Single-car crash, relatively minor property damage. What do now?

June 1, 2018 8:42 AM

Yesterday afternoon a driver drove onto our sidewalk, took out two trees and a utility pole (!), before hitting a steel/concrete bollard and flipping. He's fine, but our sidewalk is a mess. Insurance-- how do? We're in Philadelphia.

There must be something I'm not thinking of here, and I'm keen to do everything in the right order.

Things I already have scheduled/done:
* Took tons of pictures of the damage including measuring tapes for scale
* Verizon FIOS contractor is coming to reconnect my house to the utility line this afternoon (had to happen ASAP as a WFHer)

Things I need to do:
* Get the police report. There was one, citations were issued, we don't know if driver's insurance information will be on it.
* Get a quote from a cement contractor we've had tangential contact with before
* Get sidewalk fixed
* If the police report has insurance information, file a claim with driver's insurance

Things I don't know if I need or want to do:
* Contact my homeowner's insurance company. Deductible is $1000, and I have no idea what the sidewalk work will cost. In a perfect world they'd get the driver on the hook for the deductible, but who knows what will happen.
* If we're out of pocket at all, go to small claims


What am I not thinking of? What can wait and what has to be done ASAP?

Is fixing the sidewalk as soon as I can going to mess anything up down the road with insurance claims?

Would getting more steel bollards put in (on our dime) at the same time mess anything up with the claims?

Oof, is this a lawyer-up situation?

Photos. No human harm in any way, just aftermath of carnage. I hate cars.

posted by supercres to Work & Money (13 answers total)

First, clarify whether any of this is your responsibility. Do you own the sidewalk and the trees? Are you required by law to do something about this, or can you wait for the city to get around to it?
posted by JimN2TAW at 8:48 AM on June 1, 2018 [6 favorites]

This is why you have a homeowner's insurance policy, contact them before anything else. Paperwork & counterclaims are what you pay them for.
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 8:48 AM on June 1, 2018 [11 favorites]

Response by poster: Ah, yes: Sidewalk is property owner's responsibility in Philadelphia.
posted by supercres at 8:49 AM on June 1, 2018

Since the sidewalk repair does seem to be your responsibility, I'm with Mary Ellen Carter. Time to call your insurance provider.
posted by tobascodagama at 8:51 AM on June 1, 2018

This link makes me think that the street trees may be on the city to repair while the sidewalk is your responsibility. The bollard is anyone's guess. I would definitely call your homeowner's insurance provider. They can help you navigate this.
posted by meinvt at 8:56 AM on June 1, 2018

In a similar situation here in DC, the police report had the driver's insurance information. I called them right away (State Farm) and rather than wait for their call back to approve repairs, I went ahead the next day. The insurance people were a little taken aback but did reimburse me. It probably helped that it was less than $500 of property damage.
posted by exogenous at 9:29 AM on June 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

Also, from what I hear, making a claim on your home insurance is not something to be done lightly as it could result in higher rates later. I'd prioritize getting the police report and hope that the driver was insured.
posted by exogenous at 9:34 AM on June 1, 2018 [3 favorites]

I would start with the drivers insurance and see where you get from there.
posted by slateyness at 9:37 AM on June 1, 2018 [3 favorites]

I'm with Mary Ellen Carter on this give it to your homeowners insurance
posted by Dr. Twist at 10:13 AM on June 1, 2018

Since none of this is your fault, I would contact your home owners insurance carrier before fixing anything. You may be asked to provide the police report, if there is a fee they should reimburse you. They will in turn go after the driver's insurance carrier to pay for repairs. It should not effect your rates. This is why you are paying the a yearly premium.
posted by tman99 at 10:27 AM on June 1, 2018 [4 favorites]

Contact your homeowner’s insurance. Explain what happened. You may very well be able to avoid paying a deductible since the damage was the driver’s fault. Your insurer will very likely go after the driver’s insurer to recoup costs.

Basically, get your insurer to beat on the driver’s insurer.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:19 PM on June 1, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Fun stuff, according to neighbors and a cop:

* It was a rental car.
* Renter lives a few houses down from us.
* Renter's uninsured, unlicensed, intoxicated 17-year-old relative was driving according to other members of the household (not told to the cops on scene).
* He ran off after the crash.
* Renter reported the car stolen at the scene of the crash, despite the crash happening on the block the car was "stolen" from, in a location where he obviously just drove around the block for reasons unknown.

Soo, yeah. Waiting to see what the incident report says, but assuming it's a big ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I'm not sure what our insurance is going to be able to do.

Unless the sidewalk damage ends up costing more than the home insurance deductible I'm guessing it's highly likely we're going to eat this.
posted by supercres at 2:11 PM on June 2, 2018

I wouldn't go through your homeowner's insurance. This may vary from state to state, but in the state I live in, ANY claims associated with your property become part of your property's claim history, which can effect your premiums and even affect the future sale-ability of your house. (Insurers don't like to write policies on houses with a claims history. Yes, it's pretty unreasonable. We struggled to get insurance on the house we later bought because the prior owner had a minor water damage claim 5 years ago!) I still think that you might stand a chance making a direct claim against whomever had liability insurance on the rental car or the rental car co itself. I'm not sure that "it was stolen" is a get-out-of-jail-free card for damages done by a motor vehicle. Also, if the car was "stolen" I would expect to see evidence of the ignition switch being broken, hot-wiring, etc. (all of which are nearly impossible to do with any modern vehicle.) If your neighbor left the keys in the ignition, then they are at fault for failing to secure the vehicle. Not sure that a small claims court lawsuit against a neighbor would be the best strategic move, but I bet that you have options. It might be worth talking to an attorney. Or, if you have the means and don't care that much, just eating it.
posted by Larry David Syndrome at 2:24 PM on June 2, 2018