Found your car damaged by hit-and-run or realized it has scratches, dents, and broken parts by the time you returned to it? It’s a common scene these days, believe it or not, for many parked cars anywhere. In many cases, the situation is even made worse when the owner wasn’t able to get hold of the driver’s license plate number or no witnesses have come forward.
A recent study by a private insurance company reveals that over half of the hit-and-run accidents involve vehicles that are parked. It’s obviously a different story when it’s your car that got hit especially when the driver who did it is nowhere in sight. The following tells you what you can do when that situation arises.
Call the police immediately after you find out what has happened and wait for them until they arrive to the scene. Present to them your evidence and file an incident report. Try to determine if there are any witnesses to the incident. If the witnesses say they need to be somewhere else, ask them for their names and contact information and your insurance company will get in touch with them soon for their testimony. But if they’re able to give their testimony right there and then, it would be helpful for your case as they can give their account to the police of what really happened.
After you’ve reported what happened to your auto insurance company, find out first if you’re auto insurance permits you to make a claim for these kinds of cases. When your auto insurance has full coverage, most likely you will be covered for hit-and-run accidents. This allows you to recoup the cost for repairs to the damage on the vehicle.
You’ll still be able to file a claim with the insurance company of the person that hit your car even though your insurance does not have full comprehensive coverage. When you already know the person that caused the damage to your car, check if he has auto insurance and if so does the insurance have adequate liability limits. Otherwise, it’s less of a hassle if you’ll just work with your insurance company. They can either write a check for you or provide a lawyer and enable you to recover your expenses from the insurance firm of the hit-and-run driver.
Hit-and-run claims are relatively difficult cases especially if the driver that caused the damage is never identified, uninsured or underinsured. If you cannot possibly make a claim under normal circumstances, you may opt to visit the District Attorney’s office in your area and file a complaint there. You can also file a lawsuit against the driver, if his identity in known, in the Small Claims Court.
Written by Roxana Zander. Check out Auto Insurance Quotes.
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