WWYD Car accident

If these people weren't being weird about the whole thing I'd say work with them to pay the damage so you don't take a hit on your insurance.

Several years ago my dh did the same thing. The neighbor took her car to our mechanic and we paid the bill. It was cheaper than our deductible.

With these people being weird I'd cover your rear and call your insurance company.
 
I backed into my neighbor's car that was parked in the street across from my driveway. We didn't call the police (not necessary). I gave them my insurance information. I didn't have to pay anything for their car to be fixed (dented quarter panel behind the rear wheel). Fortunately my dented bumper was easy for dh to fix, he was able to pop it right out after heating it up. We live in MI. I wouldn't give those people anything but your insurance information. I would have taken a photo of the damage when it happened, though. Is your car messed up too?
 
you just tell them to report it to your insurance company. They don't have to pay their deductible if it was your fault. They just have to wait for your insurance company to pay... I wouldn't give them a penny!
 
you just tell them to report it to your insurance company. They don't have to pay their deductible if it was your fault. They just have to wait for your insurance company to pay... I wouldn't give them a penny!
If they had full coverage and turned in the claim into their insurance company as well as the OP turning it into their then yes they would need to pay the deductible if their insurance company was repairing the damage to their car. What would then happen is the person's insurance company would subrogate (i.e. go ofter the OP's insurance company) to recoup the costs associated with fixing the vehicle along with the deductible. If they were sucessful then you would be reimbursed with your deductible.

Example: Person who was backed into has insurance company A, person who is at fault and did the backing into has insurance company B. The first person can choose to not go through their own insurance company (which is A) and instead go completely through insurance company B. In that case no the first person does not pay their deductible. The person though would have to go completely with insurance company B for repair costs.

ETA: I was more or less responding to the "they don't have to pay if it wasn't their fault" aspect.
 
Last edited:

I'm in nj as well. No fault isn't for accidents like this it's for when a deer ran into the side of my car at a stop light or I get hit and they don't have insurance or enough insurance. Op is 100% at fault. The other car was parked. No fault doesn't come into play. Whether her rates would go up or not is another issue that has many variables

Many people commenting here really don't understand their insurance. Please review your policy with your agent. In this post, a deer running into your car would be covered under Comprehensive (if you bought it for your car). Getting hit by someone without insurance or insufficient insurance is covered under Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists (UM/UIM) coverage. In many states UM/UIM only covers bodily injury, not damage to your car and so if you are in one of those states, you would get nothing if your car was damaged unless you bought collision coverage. No Fault coverage (personal injury protection) is only available in some states and generally only covers you for a limited amount of medical expenses and in some states things like lost wages and funeral expenses. No Fault was intended to reduce the number of claims that lead to a law suit and end up in court by paying small amounts quickly and without regard to fault.
 
If they had full coverage and turned in the claim into their insurance company as well as the OP turning it into their then yes they would need to pay the deductible if their insurance company was repairing the damage to their car. What would then happen is the person's insurance company would subrogate (i.e. go ofter the OP's insurance company) to recoup the costs associated with fixing the vehicle along with the deductible. If they were sucessful then you would be reimbursed with your deductible.

Example: Person who was backed into has insurance company A, person who is at fault and did the backing into has insurance company B. The first person can choose to not go through their own insurance company (which is A) and instead go completely through insurance company B. In that case no the first person does not pay their deductible. The person though would have to go completely with insurance company B for repair costs.

ETA: I was more or less responding to the "they don't have to pay if it wasn't their fault" aspect.

I have done this several time when it was not my fault...didn't need to report it ot my own insurance company. I was able to wait to repair minor damage and not go through my own isnurance company ((and layout money to cover my deductible)
 
No, that isn't correct. A deer hit is covered under comprehensive and someone without any insurance or enough insurance is covered under uninsured or underinsured motorist, respectively. Most people misunderstand "no fault". No fault refers to coverage for your medical bills if you're injured in the accident. In a no fault state, you go to your own insurance carrier for medical bills regardless of who's at fault for the accident. In many of the no fault states, the insurance carrier cannot recover those medical bills paid even if their driver isn't at fault. Even in a state that's not "no fault", the at fault insurance company still won't pay your medical bills up front. You handle them through your own carrier, your private insurance, work comp, whatever. When you're done treating, the at fault will gather all medical bills and records and settle the claim then.

Every state has liability laws. They vary state to state. In some states, you recover the exact amount the other party is at fault. So if you are 15% at fault, you recover 85% of your damages from the other company, the other person can collect 15% of their from your carrier. Other states bar you from recovery if you are 50 or 51% at fault. Some states bar you from any recovery if you are 1% at fault. By the way, the police don't make that liability determination, the insurance company does. Michigan is the only state that varies from these. For the most part, you go to your own insurance company regardless of who is at fault or how much. It's complicated, but that's the upshot.

I just saw that I missed your post before I wrote mine. I agree 100%. The insurance industry really needs to do a much better job explaining coverage to its customers.
 
I have done this several time when it was not my fault...didn't need to report it ot my own insurance company. I was able to wait to repair minor damage and not go through my own isnurance company ((and layout money to cover my deductible)
Well I didn't say you have to report it to your own insurance company...that's actually not what I was getting at regarding my post.

I was just elaborating on your post providing more information. (ETA regarding paying your deductible in cases of being not-at-fault).

Seems you misunderstood my post. Apologies if that was due to me.
 
Last edited:
I just saw that I missed your post before I wrote mine. I agree 100%. The insurance industry really needs to do a much better job explaining coverage to its customers.

Actually, I'd argue that the coverage explanations are readily available and encouraged that customers read them. I think some of the challenges come in where people don't want to read what's available to them. Liberty Mutual does a wonderful job in perpetuating this issue and making it worse with their ads...with the lady saying "Your insurance policy is 22 pages long, did you read it? No. Blah, blah, blah..." For the life of me, I can't understand their ad campaign. It's bashing the insurance industry of which they are a part (and heavily partake in the practices which they are bashing), and much of the information in the ads is extremely misleading. All in the name of competition I suppose...
 
These people have been to your house twice to demand cash. I would be calling the police right now and telling them what happened and filing a report right now that also contained the info about the two additional visits demanding cash. Then I'd call the insurance agency and tell them everything too. Finally, I'd let the neighbor know what I had done (hoping they would get word to their friend) and if they show up again I would call the police right then. Something is up, they are trying to extort money out of your personally, not getting paid by your insurance. I would be afraid of what they would do if I kept telling them no at the door.
 
You should have called your insurance company immediately. Definitely call them now. In my experience, there hasn't been any out of pocket expense in fixing the other person's car. The deductible is generally charged to repair yours.

Best part, the insurance company will handle the whole thing. The other driver will then be contacting them.

If you continue to do nothing, they definitely could drag you into court.
 
Actually, I'd argue that the coverage explanations are readily available and encouraged that customers read them. I think some of the challenges come in where people don't want to read what's available to them. Liberty Mutual does a wonderful job in perpetuating this issue and making it worse with their ads...with the lady saying "Your insurance policy is 22 pages long, did you read it? No. Blah, blah, blah..." For the life of me, I can't understand their ad campaign. It's bashing the insurance industry of which they are a part (and heavily partake in the practices which they are bashing), and much of the information in the ads is extremely misleading. All in the name of competition I suppose...

I cringe every time a liberty mutual commercial comes on. Do they ever say how much extra it costs for the accident forgiveness option or how much your rates would go up with your first accident? Of course they don't and for most people who have no at fault accidents, the accident forgiveness option will cost more in the long run. People don't read their policies or the materials that come with it. They make a lot of assumptions and then get mad when they find out they were wrong and something is not covered. I think there should be mandatory financial literacy classes in school that includes insurance 101, investing, planning for retirement, etc. Start in middle school and use workshops with real examples.
 
I would contact my insurance and file a report. They should be able to tell you whether a police report would be necessary or not.
I agree. You pay your insurance company for coverage, AND to handle any issues like this. Just depends where you live on the police report. If there are no injuries, the police won't even come out, let alone take a report here. Dispatch won't even send an officer out. DMV here , however, does expect both parties to file a report if damage is over $750. https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/forms/sr/sr1
 
I had someone back into me once. He didn't want to report to the insurance because he didn't want his rates to go up. We exchanged info, I got an estimate, and he paid for the damage. It was another parent at school and I trusted him. It all worked out.
 
I cringe every time a liberty mutual commercial comes on. Do they ever say how much extra it costs for the accident forgiveness option or how much your rates would go up with your first accident? Of course they don't and for most people who have no at fault accidents, the accident forgiveness option will cost more in the long run. People don't read their policies or the materials that come with it. They make a lot of assumptions and then get mad when they find out they were wrong and something is not covered. I think there should be mandatory financial literacy classes in school that includes insurance 101, investing, planning for retirement, etc. Start in middle school and use workshops with real examples.
:worship:
 


Disney Vacation Planning. Free. Done for You.
Our Authorized Disney Vacation Planners are here to provide personalized, expert advice, answer every question, and uncover the best discounts. Let Dreams Unlimited Travel take care of all the details, so you can sit back, relax, and enjoy a stress-free vacation.
Start Your Disney Vacation
Disney EarMarked Producer






DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter

Add as a preferred source on Google

Back
Top Bottom