Parking lot accident...insurance?

[threecrazykids]

Ok, my hubby just called me to tell me that he was in the Wal-Mart parking lot over lunch and bumped a gals bumper backing out.

We just had a blizzard here, so there is TONS of snow and ice. My hubby was backing his truck out super slowly because he couldn't see due to a truck that was sticking way out in the aisle. He said he was literally going at a snails pace and the next thing he knows he hears this little "pop" and looks behind him and this younger college girl/high school girl was trying to sneak a spot around him and couldn't stop and had tapped her bumper.

They both got out, she said so sorry she couldn't stop etc. They exchanged insurance information etc. and they both took pics. He said he has this tiny scrape on his bumper and you can see on her bumper where his paint scraped it off...no biggie.

His big concern though, is that she ALSO has a nice huge bashed in dent that runs from her quarter panel all down the side of her door from an apparent accident that happened prior to this one. My husband is concerned that she may try to make a claim for ALL the damage on this claim (if she even files a claim).
I of course asked my husband if he made it clear to her by saying something like "we're both clear on the fact that this huge dent was NOT from this accident etc., right?" but he said she was a highschooler/college kid and he didn't want to freak her out anymore than she already was by getting into it with her.

I'm just wondering what we can do (SHOULD this happen)? Could the insurance company request camera feeds from the parking lot to see exactly what happened and the damage? I just don't want to have to pay for some damage we didn't do. Anyone ever had someone try to make a false claim against them? I'm just wondering if there is really anything we can do to prove our case?

 

[QueenGoblin]

Insurance adjusters are pretty good about being able to reconstruct an accident. It sounds like the circumstances and the damage to your car would not line up with the amount of damage on the other car if she tried to claim it. I would not worry about it unless it actually happens and then just stick to the truth of your story and the evidence should be on your side. At this point just hope this girl is one the majority of good honest people in the world and maybe it won't ever be an issue.

I haven't had this exact thing happen, but someone did smash my bumper in during a parking lot accident and then left. A witness got the plate number and the police tracked the driver down and she tried to claim she didn't know it had happened. The cops and the insurance people took a look and my car, at her car, and just rolled their eyes at her story. They apparently see enough of this stuff to be able to smell a rat.

 

[skw444]

Ok, my hubby just called me to tell me that he was in the Wal-Mart parking lot over lunch and bumped a gals bumper backing out.

We just had a blizzard here, so there is TONS of snow and ice. My hubby was backing his truck out super slowly because he couldn't see due to a truck that was sticking way out in the aisle. He said he was literally going at a snails pace and the next thing he knows he hears this little "pop" and looks behind him and this younger college girl/high school girl was trying to sneak a spot around him and couldn't stop and had tapped her bumper.

They both got out, she said so sorry she couldn't stop etc. They exchanged insurance information etc. and they both took pics. He said he has this tiny scrape on his bumper and you can see on her bumper where his paint scraped it off...no biggie.

His big concern though, is that she ALSO has a nice huge bashed in dent that runs from her quarter panel all down the side of her door from an apparent accident that happened prior to this one. My husband is concerned that she may try to make a claim for ALL the damage on this claim (if she even files a claim).
I of course asked my husband if he made it clear to her by saying something like "we're both clear on the fact that this huge dent was NOT from this accident etc., right?" but he said she was a highschooler/college kid and he didn't want to freak her out anymore than she already was by getting into it with her.

I'm just wondering what we can do (SHOULD this happen)? Could the insurance company request camera feeds from the parking lot to see exactly what happened and the damage? I just don't want to have to pay for some damage we didn't do. Anyone ever had someone try to make a false claim against them? I'm just wondering if there is really anything we can do to prove our case?

This is why it is always good to call the police and get a police report detailing the accident. I had an accident in a parking lot where they was quite a bit of damage to the car. The other lady told her insurance company that the accident was my fault and they didn't want to pay out. However, because I called the police and got a police report stating it was in fact her fault, her insurance ended up paying for it.

 

[missj1975]

This is why it is always good to call the police and get a police report detailing the accident. I had an accident in a parking lot where they was quite a bit of damage to the car. The other lady told her insurance company that the accident was my fault and they didn't want to pay out. However, because I called the police and got a police report stating it was in fact her fault, her insurance ended up paying for it.

Assuming you have a good police department. I had one parking lot accident, called the police, and then got reprimanded by the policeman for wasting his time over a "little fender bender." In Illinois, parking lot incidents are ruled 50/50 fault no matters whose fault it is. In other words, your insurance company pays 50% of damages and the other parties insurance pays 50%. It sucks when you don't feel like it was your fault. In my case, I even pointed out to the policeman that it was the other ladies fault and he said that was for the insurance company to decide. I got rooked!

***Insurance policies could have changed because this happened 5 years ago, just my experience***

 

[cole6179]

Assuming you have a good police department. I had one parking lot accident, called the police, and then got reprimanded by the policeman for wasting his time over a "little fender bender." In Illinois, parking lot incidents are ruled 50/50 fault no matters whose fault it is. In other words, your insurance company pays 50% of damages and the other parties insurance pays 50%. It sucks when you don't feel like it was your fault. In my case, I even pointed out to the policeman that it was the other ladies fault and he said that was for the insurance company to decide. I got rooked!

***Insurance policies could have changed because this happened 5 years ago, just my experience***

Yes, it varies by place. We called for one where I backed into someone at McDonald's. The cop couldn't do a report b/c it was on 'private' property?

 

[Schachteles]

Assuming you have a good police department. I had one parking lot accident, called the police, and then got reprimanded by the policeman for wasting his time over a "little fender bender." In Illinois, parking lot incidents are ruled 50/50 fault no matters whose fault it is. In other words, your insurance company pays 50% of damages and the other parties insurance pays 50%. It sucks when you don't feel like it was your fault. In my case, I even pointed out to the policeman that it was the other ladies fault and he said that was for the insurance company to decide. I got rooked!

***Insurance policies could have changed because this happened 5 years ago, just my experience***

Same in Minnesota...parking lots are considered no fault.

 

[skw444]

Yes, it varies by place. We called for one where I backed into someone at McDonald's. The cop couldn't do a report b/c it was on 'private' property?

In my accident, the police said they could write a report stating the details of the accident but weren't able to ticket anyone since it was private property.

 

[bumbershoot]

Yes, it varies by place. We called for one where I backed into someone at McDonald's. The cop couldn't do a report b/c it was on 'private' property?

That was my experience too. In Virginia.

 

[threecrazykids]

In my accident, the police said they could write a report stating the details of the accident but weren't able to ticket anyone since it was private property.

That's exactly what my hubby said...he didn't think the police could do anything either since it happened in a parking lot. I'm just more concerned about this girl possibly trying to get all the damage on her car fixed under this claim.

I know her insurance company has called my cell phone (no clue how they got MY cell #) and left a message but I called my hubby to tell him to call.

I guess the only reason I was a bit "concerned" was because my hubby said when she got out of the car she apologized etc, and then said "do you have insurance?"
Honestly, maybe this is wrong of me to actually say...but if it was simply a bumper to bumper deal with only paint scraped off I wouldn't have even bothered with getting insurance information unless I planned on making a claim. But that's just me.

 

[EC0323]

If you are going to put in a claim, call your insurance and tell them about the accident and tell them about the prior damage. That way they are aware of it. But if the teenager gets her car repaired at a reputable place, they are going to ask her where the damage is and how the accident occurred. If she says she backed into a truck it will be obvious that the quarter panel is not involved. A reputable place will probably have to take pictures of the damages they repaired so it has to make sense to the insurance company what was repaired and why.

Now if you pay of out of pocket. When the car is taken in you say you are only covering the bumper and that is all.

Sorry this happened. But glad that no one is hurt.

 

[alexandmaddie]

Same in Minnesota...parking lots are considered no fault.

I'm not sure that is true. We were backed into a few years ago and it was 90% the other driver and 10% us (just for being there ).

 

[kmvand1]

That was my experience too. In Virginia.

Same here in VA. Someone backed into my son at the 7-11 and it was clearly his fault, but the officer just gave us an accident report without issuing a ticket because it was private property. After tracking down the guys current insurance information, we had his car repaired. Less than a month later, he ran into the back of a stopped car and totalled his.

 

[battricia]

i don't know where you live. in pittsburgh, pa, the police wouldn't even come when I had a small parking lot accident. They asked if anyone was hurt, i said no, and they said they weren't coming. I also had the same thing happen, in fact the other ladies car only had a small streak of paint (seriously barely even visible), she did have a bigger dent on top of her trunk that no way could have been caused by my little hatchback ford focus. all that hit was our bumpers. She was pretty shifty, flipping out about that she wanted to 'trade that car in in a few months', the car was MUCH older than mine, and mine is in no way a new car. I was very concerned she was going to try to get the ins. to cover the other damage she had.

anyway, on both of the ins. company 'interviews' they asked if there was anything else i wanted to state for record and I told them the only damage to her car was a small paint streak, that way if she tried to get other parts fixed there was record of that. Maybe your husband can do that.

 

[Schachteles]

I'm not sure that is true. We were backed into a few years ago and it was 90% the other driver and 10% us (just for being there ).

Maybe that has changed, but I know that is how it was when I got hit in a parking lot like 6 years ago.

 

[cvjw]

I live in Georgia, and someone ran into my 3 day old mini-van at my son's soccer game, and of course left!!! They dented in the whole passenger side. I didn't call the police because the other person was no where to be found. When I called my insurance agent the next Monday morning, he told me that State Farm wouldn't cover it without a police report! The local police were nice enough to give me an incident report after the fact, and my agent worked with State Farm to cover it, but I learned a good lesson that day - always get a police report!!

 

[mistysue]

If you want the videos from the security cameras - CALL AND ASK FOR THEM NOW!

Do not wait. I had somebody back ONTO my car once (seriously the scariest thing ever, I was honking and she was speeding up and I had an infant in the car with me) and she turned in a police report that I drove into her! She got out right after and was apologizing and acting all sweet, then when we were exchanging information she took my info and RAN (literally ran away and I couldn't go because of the baby in the car) and then told the police I fled the scene because I didn't want to file a report.

Because we had different stories and the store tapes over their tapes we had to cover it ourselves.
She can say whatever she wants and if you have no proof it's your problem. When that happened to me the initial cost was over $1500, then about a month later we figured out it actually caused a bunch of problems with the wheels and everything, total cost was close to $3,200.

Obviously yours won't be as big of a deal, but please take my experience to realize the importance of calling for the tapes now.

 

[disneymarie]

PITA
I am glad that he got the pictures. Should have taken them with the contact still there ideally.
For a fender bender like this it is not worth the cost to reconstruct. But the best thing is his picture showing the damage.
Even though on private property, I still would call PD and ask for a report, and also if anyone is nearby, get their statement. If there is previous damage, not near the contact ask them if they would write tht then and there if you think it could come up, Maybe even a Kmart manage or security guard.

I work as a field investigator, I always document any damage, and all four sides of the car. Note anything looking old. Also, any damage that may be not seen at the time. I had paint off a car an estimate the person had, but not given from the mirror scraping the paint from the car. Another time under the front plate the bumper had a crack even though the plate was okay.

Recently there was a claim of two parked cars and the one person claimed the other hit the parked car. (front to front, in fornt of their apartments)The claimant called PD and turned in a claim.

When I investigated there was no transfer dent/paint in the area of contact, "the front license plate". The plate had a ding which the claimant wanted $500. I had pictures and the dent in the license was most consistent with roadway rock or other item making contact. There was nothing on the other vehicle that could cause that damage. Where there should be damage there was not, where the was ding, should not be..
Refused the claim..

She may just not do anything, or she may try to fraud and hike the claim. It will be wait and see. BUT statements at the scene really do not hold much weight. It is who has the right away to move. Moving from a parking place and playing roulette is not good way for dh to drive. Either he needs person to move the vehicle blocking view, or if a second person will stop the traffic.

Maybe he needs to back into the spaces, pull through, or park further out in the lot. Christmas time is major nutty for parking.
Good luck,
di

 

[Piecey]

To the people talking about getting reports in a parking lot...

Maybe I've gotten lucky but I've been hit and accidentally hit someone in the same Kroger parking lot! Ugh. I felt so bad! I took the turn into my spot too wide (I was 38 weeks pregnant and my sanity was a bit questionable at the time!)
I called the police department both times and they sent someone right out..

Neither time did we send it to insurance. I paid OOP to fix the paint on the car that I hit.

 

[Tink415]

Sorry to say, I think if you're involved in an accident, your fault or not, you're going to pay one way or the other. $$ or pain. oe both.

We've had two accidents involving 'private property' the last 10 years.

One in a mall parking lot, I insisted the police be called, the other driver wanted to handle it between us. The officer came, talked to the other driver, then talked to me and said no ticket(s) cause of private property and gave me a paper with the report number. Come to find out from my insurance company, the police report said the accident was totally my fault! The officer never even asked me what happened, or any questions at all. I was 9 months pregnant, never had an accident, so had no idea what should have happened. I thought the accident was 50% my fault, 100% no way!

Second accident, a snowplow backed into my husband from a driveway on the street next to ours. The police would not come because because it was private property (homeowners association, common land). The snowplow operator would not give his name, his boss said don't worry I'll send you insurance info. They never did send info to us, but 4 weeks later their insurance company left me a msg which I passed on to our insurance company. Months later, when we asked our insurance company about getting our deductible back - $1000 - they said the snowplow driver said our vehicle had prior damage and they did not do the damage!! Total lie. Our homeowners association was no help either. I guess if you hire cheap dishonest companies that's what happens. It still steams me when I see the stupid snowplows. The car had over $8000 damage.

Now on a public street, someone ran a stop sign and hit my car. The person left the scene. The police found the person and they got a ticket. Their insurance company paid us very fast, but I was dumb, they paid $500 less than our insurance company said it would be - I thought it was more at first because I didn't realize the estimate from our company didn't include our deductible, only what they would pay. The car was old, I was planning to replace it soon, and I did not get it fixed. So I let it go. Live and learn. When I sold it I was shocked how much I got for the car, I didn't realize it was so valuable. Wished I had got it fixed!

 

[C.Ann]

I got slammed in a parking lot in NY by a lady who was driving too fast and couldn't control her car - totaled my van.. I called the police, they came and filed a report, don't know if she was ticketed, but her insurance paid for all of my damages..

Don't know about other states, but I never heard of anyone not calling the police here..