ok i did not get involve in an accident. someone i know did.

been in an accident yesterday. got the person's insurance, ID and other stuff.
but did not call the cops to file a report.

if i call his insurance company, would they pay the damage?

 

You should always file a police report it makes the progress a lot faster for any insurance company to get the ball rolling on your car. You should've called the cops in order for them to give yo a police report but depending on your state you may still be able to file a police report.

You expect the other guy's insurance to pay your damage, how do you know he was completely at fault?Did he admit it?Did he hit from behind?

Just realized now that it was your friend, don't matter.

 

well it does matter, it was completely his fault. my friend was parked.. the other guy was backing up.

 

with that said, why didn't your friend keep the guy there until the cops came??? That's an easy way to get boned out of repairs. Good luck to your friend.

 

I only say that because I almost got screwed myself. Myth....not for me I had to fight back and forth to get my old blazer fixed for over 3 months after a guy sideswiped me.

 

honestly, with it being in a parking lot the cops can't do anything anyway, as it was on private property. they can file a report and say "this guy backed into that guy" but that's about it. no tickets, no nothing.

usually on stuff like this, as long as both parties give the same story "xx was parked, and yyy backed into xx" then they just shut up and pay and don't ask questions. it's pretty cut and dry.

Now, had the person run a stop sign in a parking lot and you got creamed, then it's completely different.
but this one is pretty cut and dry- no need to involve the police.

 

That has to do with insurance, not cops. Believe me, your insurance agent and company are NOT on your side. However, they CANNOT preempt the law, which is what I described for NYS. In PA, the acid test is whether or not there was injury or death, OR a vehicle cannot be driven normally and must be towed.

 

Best to always get a police report. All could be good right then and there, but the other guy could always later come back and say YOU did it. Who knows.

 

many insurers will deny coverage without a police report, simply because it is a felony to leave the scene of an accident if damages exceed 50$ (could vary by state), so if you don't file a report, they assume damages were under 50$. and it saves them money regardless. tough break.

 

If he backed up into you, he can easily change his story to him getting rear ended by you as you were parking. It's happened before...

 

An at-fault driver talking someone out of calling the police, letting the witnesses anonymously slip away into the night, then changing his story later to get out of paying?

Say it ain't so!!


ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS GET A POLICE REPORT AT THE SCENE. (unless you are at fault and you know it, then talk them out of a police report and start formulating the bull**** story you're gonna tell his insurance company when they call a couple days later and the witnesses are long gone )


I watched a large truck that was stranded in an intersection after the light turned red ont time. He backed up into the guy who was waiting at the line. They pulled over to exchange details and I discreetly offered my business card to the driver of the vehicle that was backed into. He originally refused to tak emy card saying; "Oh he's admitting fault. And we don't need to call the police either, he says."

He took my card upon my beligernat insistence - and was glad of it! The van driver changed his story when he filed the insurance papers - claiming he got rearended and had to take time off work due to whiplash... "Hey, what is more likely, the vehicle in front gets rearended, or it back up into another car? Backing up? hah! What a stupid suggestion! Ow, my back hurts." My witness statement put a stop that, and the true victim in the case was paid in full.


ALSO!!!! If you see an accident then offer your contact details to the both drivers (unless it's real obvious who's at fault, then just give to the victim) If they don't get a police report from you a the scene then write out, in your own words, what happened using no adjectives and no emotion and no influence of opinion of fault, then draw a diagram, then add a single paragraph explaining who you think was at fault and why. The more calm, precise and emotionally unattached you are, the better for the victim.

And if you do this when you see an accident involving someone else, maybe someone else will do this for you when YOU are in an accident...

BAD report: "The nissan driver was like parked at the light and a stupid driver in a ford was going like some crazy speed and rammedright into the back of the poor nissan driver."

Good report: "The nissan was parked at a red light. The Ford approached in the same lane from behind and struck the nissan to the rear. The nissan did not move forwards or rearwards in the 10 seconds leading up to impact." "I believe the Ford driver was at fault because he failed to stop before hitting the nissan. I can think of no way that the Nissan driver could have avoided the accident."