Let’s say you’re sitting at a red light and someone runs into the back of your car and one of two things happens either the person who ran into you doesn’t have insurance or they left the scene of the accident. You call the police and file a report, but then what? Do you file the claim on your own insurance? Can you file the claim on your own insurance? Will your insurance company cover it? Will you have to pay a deductible? Will this affect your insurance rates?
Many times, people in this situation are hesitant to contact their insurance company for a variety of reasons – but to be fair, the insurance company will help you navigate your unfortunate situation. However, there are a few things to keep in mind.
1.You will need to have collision coverage on your policy for this situation to be covered by your insurance company.
Collision coverage is the coverage that pays for repairs to your own vehicle in the event of an accident – this includes not at fault accidents. If you’re not paying for this coverage as part of your policy, then you insurance company will not pay for the repairs to your vehicle.
2. Your deductible will apply.
For some reason, this always seems to surprise customers. When you purchased your policy and agreed to the deductible, you were saying to your insurance company that you would pay for repairs up to that amount and that you wanted your insurance company to cover anything above that amount. For example, you purchase a policy with a $500 collision deductible. If somebody
For example, you purchase a policy with a $500 collision deductible. If somebody runs into you causing $1000 in damage and leaves the scene of the accident, you will be responsible for $500 of the repairs and your insurance company will be responsible for the remaining $500.
3. Your insurance company will attempt to get your deductible back.
This process is called subrogation. If your insurance company knows who the at-fault party is they will attempt to get their money back and your deductible back as well. This situation generally comes up when somebody runs into you and they didn’t have insurance but they hung around long enough for you to exchange details. Be patient though….while most times the subrogation process is fairly swift, I’ve have seen it take almost a year. Keep in mind that the insurance company is attempting to get someone who didn’t pay their insurance to reimburse them for damages – not an easy task.
4. Your insurance rates shouldn’t go up.
If you haven’t filed a claim recently (generally three years is considered recent) then you shouldn’t be concerned about your rates going up. However, if you are a frequent claim filer then you may experience a rate increase at your next renewal or worse, you may get dropped. You may want to ask your insurance agent for some advice on this topic before filing the claim.
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