[khosrowz]

Hi,yesterday I was parked my car in a walmart store parking lotand I was about to back up and leave I had checked my left side and it was clear to me to back up.and I don't know how I hit a car.the driver said that it was my mistake and she called the police to come and check that out.plce made a report and told me to arrange with the driver and my insurance company to fix the domage of her car.the domage is small and don't need to report to my insurance co,and in the police report did not say I was guilty I did not get a fine because the accident happened in a privat place.
My question to you is how this works out this accident with my insurance co.do I have to report that to my insurece co and fix her car how am I guilty in this accident?please tell me.what about my car ?how do I deal with my insurece company for not paying more moneny on my next insurance policy.thank you.
Kz.:confused: :confused:

[RichardBondMan]

YOu might not think the repairs to the car you hit cost much, but how are you going to know until you get an estimate. Then if it takes many days or weeks for the other person who owns the car to get an estimate, you have predjudiced the rights of your ins company by not reporting the accident timely. To eliminate any doubt, and to let you ins co handle the whole matter about the damages to the other persons car, I suggest you report the acc to them immediately and let them handle it for you. True, your ins prem will probably go up on renewal but I think it is better to let them take the risk, that's what you have ins for and accidents are just part of everyday life.

[ScottGem]

When you are backing up and hit someone, 90% of the time its considered your fault. I was in a similar situation, I had start to pull into a spot but never complete the maneuver because the space was too small. I never was more than half way into the spot. As I backed up I hit a van speeding down the aisle. The van should have seen I was manuevering and given me some space. Police were called and even though the police report didn't list me as being at fault, the other car's insurance refused to pay. My car was less than a month old!

So, yes you DO report it your insurance company. They will have to pay the other car's repairs. You do not have to file a claim for the damage to your car, but you still have to report it.

Whether your rates go up or not depends on your company. I've been with my company for about 7 years. We had to report 4 accidents in the first 5 years and our rates never went up.

[RichardBondMan]

About police reports, keep in mind they are a factor in considering who is at fault but police officers are not there to determine fault, only to report the details. i.e. on severe accidents where there is substantial property damage or injuries, they will measure skid marks, take statements from witnesses, bystanders if any, either the insurance company or companies or a court or an arbitration process can determine who was at fault. Also, when if comes to normally auto accidents, police depts are no obligated to write a report in most cases, if they do it is out of simple courtesy, for accidents that occur on private property such as a retail parking lot, it's up to the parties involved or their insurance companies to settle the matter.

[Fr_Chuck]

I will differ, yes police officers normally do determine who they believe is at fault and they issue a ticket to that person ( unless it is on private property where traffic laws are not in effect)

As a officer we were instructed by our department to attempt to ticket at least one of the drivers is possible and try and determine who is at fault.

You do this by talking to the witnesses, and my determining movement of the cars, tire marks and the such.

The driver listed as driver 1 on the uniform accident report is who the officer considers at the most fault, ( standard procedure)

Officers can be ( as I was ) trained in accident reconstruction and investigation, And if the accident is on city streets, yes police are required to do a report ( they may do minor ones over the phones, but they are required to do them if requested) Ones on private property are not required, since no traffic law has been broken.

In your case, the police did not ticket you since they could not on private property, but their report showing you to be the driver at fault would be used if the other driver had to sue you for damages. You would be free to submit evidnece showing you were not at fault. ( in serious accidents, this is where you or your insurance company would hire a accident investagator to do a complete report in addition to the police report.

If the amount of the repair is minor, you can of course merely pay it and not turn it over to your insurance. But you are free to turn it over to them.

*** This is from years of traffic work in Atlanta GA as a police officer and testify in court on accident investigation

[RichardBondMan]

Who has the final say if it goes to court or if both ins co's agree ? The police officer, the court or the ins companies ? The Court of course if it goes that far not the police officer, the insurance companies if they agree, not the police officer. They can make a determination but it's just their opinion, a very valued one's in both the eyes of a court and an insurance company, but they never make the final determination of who is at fault.

[s_cianci]

SInce you hit her while backing, you are almost assuredly liable for the damage to her car. If the damage is relatively minor as you say then you would be wise to negotiate directly with the other driver and agree to pay cash for the damages as opposed to reporting it to your insurance company. Of course, if the other driver tries to claim personal injury, that could throw a monkey wrench into the works.