Question about car accidents & compensation

[kdibattista]

Not sure I worded that correctly. Anywho, I was involved in an "accident" a few days ago. I was parked at a gas station pumping gas. The other driver wasn't paying attention (or thought he had enough room) and proceeded to scrape the entire side of my car . I got his information, he admitted fault and he said that depending on the cost, he may or may not want to go through insurance. I stopped at a place and had them check it quick to just get an idea of how much it would be. They said "easily $1000 or more". I called him and he said he wants to go through insurance.

Now, I did notify my company of the accident and they said they did not need to get involved unless I have a problem getting restitution from his company. I'm kinda clueless as I have never had anything like this happen. Do I contact his insurance company? Is he suppose to? Is my agency suppose to? He is requesting my insurance information but I did not give it because it's irrelevant (I think). How long does a claim like this take to process?

Anyway, can someone who is knowledgable in this area clue me in

Thanks!!!

 

[kdibattista]

Also, since this is body work and will take several days, will they cover a rental car?

 

[kimisabella]

Did you get a police report? I was a senior claim rep for SF and always tell people that is the most important thing for you to get whenever there is an accident - it places both you and the other party at the scene of the accident and there can be no dispute of facts. He can contact your insurance company, but, I don't know why he would do that since he is 100% at fault for the accident. What you need to do is call his insurance company and have them look at your car. Hopefully the person that hit you is honest and will admit to his insurance company that he did in fact, cause the damage. His insurance company will want a statement from their insured and you and want photos of both cars and give you an estimate of your vehicles damage. If there is no problems, they will pay you for the damage to your vehicle based on their estimate. They will also pay for a rental car for you while your vehicle is being repaired - usually there is a cap of how much they will allow per day, you will have to ask. As far as how long it will take to be resolved depends on how quickly the other persons insurance company takes to gather their information and make payment. Good luck.

 

[kdibattista]

Thanks... we didn't file a police report because we were both in a hurry. I did make sure to get the owner of the gas station to witness him admitting fault and I also have him admitting full responsibility documented in emails. I will call them first thing tomorrow morning.

Thanks!!!

 

[lindakmonty]

Good luck Kim! It sounds like you'll be ok though. I had a guy plow right into me...we were both moving. I was just driving straight in my lane and this guy came off an exit ramp and jumped over 2 lanes...right into me...and then TOOK OFF!! I grabbed my cell, continued following him to get his license plate #...I called the cops and they told me to quit following him after they had the description of the guy, the car and his plate #... I went directly to the police station. They came out and looked at my car and made an accident report. Thankfully my ins. company Allstate handled everything. It came up that he was uninsured!!! My insurance took care of my car and then went after him... then found out he was covered and they reimbursed me for the deductible I had to pay oop !!! Good luck...but it sounds like you'll get it taken care of w/o too much problem. Thankfully you didn't get hurt!