“Hey. I just got in a car accident. This guy just whipped out of his parking spot and hit me. What should I do?”
It was a crisp winter Saturday morning, as my frustrated wife recounted the event that had just turned her simple errand run into an awful day.
“Was it mostly his fault?”
“Yes, it’s like he didn’t even look when pulling out quickly. Probably on his phone or something. This young chatch (19 years old). There isn’t even a scratch on his car, but there is a big crack on the right side of our front fender.”
(chatch, hehe) “OK, hold on a minute.”
<A few rushed Google searches ensue>
Fortunately, I was there to answer her call for help, quickly do some rough amateur research online, and then provide some advice. In the future, you may not have the same time or resources available to you (or a lawyer on speed dial) – so hopefully this advice sticks for when you need it. Once you leave the accident, your ability to improve your case dramatically decreases.
Insurance rules vary per state, but as a general rule, it is usually beneficial to be able to prove that you were not at fault in the accident, as it can prevent rate increases. In Michigan, if you have broad collision coverage and can prove you are 50% or less at fault in an auto accident, not only will your insurance pay for the repairs, but they also will cover your deductible.
“OK. Get his name, number, license plate, insurance customer ID #, take a few photos, and call the police to come out and do a report of the accident.”
A week later, after producing all of this evidence and finding out that the responsibility in a parking spot accident typically is with the driver pulling out of a spot to ensure that there is a clear path to exit, our auto insurer agreed to waive our $500 deductible on an estimated $650 in repairs (which later ballooned to $1,200 once repair work began).
Our car is 3 years old, so we still have collision coverage on it. Whether collision coverage is worth the funds or not is up for debate (and given that the car is now over 3 years old, I am thinking of dropping collision). However, on this day, and with her previous accident, it has produced a positive ROI for us over the last few years.
Now, keep in mind that I am not qualified to give legal advice and there are infinite possible accident scenarios, but outside of getting your deductible waived or paid for by the responsible party at fault, I would think that doing the following (particularly if you or the other party is aware of any immediate injury):
- Make sure everyone is OK – call for help, if not.
- Do not admit fault or apologize. Poker face. You don’t have to say much of anything.
- Get the driver’s contact name, number, email, license plate, and insurance ID.
- Take a few photos of the scene of the accident and the damage to both vehicles.
- Call the police to come out and document the accident in a report and ask them where you can get a copy (note: we later had to purchase the report online for $11).
- Be able to re-count the accident effectively. Take notes before you drive home or as soon as you get home.
… would not only help you make the case to your insurer, but would also provide you some level of protection or help make your case in the event of injury in a court of law. And that is relevant, whether you have collision coverage or not.
Once you leave the scene of the accident, if you haven’t done those things, it’s too late to go back and re-create the scene for an insurer and/or judge and jury. I know it’s tempting to want to get the hell out of there ASAP because it is a stressful situation, but a calm, calculated, and patient approach could benefit you in the long run.
Then, report the claim as quickly as possible to your insurer and be as helpful as possible with all of the other driver’s information that you have gathered, as well as the police report and photos. I think it’s important to note that YOU were the one who took photos and called the police (shows a lack of fault and belief of fault in the other party).
Of course, if you are undoubtedly 100% responsible for the accident, first, shame on you! And second, after checking that the other driver/passengers are OK, do not admit you were at fault, exchange information, and go (again, I’m not a lawyer, but I used to watch a lot of Matlock when I was a kid in the 80’s) ;-)
Add this to the previous learnings from when she was at fault in an accident, such as what type of insurance covers you if you are at fault in an accident, how to drop points and get insurance discounts by taking a defensive driver class, and accident forgiveness, and we’re getting to be more educated on car accidents than we’d probably like.
Any car accident advice of your own? Leave it in the comments.
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I’ve been hit 3 times over the past 10 years or so (all definitely the fault of the other driver) – My very strong advice: ALWAYS call the police and get a police report. It’s regarded as definitive truth in an insurance claim. Where I live, the at-fault party’s insurance pays for the repairs & car rentals during repairs. If they have any doubt that their client isn’t at fault, you can bet they’ll drag their feet or refuse to pay the claim. Getting your car repaired quickly is important- the costs of a car rental and/or leaving your car at the towing company’s lot while you try to figure out if/where the insurance company will pay for it to be repaired can really add up.
In the first accident, the other driver must have thought I was a dumb teenage girl – he gave me false insurance information, tried to convince me it was my fault but that he’d “let me off the hook” and we could each cover our own repairs. The police straightened him out…
In the second accident, the other driver apologized and admitted fault on the scene, but then told her insurance company it was my fault. Thankfully I had a police report stating otherwise.
In the third accident, the other driver didn’t have their insurance information on the scene, and was afraid to call the police because he already had points on his license. (He wanted us to leave the scene of the accident before the police showed up – never do that!) The police did come, and interestingly enough, this other driver that seemed a little sketchy at the scene ended up admitting fault to his insurance company and it was the easiest claim to deal with of the three.
Make sure to move the vehicles off to the side of the road if they are blocking traffic. I didn’t do that when I was in a crash and the cop was kinda peeved I didn’t.
GREAT tip about never admitting fault. Insure will wiggle out even if you just say that out of confusion. NEVER ADMIT FAULT.
Also, be ready for the other persons insurance to call you ASAP. They want you to admit fault so they’ll try to interrogate you while you’re still shaken and confused. Sucks but it happens.
While collecting information on the other driver be sure to write down everything yourself as previously mentioned including their driver’s license number, insurance information, vehicle license plate number, and the vehicle identification number (VIN) which can be found on the bottom corner of the driver side windshield. Don’t accept any written information from the other drive as they may provide false information.
it can be easiest to just snap photos of everything with your phone, including licenses and insurance docs. Especially when you can send the photos to a backup source or have them automatically backed up. Just a thought to make a stressful situation a bit easier to handle.
Simple, but effective idea.
I googled a little bit about this, but is the number for police 100? I called 911 and was told to contact insurance if there are no injuries.
All good advice but if in isolated area & lone person go to area with people & exchange info. Injury, robbery, death, not worth the $$ being in the right. Also some states will NOT send police if no injurise & other driver cooperating. Some injuries not noticeable till hours later.
Its really easy to forget doing the important things when involved in an accident. Thanks for sharing the tips.
Broadened collision is a coverage type specific to Michigan due to it’s funny tort rules. You are getting your deductible waived because you have paid for this coverage not available in most states. If you’re going to give insurance advice please do your research correctly. Also, shame on you for telling at fault drivers to leave the scene of an accident – joke or not.
I really love this list of tips, I think that they will definitely come in handy. I was in a car accident a few years ago and I know that having a plan for that situation would be been really helpful. Talking with a lawyer at before moving forward would help you through the process.
I think that it is important to not admit fault. This is important so that you can work better with a car accident attorney. I also think that taking notes is really important.
I witnessed a car accident yesterday, and I want to be prepared in case I’m in a similar situation. So thank you for advising us to call a lawyer before even calling my insurance company. This will be kept in mind if I’m ever in a car accident.