What to do if you are the victim of a hit and run accident in a parking lot?
What to do if you are the victim of a hit and run accident in a parking lot?
Just imagine that you are enjoying a nice day of shopping down at the Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, Md. The sales are great and you are getting bargains everywhere. You enjoy a great meal at one of the restaurants in the mall. And as you are walking towards your car in the parking lot, something does not look right with your car. As you get closer, you notice that the front driver side headlight appears broken. Then as you get to the car, you realize that the front quarter panel is damaged as well. And then you realize, you are a victim of a hit and run accident.
It is obvious to you that a car pulling out from the parking spot next to yours hit your car while pulling in or out of the spot. But, as you look around, you quickly realize that this car is no longer around and you are a victim of a parking lot hit and run. So now what do you do?
You look around for witnesses and no one around seems to have seen what happened to your car. And you start to think, “oh man, I only have liability only on my car insurance, how am I going to pay for this damage…”
The steps you need to take after a hit and run accident are as follows:
1. Call the police and report the hit and run. They will come out and get your statement and get the details (what is available) of the accident and give you a report number.
2. Take photos of the damage to your vehicle and of the accident scene. This will be helpful information to give to your insurance company.
3. Call your Trusted Choice Independent Insurance Agent to report your claim.
But now you are thinking, “why should I call my insurance agent, I only have liability on this car so my car insurance company is not going to pay to fix my car.”
But that is not the case. Your Maryland car insurance policy contains a provision for uninsured motorist coverage, which would include being struck by a hit and run driver. So in the case of your parking lot hit and run, you would have coverage on your Maryland car insurance policy, even if you have not purchased comprehensive or collision coverage.
The uninsured motorist property damage coverage is subject to a state mandated $250 deductible, so you would be responsible to pay the first $250. But that is still better than paying for what could be thousands of dollars of damage for something that was not your fault.
So you do have to follow the steps mention above in order to file the uninsured motorist claim.
Your car insurance company will require you to have a police report, so for any hit and run accident, my advice is to call the police immediately to get it reported.
From there, every company has their own procedures they follow when it comes to filing the claim. At Huff Insurance, you will have a claims advocate that will hold your hand and walk you through the claims process, making sure you know where you are at any point in the process. Having a claim is a traumatic event and we want to make sure that you are properly taken care of.
After the company gets the police report, they may ask to get a recorded statement of the facts surrounding the accident. After that, they either ask you to send in an estimate of damage, or send out their own representative to examine the damage and write up an estimate (their rep is commonly referred to as a claims adjuster).
Once the amount of damage is agreed upon, the company will write you a check for the damage, minus your $250 deductible., to pay for the repairs.
So, it is nice to know that on your Maryland car insurance policy, you have protection against a hit and run such as this.
NOTE: Although this is considered a not at fault accident, it may affect your insurance premiums for some companies. Some companies have a claims free discount that will get removed or it may affect a rating tier. So your insurance premiums may increase. Please check with your specific insurance company for details.
With the busy holiday shopping season quickly approaching, these types of accidents will happen as people hastily move through the crowded mall parking lots.
If you have any questions regarding anything I have discussed in this blog, feel free to give my office a call at 410-647-1111.
Huff Insurance is a full service Independent Insurance Agent We have been dedicated to Protecting Lifestyles™ since 1960. We offer a full array of Personal Insurance, Commercial Insurance and Life Insurance & Health Insurance products. Call us at 410-647-111
