in an accident so not really sure how it works just going off what I have been told. The roads were a little damp that day so any breaking fast would have caused the car to slide some if it was not an expected stop and traffic was moving and lights were green. Yes it is the insurance company. My teenager is acutally a more safe driver then me so I trust that distance was there but unexpected breaking cause those types of fender bender, I have seen it happen many times on the road.

Thanks for you advise.

ScottGem · Jul 24, 2007, 12:46 PM

Unfortunately I've been in a few accidents, most were not my fault. In one case, it was clearly the other driver's fault and they admitted it. I filed a claim with their insurance, met their adjuster at a mutually agreed upon body shop and everything was handled. In some other instances, we took the car to our insurer, they examined the damage and issued an estimate that I took to one of their approved body shops.

So there is no need for multiple estimates when the insurance company is involved.

Sorry to not have better news for you. I would approach the insurance company and ask if they will work out a payment plan.

emmaline · Jul 24, 2007, 01:28 PM

Thanks, I will. I believe they will be willing to do that.

go-ask-mom · Aug 3, 2007, 09:38 AM

I always thought that if it is just MINOR damage and you just exchange ins. Information, w/o any police reports, that both parties were accepting "partial blame/responsibility" 50/50. And they would either repair at their own expense or claim on their own ins.

This is why our family always keeps one of those cheap $5/$6 disposable type cameras in the glove box of all vehicles (especially with teenage drivers as they are generally scared and don't recall exact details), for instances like these. Besides, who knows WHAT can happen after a few weeks/month time before someone initiates a claim... maybe another accident/or damage that is NOT from you! You have no way of proving w/o witness or pictures. That's why with a camera, you can take it out and get pictures of their damage right at the scene, and your own damage too! I tell them take pictures of EVERYTHING! No matter how slight a scratch/dent or ding may seem!

It's a hard experience to learn, but now you know to not let INS of any kind lapse! Good luck!