Hit and Run Accidents
Let’s face it, Hit and run accidents happen and they happen all too often.
Whether your vehicle is parked in a parking lot and you come out to damage or even worse when a vehicle hits you and leaves the scene of the accident.
Either way, the insurance company will pay out or look at this incident is the same.
A hit and run accident that happens with our without proof of who caused the damage falls under your collision coverage.
Physical Damage Coverage
If you are unaware of what your collision coverage is, collision is part of the physical damage portion of your auto insurance and pays for damage to your vehicle that doesn’t fall under the other portion, Comprehensive Coverage.
The difference between the two is simple. Comprehensive Coverage pays for damage caused by fire, theft, vandalism, falling objects, or if you hit an animal. It also covers your glass only claims.
Best way to handle hit and run situations
The most important role you have in an instance of hit and run is to get supporting documentation, such as a police report.
This can be used in multiple ways depending on your specific accident.
If you have some evidence of who caused the accident whether, from an eye witness, license plate number, or pictures, the policy will be able to use this to track down the person responsible. This is the best-case scenario as it will allow you to collect the cost to repair your vehicle from them or their insurance company.
Another way this can be helpful is proof down the road to show that this accident, where damage was paid for out of your policy, was not your fault.
Insurance Claims history reports will not give specific details of what type of accident is, it will be labeled as a collision loss, with very little other details. If you move to another insurance carrier you may need this as proof the damage was not caused by you.
How to handle the claim
If you carry physical damage coverage on the vehicle that has been damaged, specifically Collision, your auto policy will pay to have the vehicle repaired.
Since this falls under collision, you will be responsible to pay your deductible up front.
It is always a good idea to get an estimate of damage before submitting a claim. If the cost of repair is under, or only slightly over, your deductible you may be better served to handle the cost out of pocket.
Although not listed as at fault, that claim will still be noted as an incident going forward. If you were to switch carriers down the road, that incident could affect the rates, or tiering, available to you.
What’s Next?
Anytime you are handling an insurance claim or incident, it is important to be able to talk to an independent insurance agent first, discuss your options, and the appropriate steps to follow to make sure you aren’t negatively affected long term because not every situation is the same.
Reach out to your insurance agent to have this conversation, if you don’t have a relationship with an agent or want a review of your insurance then click the button below to schedule a review with one of our trusted insurance advisors.
