i was in a fender bender w/ someone three days ago and we basically decided to let it go because the damage was minimal. however, i was the one that hit the guy in the rear and in most cases of course this would usually be my fault. well, what i’m worried about is that somehow- like the biggest dummy ever- i allowed this guy to get my insurance information without getting his or any info about him or his car for that matter. i haven’t heard a thing yet but i’m worried this guy is gonna call my insurance company.
now, i realize i probably deserve what i get, since i was so stupid, but what i was wondering is if any of you know whether or not there’s a certain amount of time that could pass after which if he goes to my insurance company that they will say he waited too long at this point to do anything about this. is there any kind of general rule among insurace companies on this perhaps? thanks for any help any of you can offer.
Whatever you two agreed, probably does not matter. If he wants to be a dick about it - or more likely, got the repairs priced out and after the shock, thought “hey, I can let Spackle pay the $1500 for a new bumper, painted!” - then he reports it like any normal accident and you’ll hear about it in due course.
If you don’t have his information, then there’s nothing you can do but sit and stew, wait and see.
From my experience, if he calls your insurance company, they will call you and ask for your version of the accident. If both stories agree (he says it was your fault, you say it was your fault) they pay out and it counts as a ding against you.
If he calls and says that you were drunk and yelling threats against Jews, pissing in the street and screaming about the New World Order, you get to tell your side and they do an investigation.
Insurance company rules are not controlling here, at least against the guy you hit. The other guy can bring his claim against you at any time before the applicable statute of limitations runs out. However, if you fail to report the accident to your insurance company, depending on the terms of your policy, it might be a reason for them to deny coverage.
I don’t really deal with torts much, and anything I say here is probably way off base. Check with a lawyer licensed in your jurisdiction.
Very true. Even if it isn’t required, your insurance company will find out about it. As long as it’s not a habit and especially if they don’t have to pay out, no harm no foul. But definitely call your agent. I wouldn’t admit fault; just say what happened.
I would assume the person was telling the truth because they usually get the most worked up when it first happens. Some people have a fear of their own insurance company raising their rates for reporting any type of accident at all whether that is justified or not. He may not even have insurance for that matter or they may be something illegal about his vehicle that he doesn’t want to call attention to. It happens all the time.
I have had this happen before. My insurance company called me, I told them it was my fault, we updated my information and I got a letter in the mail changing my rate by a few hundred dollars a year (they reduced my premium and I have no idea why so it doesn’t always work out badly for you). This stuff depends on the state and the insurance company but I don’t think you will be in any special trouble even if he files a claim. It may or may not count against you. It is insurance. They are supposed to take care of that for you. That is what you pay them for.
do you happen to remember how much time had passed before you heard from your insurance company? not that time matters i guess from what all you guys have posted, but i’m just curious.
Let me get this straight…you rear ended another car in an accident that was your fault, and you’re concerned that the other party is going to call your insurance company and file a claim?
Dude that’s how it works. You have liability insurance, as required by your local statutes for this very reason.
I think spackle’s concern is that there’s no record of the amount of damage, and all of a sudden somebody shows up with an outrageous estimate. Suppose the guy accidently backs into a guardrail tomorrow and figures to lump both accidents into one?
That’s why you’re supposed to contact your insurance company when you’re in an accident. Not just sit and wait and hope that the other party never contacts them.
The fear is justified. Your insurance rates can be raised if you’re in multiple accidents, even if none of them were your fault. The insurance company figures either you’re not driving defensively enough, you live and drive in a more risky area or manner than they had initially calculated (or you put more miles on your car than you quoted them at first), or you’re just the unluckiest motherfucker in the world. Past accidents are one of the best predictors of future accidents, so your rates will go up eventually, given enough accidents, even if you aren’t faulted.
This is something that could save your ass if you live in a no-pay no-play state. If you’re driving in Louisiana, for instance, “an individual who does not have liability insurance cannot collect for the first $10,000 of damages in an accident, no matter who is at fault” [You searched for - www.carinsurance.com]. This, and the other ridiculous intricacies of insurance law, mean you should always file the claim with your insurance carrier instead of settling out of pocket. Your carrier will do an investigation for every possible reason to deny the other guy’s claim. If you’re lucky, they’ll find one. But if you fail to report an accident for 30, 60, 90 days (depending), that’s grounds for claim denial BUT leaves you on the hook for the other guy’s damages.
Just report it yourself. That way the insurance adjuster starts with your side of the story instead of the other guy’s. Do you really want to take the risk that he is an unscrupulous guy who reports it to your carrier a year and a half from now, when they almost assuredly will not cover it? He could then get a judgment against you and come after you, put liens on your property to get paid, make you pay his attorney’s fees.
the problem, though, as i stated in my original post is that i was completely stupid and i got no info at all on this guy including his personal info, car info, or insurance info. i could just tell them what happened w/o knowing that i suppose and just say what the guy looked like or what the car color is. what a huge mistake on my part…never again will i do this though.
covered that pretty effectively. What he’s trying to find out is if there’s anything he should do now to minimize his exposure. He’d rather not be on the hook for any damage that may occur for the life of the car.
File a claim anyway. When they ask you for that information, just tell them what you remember, even if all you remember was that it was a red sedan (or whatever). Let the phone rep know that you don’t know whether the guy plans to follow through on it or not. They won’t go out of their way to pursue him (they won’t waste effort on finding the guy in these circumstances). But if he claims against you later, then they’ll already have it on file and can get his information when he calls.
Accidents are definitely an emotional time and it is understandable that you kinda kerflubbed it. You should have at least written down the plate number, but it’s okay that you didn’t. Don’t let that small error in judgment make you feel like you can’t count on your insurance company to back you up right now. Because they still can and will!
For future reference, you really should always call the police and see if they will come to the scene, even if it is “just” a fender bender. The cops will likely not do a report on private property or for an accident without injuries, but you need to tell the claim adjuster that you tried. Sometimes, if it’s a slow news day, a cop will still come out, hand both drivers an “exchange of insurance information form” to fill out, and you both get each other’s information (which would be much better than where you’re at right now).
You really have to assume, since this guy took down your insurance information, that he plans to file through it. Even if he doesn’t, you need to protect yourself. You never know about a stranger; for all you do know, he could have driven straight to the emergency room after the accident, gotten xrays and a cat scan and a prescription for physical therapy and vicodin (that he doesn’t actually need, but back pain is subjective and falsifiable by con artists), and plan to slam you with a 2k medical bill.
thanks for all your help everybody. i went ahead and called the insurance company. the part i don’t get is it sounds like they haven’t heard a thing from the guy yet i’m still officially filing an at-fault claim that will probably raise my rates come the time for renewal. oh well…it’s best to get this out of the way so that the guy doesn’t come back w/ another wreck trying to double up on some huge claiim against me or something like that.
I strongly disagree with the “lucky” part. As a general rule, you want your insurance company to settle the case and obtain a full release from the injured party. This is exactly why you have insurance.
If they don’t, the injured party can sue for damages, and then the price of poker goes up for all involved.
Not in CA, got a cite it’s that way in the OP’s state?
No, you should not. It’s a civil matter, that cop should be preventing crime. You should NOT call a cop in *a minor *accident unless 1. Your state requires it. 2. There’s drugs, booze, etc involved or 3. The other guy doesn’t have ID, insurance, etc.
Christ, chill out. You aren’t wasting a police officer’s time by calling the police station (beat cops don’t take inbound phone calls). If they don’t think it’s serious enough to respond to, they aren’t shy about refusing to dispatch. For someone who knows next-to-nothing about accidents and insurance (most people until they have one themselves), it’s a good rule of thumb to ALWAYS call and let the police decide whether to come out or not.