? about car accidents

Factual Questions
1

This certainly varies from state to state, but here goes:

I had a minor auto accident a few years ago that resulted in a minor dent in a lady’s door.

It was in a grocery store parking lot, and I stuck around until she came out, 'fessed up, and offered to pay out of pocket for the repair.

She asked for my insurance information, and I responded that I didn’t think we needed to involve the insurance companies.

She agreed, later got the repair, called me, etc.

Everything’s fine.

Now the question:

This accident did not occur with my car–but with a shopping cart that I had turned my back on while I was loading a bag into my car.

Was there any relevant reason for me to give any information on my auto insurance to begin with, since the accident did not occur with my car?

2

I don’t think so. And had it been so filed, your insurance company wouldn’t’ve paid since it wasn’t caused by your auto.

If anything, you should be rewarded for being so honest. (yeah, like that’s gonna happen)

3

I saw this happen on a judge tv program, the cart hit another one which rolled into the person’s car. The person who pushed the first cart had to pay for it.

4

Judge Judy? Well as long as it’s a respectable link to the law and everything…

5

As far as Auto-to-Auto accidents, or ‘fender-benders’, always be wary of people who say…
1.“We don’t need to exchange insurance information, do we?” or
2. We don’t need the police, this is so minor."
Especially if it is the other persons fault.

Here are the reasons for this;
There is nothing to stop the violator from rushing to the police station to file a report. The report will say that YOU left the scene of the accident, you would not provide insurance info, and you would not wait for the police. This officially puts you at fault and leaves the violator free to make all sorts of insurance claims, maybe taking you to court.

I have seen this happen and it is a very common crime. If you are involved in an accident, even a small one, insist on the police. While your waiting, get the license number of the other car, make and model.

I was nice once, and let the person go. She had hit me, at 5mph, in a store parking lot.
She said there was no reason to file a report or involve the insurance companies. I agreed. On my way home I saw her car in the police station parking lot. I went into the station, and there she was filing an accident report and complaining about her ‘neck pain’. I then filled my report and the insurance people handled it from there on.

6

You are correct. Since the damage was not done by your car, your auto insurance is not important. I don’t blame her for asking though. It gives her an extra way to find you if the drivers license info or phone number you give her is wrong [or out of state, etc.].

Or it could be that she is trusting and, at first, thought you hit her car with your car, not cart, and needed you to clarify.

7

This could be something your homeowner’s insurance would help you with. Doesn’t this fall under liability, but not related to an auto accident?

My insurance company cautioned me in accepting a cash settlement after a minor accident I had (actually the other guy had the accident). The guy offered to pay me cash rather than involve his insurance. I called my insurance company and they said either get his insurance company to pay or they would pay (under my uninsured motorist coverage). They said if I took any cash from him, then no insurance company would touch the claim. If I ran into additional costs, I would be out of luck.

8

I’ve only ever been involved in one car accident and I wasn’t driving. Some yahoo decided to turn left into a driveway from the right-hand lane causing my GF at the time to broadside him. My GF was too busy hyperventilating (she was extremely phobic about car accidents) so I was handling the details.

Called the police and had this conversation:

ME: I’d like to report and accident.
COP: Is anyone hurt?
ME: No.
COP: Are the cars out of the road?
ME: Yes.
COP: Then why are you calling us?

I don’t know if I just had an asshole cop (or whoever answered the phone) or what but this lead me to believe that the police only got involved if their are injuries or a public hazard (cars in the road).

9

Some town police stations will say this. They figure you can come to the station and file a report. You can do this…but insurance companies like reports filled by the police.

10

I once was involved in a minor fender-bender in a Dallas/Fort Worth suburb. We called the cops, and one came by to check things out, fill out a report, all that.

I chatted with the cop for a few minutes, and he told me that not all cities send police officers to every accident. He felt that most small suburbs in the area would, but the larger cities (like Fort Worth) simply could not, and would require the parties to individually file reports after the fact.

I’m sure that’s wonderful. My guess is that, about half the time, they get two reports so different that it’s hard to believe that they’re describing the same accident…