How can I find the insurance company of the person who hit my car?

July 18, 2008 8:56 AM

I wrote down everything except for the name of the insurance company of the person who rear ended my car!!! Is there a way to find out without calling my insurance company? (More info inside)

I am in a different state than where my car is registered and someone hit my car from the back last week. While the damage isn't huge, I'd like to get it fixed. I wrote down every piece of information on this driver except for the name of her insurance company. I would like to get my car fixed without notifying my insurance company for they've been itching to raise my premium for any reason, regardless of who is to blame....just to give you an idea, the last time I was involved in an accident, the first time ever for me, they raised it by 80%.

Any suggestions how how I can get this taken care of? I have her address, birthday, driver's license #, license plate, the insurance policy number, and I think her mom's name, whose name appears on the insurance policy.

Help!

posted by icollectpurses to grab bag (12 comments total)

can you track down her phone number and call her and say you didn't catch the insurance company?
in this type of situation, btw, i've reported many accidents to a number of insurance companies. as long as its really not your fault, they've never raised my rates once. in that situation, if you have collision, they would pay for the repairs (minus deductible) and try to collect the insurance money from the other party. I'm assuming you have collision coverage. if you have the license plate, they can get the information. then, when they recover it, they reimburse you for the deductible.
If you can't figure out the insurance info, you could go that route.
posted by alkupe at 9:08 AM on July 18

Try calling the major insurance providers (Geico, Progressive, All State, etc). Maybe they won't be able to provide you with the information, but it's worth a shot. If you're sure it wasn't one of those, check your phone book for the other insurance providers in your area, and give those a call.

Were the police involved? If so, give them a call, or go pick up a copy of the accident report (usually available around a week after it's filed).
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 9:10 AM on July 18

You can request assistance from your own insurance company without actually filing a claim. They should be happy to help you find the other party's insurance company without putting any negative marks on your account records.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:11 AM on July 18

I concur with alkupe. I called my insurance agency and so long as I didn't submit a claim then there was no rate increase. They were helpful to me over the phone but if I submitted a claim to them then they'd go after the other driver's insurance to pay...and even if the other driver's insurance paid 100% my rates would go up for submitting the claim and making them work.

So first, if you have all the info on the driver, call the driver and ask him/her.

If that doesn't work call your insurance company and explain you don't want to make a claim but just want to know how to reach the insurance company you should deal with.
posted by arniec at 9:12 AM on July 18

You didn't get the driver's phone number, I am assuming? Have you tried looking her up in the phone book or on Google?

Call her and ask for the insurance company.
posted by B(oYo)BIES at 9:29 AM on July 18

Yeah, I had this happen to me once. The Seattle PD failed to write down the name of the insurance company. I just started calling all the big ones and eventually one of the people I talked to said, "Oh, I'm pretty sure that's a Farmers account number." And it was.

Just explain what you're doing and be nice and persevere and you'll find what you seek.
posted by jeffamaphone at 9:41 AM on July 18

Yeah, I'll bet someone in the know can figure out the company from the account number.
posted by winston at 9:49 AM on July 18

Maybe ask a independent insurance broker?
posted by winston at 9:49 AM on July 18

Your rates shouldn't change for being in an accident if there isn't a claim (by you or someone else), unless you were ticketed. Were you cited last time? Did your company have to pay anyone besides you over it?

I agree that someone in the know could figure it out given the number. You could probably compare policy numbers with some of your friends and if you find someone else's that is 'shaped like that', try that company.
posted by Bokononist at 12:18 PM on July 18

If you have a policy number, try entering it in to google with an asterisk replacing the last 2 or 3 numbers. You'll probably pull something up if it's a major insurance company.
posted by dejah420 at 1:26 PM on July 18

Send a Freedom of Information request to the police department, asking for a copy of the police report. In most states, that information is included. If it is not, have a lawyer send a letter to the other driver, asserting a claim on your behalf and asking that it be forwarded to his insurance company.
posted by yclipse at 7:14 PM on July 18

You don't need to invoke the FOIA. If your name is on a police report, they have to give you a copy. Just go down there and pay a few bucks for the copy-fee.
posted by jeffamaphone at 1:55 PM on July 19