Hit and run insurance claim?
June 19, 2013 12:39 PM   Subscribe

At some point, my parked car was hit. I didn't notice until I got home. It could have happened in three or four different parking lots--I ran several errands. There is fair amount of damage to my front bumper and a dent in my hood, but I can't prove I didn't do it myself. Am I going to be able to file an insurance claim on this? What do I need to know before I call my insurance company? Could this raise my premiums?

Details: Texas, State Farm, clean driving record, I have uninsured motorist coverage.
posted by Pater Aletheias to Grab Bag (8 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: I was in a hit and run a few years ago. I was told to report it to the police. An officer came to my apartment. I gave details. He did paperwork. My insurance company took care of the repairs.

So I would start with filing a police report.
posted by Michele in California at 12:42 PM on June 19, 2013


File a police report. Then call your insurance.

This is why you HAVE insurance.

One thing you can do is call to each of the places you went to and ask if they have video surveilance of their parking lot. If so ask them to reveiw the recording to see if they have any video of your being hit.

I always approach this as a "Can you help me, this weird thing happend and I didn't notice until I got home. I was at your business from 2:00 to 3:00 today."

You'd be surpised how willing people are to help you if you ask them.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 12:45 PM on June 19, 2013


Best answer: Anecdotal: Our parked car was hit while we were away for the weekend. We filed a police report and called our insurance company. The insurance company didn't give us a hard time, we just described what happened and gave the number of the filed police report. The insurance covered it and our premiums did not go up. (We live in MA, a no-fault state, if that makes a difference.)
posted by chickenmagazine at 12:49 PM on June 19, 2013


If, for whatever reason, you decide not to file a claim with your insurance company, make sure to tell the body shop that you're paying for this yourself. It is often the case that the estimate for the insurance company is substantially higher than what they might charge if they know it's coming directly out of your pocket.
posted by jquinby at 1:06 PM on June 19, 2013 [1 favorite]


I had a scrape on the side of my car, after it had been parked in a garage for 2 days. I called my insurance company (I'm also a Texas resident) and they asked me if I was going to file a police report. I said not unless I have to, and they didn't require it.

I took my car to the body shop my insurance company instructed me to take it to and it was fixed in 2 days.

Call your insurance company and talk it through with them, and go from there.
posted by lootie777 at 1:31 PM on June 19, 2013 [1 favorite]


Is there a reason you are asking here and not just calling your insurance agent. They can be oh so much more helpful.
posted by edgeways at 1:39 PM on June 19, 2013


Response by poster: I'm just slightly paranoid about dealing with insurance. Not all my experiences were happy ones. But, you guys were right. Gave them a call, repairs authorized, no problem. A rare moment of unjustified pessimism from me. Thanks!
posted by Pater Aletheias at 3:06 PM on June 19, 2013


It is often the case that the estimate for the insurance company is substantially higher than what they might charge if they know it's coming directly out of your pocket.

Not likely. Your insurance company has its own estimators and will tell the body shop what they will receive for the work they will do. This will likely be lower than what they'd otherwise charge.
posted by kindall at 3:08 PM on June 19, 2013


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