Advice need regarding Auto Insurance

[GT108]

My car was hit last night while parked on the street.

I didn't see it but a few witnesses left notes behind with licence plate number and a description of the truck that hit my car.

I have only comprehensive on this car.

If I report this to the collision centre and the insurance company, will it affect my insurance rate?

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[rfdrfd]

Here's my opinion:

In your face, the insurance company will say "no, this will not affect your rates." However, it will be recorded into your record.

So, when it comes time to renew next year, maybe your rate will go up a little. Then if you ask them why ? They will say "its just normal market rate going up, everyone is going up." Hence, seriously, who knows if that affected you?

Same goes if you wanna switch to another insurance company. They will ask you if u claimed or got into any accident for past few years, you have to say "yes" if you reported it. Since its on ur record now.

So, my suggestion is:

1) how badly was it hit? How much does it cost to fix it?

If its small, or something you can handle, then for me, I'd fix it myself and pay it up. Call it bad luck. Personally, I want my car insurance record to be clean. So they have no real excuse later to raise my rates.

2) if you call the guy (number), there is no guarantee they will pay up or admit to it. How can you prove it? Witnesses? Go to court? Big hassle. They obviously hit and run. So they will go thru insurance companies and potentially small claims court ? If they flat out deny it.

So this will be on your insurance record, and no way out of that. Then the story goes to what I described in the beginning (scroll up).

[GT108]

There were many witnesses who left me their number, the description of the truck that hit my car and the licence plate of the truck.

If that person is insured, will their insurance pay for my damage?
If yes, will that still affect my rates?

[rfdrfd]

If that person is insured, will their insurance pay for my damage?

Yes, if they admit its 100% their fault.


If yes, will that still affect my rates?

It should not and insurance company will tell you it won't. But that is NOT a guarantee that your rates will NOT go up next year. They never give you a written statement on that. I doubt any business will.

If you go thru insurance, this hit will be recorded. I think there is such a category as "high risk of accident" that can be on your record if you always get into accidents. Even if its not your fault.

[Bullseye]

Oddly enough, I had a very similar scenario happen to me a couple years ago. A drunk plowed into my vehicle that was parked in my driveway very early in the morning. It was winter and he got stuck in the snowbank after the collision, and he had to get out to try to free the car. My neighbour saw this all, and the drunk even asked him to help get him unstuck, at which point my neighbour ignored him and went inside. The drunk managed to get himself out and drove off, but my neighbour followed him home (he lived very close by) and wrote down the address.

When I woke up, my neighbour told me what happened, and I called the police. They went to the guys house, his smashed up, barely driveable car was in the driveway, but he didn't answer the door. Took them a week to finally get ahold of the guy, and they charged him with something, but they couldn't tell me what, due to privacy concerns.

Anyways, my insurance company at first said that my rates wouldn't be affected, but that I would have to pay the deductible of $500 because at that point they didn't have any police report info on the other driver (that's how it works if you get hit by unknown or uninsured driver, you pay deductible). The guy eventually admitted to his insurance that he was involved, after pressure from police and my insurer, and they removed the $500 I was supposed to pay. My rates never went up after this when i renewed.

So my advide is to call the police, and report the collision. You don't have collision, so your insurance company will only cover the damages if the police go after the person who hit you, and if your witnesses agree to testify that they saw it (my neighbour had to agree to this). If you don't get the police involved, you have no chance of getting your vehicle repaired under insurance.

[GT108]

Thanks for the advice.
It really help with my decision.
I think I will report it since I have 2-3 thousand in damages.