Wife got hit in parking lot-need advice...

[Badfish740]

My wife is a teacher and was leaving her school today when another driver backed out of his space without looking and backed into the passenger side door of my wife's car. He was not a student at the school but was there picking up another student. My wife and the other driver looked at the damage and thought that it didn't look that bad. From all outward appearances, the plastic trim on the rocker panel was just scuffed and a little cracked. The back bumper on his car looked about the same. She did not call the police but they exchanged insurance information. When she got home and told me what happened I looked at the car and when I opened the door I found that the door panel itself was a little bent as is part of the door frame. Nothing that affects the operation of the door, it opens and closes fine, but the metal flexed enough for the paint to come off, so I'm concerned about rust, this being NJ-there's enough salt on the roadways already to turn a car into a pile of orange flakes. I'm especially concerned about what kind of damage might be under the plastic trim that you can't see. The last thing I need is the rear door panel rusting through.

She called his insurance company and filed a claim-we're supposed to hear from them in a couple of days, but without a police report, are they just going to tell us to pound sand? To be honest, I don't even want to go through the hassle of being without the car for however long its going to take to repair it, but I don't want the door to rust apart either. Anybody ever been in a situation like this? How did it turn out?

 

[Hogwildz]

No, they don't need a police report to pay a claim. What will come into play is if the other person admits to his ins. co. that he did this. Your wife should have taken some pics with her cell phone.
Most police won't even create a report unless one of the vehicles is undriveable, or someone got hurt. Is there paint transfer from his car to yours? Meaning can you see paint from his car on your car? If so take photos while it is still there. In the end, you can go through your ins co, and they may or may not go after his. If you go through his, no deductible for you, if you go through yours, deductible applies. They will reimburse "if" they go back after his ins co. For a small claim, they most likely wont.

 

[heat seeker]

If it happened on a non-public road, the police (around here, anyway) won't get involved unless there's an injury or criminal action.

 

[mustash29]

I had a similar thing happen years ago.....

Sitting on the navy base at the corner of the bank, collecting my stuff to go inside and make a deposit. Some dude across the alley / narrow road between the parking spaces backed out and turned at the same time. The LR corner of his bumper hit dead center on the front bumper of my s-10, smashed it into a V shape, pushed me backward about 6 inches enough to make the LR of my rear bumper hit a 3/4" thick steel guard that protected the downspout on the corner of the building.

He already had a few tickets from the base cops & was afraid of loosing his base driving privelages. We exchanged info. He told his Geico folks. When I called Geico they already knew to expect my call, told me where to go to have the adjuster look at the truck, cut me a check on the spot for a new front & rear bumper + install at a shop. I ordered quality aftermarket parts, put them on myself & pocketed about 50%.

 

[Corey]

From the previous 9 times I've been hit, that is generally what happens:

1) idiot crashes into you
2) no police, but exchange insurance info
3) you call their insurance and they send out an adjuster
4) adjuster looks at your car and tries to low-ball an offer
5) take money, but repair yourself and/or just live with the damage.

Things can obviously change if it's a brand new car and/or you want it repaired to 'factory new' condition. In that case, I'd add:

2a) get quotes from local/reputable body shops to have on hand for adjuster

and

4a) show your (higher) quotes to adjuster and ask if they will make the check to allow you to get the vehicle fixed and XYZ body shop

Things also change if the insurance number you got at the time of the incident is 'no longer in service' or never heard of the guy or 'no longer has a policy with us'...but hopefully that won't be the case.

Also UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES EVER put your vehicle in the body shop with the 'promise' the individual and/or their insurance company will pay. Once the body shop has your vehicle, they will want a payment before giving it back. If the joker suddenly decides it wasn't his fault he and/or the insurance company may delay payment or want to haggle over just how much is paid, your vehicle is stuck in the shop which could put you in a bind.

Also, depending on how much insurance you have, with good 'full' coverage, sometimes you can get your insurance co involved and they will take on the other guy and get you a good settlement. Though if you have low end coverage, or just liability, you're generally on your own to negotiate.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

It's usually not a big deal, and folks covered it above. His bumper and your door damaged supports him being at fault, so I don't think the insurance would try to weasel out of it.

 

[shoot-straight]

It's usually not a big deal, and folks covered it above. His bumper and your door damaged supports him being at fault, so I don't think the insurance would try to weasel out of it.

this, had same thing happen

 

[Dave A.]

Police involvement seems to be different depending on the state you're in. I lived in Fla for awhile and there it was customary (if not the law) that you did not move your car until the police had been there and cleared you to go -- so they tend to come pretty quick. Here in PA minor fender benders rarely involve the police especially in parking lots. Not familiar with NJ as far as that goes.

You should be able to get insurance co reimbursement (from his co) for a loaner car while yours is in the shop, since he is at fault.

 

[SlyFerret]

My experience has been that I'm better off working with my own insurance company (State Farm) for the repairs and letting them subrogate with the other drivers insurance company.

The down side to this method is that I have to float my deductible for a while but it gets refunded when my insurance company collects from the other driver's insurance company.

The up side is that I've had to deal with a lot less wrangling around with adjusters trying to dicker over repair costs, part quality, etc... My agent's office makes the entire process incredibly smooth, and takes good care of me.

-SF

 

[EJL923]

It will rust in time, so get it taken care of if you want it to last

 

[Swedishchef]

I am a police officer and it varies from province to province in Canada.
Some provinces require police to be advised if the damage is +XXXXX dollars. IE: Alberta it's $1000, other provinces it's $2000.

OFten times you can file it at the front counter of a station and no bother the patrol officers. The front desk person will complete a collision report form and you get a copy with file number. Police will rarely, if ever, lay blame unless it's criminal or a death resulted in the collision. And hence the term collision and not accident.

Police reports are not required by most insurance companies....

Andrew

 

[Dustin92]

I had a similar incident a couple years ago (and to this day the only accident I have had), I was slowly, carefully backing my Mazda 626 out of a parking space, while at the same time "big ol bubba" got in his minivan and decided to set a land speed record- in reverse. Bam- and that was that. My driver's side back door only appeared to have a dent about 1" deep by 6"or so around, but looks can be decieving. The guy absolutely refused to give me any insurance information, claiming he couldn't see the dent, and that I should have been looking where I was going. I didn't realize how deep the damage was until I was home and opened the door- the hinges were bent, as was the door itself, and the supports for the door had made dents from the inside on the door panel. As long as I had that car, that door never worked properly again, it was hard to open and close, and had to be slammed to latch. It never sat level with the rest of the body panels, and the "door ajar" light would come on randomly while driving. Of course there was no damage to the minivan that backed into me. If you get the ok for repairs, by all means, have it fixed and thouroughly inspected.

 

[razerface]

The guy absolutely refused to give me any insurance information, claiming he couldn't see the dent, and that I should have been looking where I was going.

and that is why I don't even care what they want. I copy their license plate number, making sure they know i did it,,then I call the cops. I have had 2 accidents this year not my fault,, that looked like not enough damage to care about,, until deeper investigation. I would be out almost 4 grand if I had let the other drivers act like the above. They both tried. They both payed.