[passmeby]

Hello. Someone hit our car in a parking lot-both vehicles were occupied, however we were stationary and the other guy was moving, he hit us on the front passenger side by the front wheel/headlight. I've done everything right so far, I believe-I immediately called the police to the scene, took pictures and got a copy of his DL and insurance card and gave him our information as well. So what do I do now? I'm not worried about my car (honestly it's not worth fixing, damage was mostly cosmetic aside from a light bulb-but HIS car was messed up more than mine and it's newer) nor was anyone injured in either vehicle-the business that owns the lot had papers that everyone signed stating they were not injured and refused medical treatment, so I believe that issue is closed. Do I need to call my insurance company? His insurance company? I believe he was driving someone else's car because the name on the DL doesn't match the name on the insurance card, not even close, so that led me to think that he was borrowing the car. If he was borrowing the car, I can imagine he probably is lying to the owner and trying to say we hit him or something. Now I know my insurance company isn't going to just pay out if he tries to make a claim, they will investigate things, and hopefully they will be able to see that he hit me and not the other way around... but I just wanted some advice on how to proceed so that I cover all bases. We've never put in a claim before or had anyone claim against us. I don't want this to affect my insurance! How do I make sure his insurance was valid, or is that something my insurance co would do? If it turns out that his insurance wasn't valid, what happens? Will he get a ticket? The reason I'm asking that is because he appeared a bit "shifty" and he didn't want the police to be called, but I insisted... so I thought maybe he might not have had valid insurance.

Thanks for any advice!

[smoothy]

YOU HAVE to call your insurance company... explain exactly what happened... they will usually make you fill out forms.

Depending on your insurance company and what sort of coverage you have they will deal with this and collect from them... or they may tell you to deal directly with the other insurance company.

Now what your rights are will vary state to state... in some states like Virginia where I live YOU decide where its going to be repaired... and YOU get the estimates, usually three, and they usually agree to pay the lowest of those three.

The seedy ones try to wiggle out by sending their own adjuster who will try to screw you for less than your estimate. Or stear you towards one of their own shops that will screw you on their behalf. You don't HAVE to sigh anything less than the lowest of the three estimate YOU get. If you take a lower settlement, then you have screwed yourself and have no recourse if you later find it cost more to fix than you first thought.

#1 never admit any fault at all, verbally or in writing.

#2. Don't let them intimidate or threaten you... because more likely than not they will try if you deal with the other company directly.

Again it helps to know what state you live in.

[passmeby]

Thanks. As I said, honestly I don't care about my car, it's an old hooptie and the only thing that absolutely needs to be replaced is a light bulb and the light cover, the car is simply NOT worth fixing cosmetically-speaking. All I care about here is making sure my insurance (or me personally! ) doesn't pay this guy because it was 100% his fault, he rammed right into us while we were parked. My main fear is, because I believe he was borrowing the car, that he is telling the owner that it wasn't his fault just to cover his own butt!

OK, I will call my insurance company immediately then. Is HIS insurance co going to contact me?

Edit: I live in OK. This happened in a private lot of a casino which happens to be tribal (Indian) property so it's not under State law.

Oh, one other thing just for reference-since his insurance that he provided wasn't in his name, how does that affect things? Even though I do not plan to try to make a claim, I'd just like to know in case things change. I'm guessing he was borrowing the car. So would that insurance even cover him driving? Or would I need to find out if he had his own policy or whatever?

[ScottGem]

The other owner may make a claim against your insurer. Which is why you need to inform them immediately. They will then inform you if a claim is made.

[passmeby]

Thanks for the help. I have now contacted my insurance company. Hopefully things will go well, but if anything further happens that I need help with, I will come back to this thread and post.

Thanks again.

[passmeby]

You know what, I changed my mind! This guy rammed into me and caused damage, so why shouldn't I get something for it. My car had no damage to it before, and I was planning on selling it, but now it has a dent and some damage thus making it worth less-so even if I didn't care to FIX the car, I should be entitled to something because it's worth less than before, right?

I mean, the car is older and has high miles... so it's not worth a whole lot, but it runs great and it looked OK before it got smashed. At first, I was just thinking that the car is probably technically totaled out because I think the repairs would exceed the value, and I wasn't going to bother, but why should I lose money? Now that I think about it, I don't think I should accept this just because my car isn't all that great.

[ScottGem]

So you put in a claim to HIS insurer. If they allow the claim, then they will pay for the repairs in full.

[passmeby]

Yeah, obviously I would put a claim against his insurance.

The driver isn't on the insurance card he gave. This is why I said I thought he was probably borrowing the car. So tomorrow during business hours I will call the insurance company that insures the CAR that hit us, but are they going to cover this guy? Or am I going to have to somehow find out if the driver had his own policy, and if he does, would THAT policy be what will ultimately pay? What if he doesn't have his own insurance? I have uninsured motorist coverage, but I don't want my premiums to go up. I assume they probably would if I had to go that route, right? That's totally not fair... in that case I probably wouldn't proceed with it. Say the insurance on that car will not cover that driver, and he has no insurance-do I HAVE to go through my own or can I sue him in small claims? Do I have the choice, is what I'm asking. If my premiums will go up, I certainly wouldn't want to go through my own insurance so obviously I'd rather go through small claims.

[AK lawyer]

... I will call the insurance company that insures the CAR that hit us, but are they going to cover this guy?? ...

Chances are, yes.

Say the insurance on that car will not cover that driver, and he has no insurance-do I HAVE to go thru my own or can I sue him in small claims? ....

You could, of course, sue in small claims court, if you didn't want to make an uninsured motorist claim.

[passmeby]

I just spoke with my insurance agent again today, and I asked him if the other driver had put in a claim against us and if this would affect my insurance rates. My agent said that there was no claim against us (as of yet anyway), and he said that my rates could be affected even if the other driver NEVER puts in a claim (or if he DOES claim and is unsucessful). That really sucks! How is that possible?

[passmeby]

The police report was finally ready to be picked up, and thankfully the surveillance person at the casino AND the police were able to view the videotape and see what happened! Initially, they said that they probably wouldn't be reviewing or releasing the surveillance tape, but they did! Thank God! So now there's no question that he was at fault and hit my parked car!

Thanks for all the help guys. Now my only issue left here is getting his insurance to pay, so if I run into any trouble there and need your help, I'll post back. Thanks.

[JudyKayTee]

This happened on sovereign land and the Police came to the scene and had interest in the accident?

Unusual where I live - it's Indian Police or no one.

[passmeby]

Yes, it was Indian police.

The insurance guy came and checked out my car and deemed it totaled. They're paying the market value of my car... which happens to be over three times what I paid for it, plus I still have and use the car and it's just fine save for a broken lens cover and minor dent/scrape. So... needless to say, things really ended up working out well! VERY well.