Someone hit my car and left without reporting it

[Hikergirl]

Didn't you say earlier that you were only assuming they don't have insurance? I hope you didn't come to that conclusion just because they are Hispanic. And believe it or not there are actually Hispanic people who are not illegal immigrants.

Don't forget they rent the house they are in. That is a sure sign they are illegals without car insurance.

 

[adisneyaunt]

OP what should Consider doing is to get a copy of the police report.
File a notification claim with your own carrier, regardless of whether you have collision. They will then provide you with a declination letter confirming you have no first party coverage.
You should Document the person/s responsible in writing... send them a letter briefly re-stating what they told you ..as to how/when they accidentally struck your unoccupied, legally parked vehicle damaging it and that they have offered to pay you for the damage they caused. Get 2 estimates for damage.
You don't have to "sue" them ( their are state laws indicating time frames for that, so just know ur state law)
But document everything ( photos, certified letter, p/r etc)
I hope the person/s responsible will either give the letter to their carrier, if they have coverage or do the right thing and pay for the repair.
Unfortunately .. that's why it's so important to have the proper insurance to protect Yourself.
Good luck!

 

[gotomu212]

I would ask them to sign a letter agreeing to pay damages within 60 days, and then proceed to let them pay you.

In general I don't like to get people into unnecessary trouble. They told you they intend to pay you- some people don't like to involve insurance for small accidents because they don't want their premiums to rise (that's completely valid by the way and not an indicator that they are shady or uninsured).

 

[cvjw]

This happened to our brand new minivan at the soccer field. The other party hit our minivan and left.

Get a police report and talk to your insurance company.

We are in Georgia and were covered by the uninsured motorists portion of our insurance policy. We had to pay the deductible, but the accident did not count against us with State Farm and our rates did not rise.

Sorry for having to go thru this. Know how you feel!

 

[msjprincess]

I have no words.

 

[declansdad]

Wow! just wow!

 

[Imzadi]

In general I don't like to get people into unnecessary trouble. They told you they intend to pay you- some people don't like to involve insurance for small accidents because they don't want their premiums to rise (that's completely valid by the way and not an indicator that they are shady or uninsured).

Both statements are exactly what I was about to write. These people may want to pay out of pocket as their insurance may rise. AS YOURS MAY TOO, believe it or not. Whether you were driving at the time, whether you were hit or hit someone else, your insurance will have it on record that you were involved in an accident. They could even use the fact that you parked in the street, like you were being reckless to leave your car in the street as an excuse to raise your rates.

I had that happen once. I was the first car stopped at a red light. I was there for a good full minute when a car came from behind and slammed into the back of the fifth car behind me, causing a 5 car pile-up in between. I was in a rental car. There was absolutely NO damage to my car. I didn't even bother reporting it to the rental company because there was no damage. (I bought their rental insurance.) I probably could have simply driven off, (the police took forever to arrive,) but I stayed as the car behind me had front bumper damage and I wanted her to be able to collect from the driver.

Several weeks later I get a letter from MY insurance company raising MY rates. I called and asked what for? They said it's now on record that I was involved in an accident. I said it wasn't my car, nor their insurance I was using at the time, nor MY fault. They said it didn't matter. An accident was now on my record, that just BEING in one caused my insurance to go up 10%. I dropped them as soon as I could find a different carrier.

 

[Barbara76]

They said they would pay for it next month, why not just let them do that? By the way, I am Hispanic, here legally, have insurance and would want to pay out of pocket if I hit an older car accidently.

 

[xlxo]

• I have a dashcam to record accidents when I'm driving.
• I have surveillance cameras that record when people hit my vehicle outside my house.
• thinking of upgrading to one those dashcams that record on an external battery when the engine is turned off.

I have a very little respect for hit 'n runs. The cameras provide some evidence for investigations and helps assign liability.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Jump to conclusions much? We've gone from they hit your car to now they are uninsured illegals. Makes sense.

Again,it doesn't matter one little bit. The last time I was hit by another car it was driven by a 19 year old white girl (as American as they come) who didn't have insurance.

I think it is admirable that they admitted they had done it. They didn't have to, did they? There were no eye witnesses and you never would have proved anything without their admission. I think that makes them admirable. You think it makes them illegal. Interesting.

With all due respect, they committed 1 crime, possibly 2. They hit my car, they left the scene, that is a crime. Forgive me if I'm having trouble finding the nobility in them coming to see me several hours after the fact and after the police have already been called.

Actually there was an eye witness (2). There was a couple that came and knocked on our door to let us know that the car was hit, that's how we knew about it. They saw the car hit it. They just weren't aware of which house the car belonged to. But they certainly could ID the car if they saw it again.

They said they would pay for it next month, why not just let them do that? By the way, I am Hispanic, here legally, have insurance and would want to pay out of pocket if I hit an older car accidently.

I intend to let them but I think it's in my best interest to still report it to my insurance company. What if in 1 month, the people don't pay or vanish? If I wait till then to report to my insurance company they're going to really give me a hard time.

• I have a dashcam to record accidents when I'm driving.
• I have surveillance cameras that record when people hit my vehicle outside my house.
• thinking of upgrading to one those dashcams that record on an external battery when the engine is turned off.

I have a very little respect for hit 'n runs. The cameras provide some evidence for investigations and helps assign liability.

That dashcam is a good idea. I haven't really had a need for it before this incident makes me reconsider.

 

[tasha99]

With all due respect, they committed 1 crime, possibly 2. They hit my car, they left the scene, that is a crime. Forgive me if I'm having trouble finding the nobility in them coming to see me several hours after the fact and after the police have already been called.

The odds of them getting caught without coming forward were nearly 0, since the police would have put nothing into investigating. You shouldn't have to wait, though. It sounds like if they have insurance, they don't want to use it and get a ding on their record, but to do that, they should pay right away.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Im wondering if the people who came forward and admitting hitting the car were white aged over 50 and owned the house instead of renting would the OP have made such a big deal of the issue.....

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Im wondering if the people who came forward and admitting hitting the car were white aged over 50 and owned the house instead of renting would the OP have made such a big deal of the issue.....

I'm Puerto Rican, not sure what you're going on about.

If someone ever hits your car, leaves, lets you file a police report, I'm sure you'll be more forgiving than me.

The ods of them getting caught without coming forward were nearly 0, since the police would have put nothing into investigating. You shouldn't have to wait, though. It sounds like if they have insurance, they don't want to use it and get a ding on their record, but to do that, they should pay right away.

Yup but my gut is telling me they don't have insurance. So really my only play here for the time being is to hope they honor their commitment to pay the damage that they caused.

 

[ols386]

If it's hit and run, my first reaction would be to think that they don't have insurance. I don't think there is anything illogical about that, even though I understand that some folks don't want to turn it into insurance because they don't want their rates to go up.

 

[Barbara76]

I intend to let them but I think it's in my best interest to still report it to my insurance company. What if in 1 month, the people don't pay or vanish? If I wait till then to report to my insurance company they're going to really give me a hard time.

Well if you make an insurance claim and then take money from them as well that might be insurance fraud. The insurance company can try to recover what they pay out from the people who caused the accident, and if they pay you directly as well it will obviously be you collecting twice on one accident. I would either get in writing that they want to pay you to cover yourself legally, other just tell them you've chosen to go through insurance. Just be aware that your rates could go up as well depending on your state and the type of insurance you have. Good luck!

 

[ols386]

Im wondering if the people who came forward and admitting hitting the car were white aged over 50 and owned the house instead of renting would the OP have made such a big deal of the issue.....

i didn't see where op made a big deal out of it. I dont agree with her saying something about it but she didn't make a big deal of it. Seems like you're trying to stir the pot with the popcorn icon.

 

[Pacolovestacos]

Yea I appreciate everyone's input, I think I'm going to bow out of this thread as I don't like where it's going. Enjoy the holiday weekend everyone.

 

[tvguy]

Uninsured motorist coverage only covers Bodily injury claims. You need to have UMPD coverage on your policy (uninsured motorist property damage) in order to collect for damage to your car through your policy if the responsible party does not have insurance. Hopefully you have UMPD sonce you don't have collision coverage.

Collision coverage will pay for damage to your car regardless of who is at fault, and regardless of whether the other party is insured or not.

It must vary then with insurance companies or from state to state. I don't have Collision, and I do have uninsured motorist and it does cover property damage and damage to my car from an uninsured motorist. Collision would only cover my car if the crash were my fault. Since I don't have this coverage, if I have a crash that is my fault, my insurance won't pay anything.
https://www.allstate.com/tools-and-resources/car-insurance/uninsured-motorist-protection.aspx

 

[declansdad]

Yea I appreciate everyone's input, I think I'm going to bow out of this thread as I don't like where it's going. Enjoy the holiday weekend everyone.

Perhaps if you hadn't made a comment about them being in the country illegally without anything other than their ethnicity to go by it wouldn't have gone the way it did.

 

[tvguy]

Get a police report and talk to your insurance company.

That depends. If there are no injuries, the Police here not only won't take a report, the won't even come out as they consider that a Civil matter, not criminal. Been that way for a number of years after budget cuts.