STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

NCshopper · Hermes

Grr....what to do in a fender bender?

Aurora · Marc Jacobs

hmm if you have a reputable mechanic that you go to I'd take your car by to get it checked out where you were hit. Even though you don't have any scratches there could be something that was knocked around or out of place under the car.

laken1 · Hermes

Let me preface this by saying I have no clue if this is true but I'm throwing it out there - it seems like if you are in a wreck & don't call the police that your insurance (or theirs) won't pay for any damage or whatever because there is no police report because then it becomes very much "he said, she said"? I'd call your insurance company just for good measure - just in case it should ever happen again.

My one & only wreck was pretty awful so we did call the police. I have been in a few "bumper" accidents like yours - one on each side IIRC, and we never even exchanged info because there wasn't any damage to either.

member · Hermes

I would a) go to the doctor and get checked out just to be safe. You never know if something will start to hurt later. I got rear-ended once and didn't feel it at first, but days later my neck killed me and I needed pain meds, etc. I was very glad I went to the doc. because the guy's insurance ended up paying for everything.

b) I would probably call my insurance company just to report it in case of any future problems. Let them know you aren't making a claim of any sort. You don't need to worry about it affecting your insurance rates either, since they aren't paying for any damages.

HTH!

luckylily · Gucci

I would err on the side of calling your insurance co to let them know.

Last year, my DH rear ended someone while parallel parking. There was no damage to either vehicle, but the guy in the other car was really mad. I actually thought he was going to punch my husband even tho it was just a little bump. We exchanged info, but mutually decided it wasn't a big enough deal to report. The next day DH and I decided to call our insurance co anyway. They came out and documented the non damage to our truck. They also tried to contact the other party to confirm, but it turned out he'd given a fake address and phone number. A few months later, the jerk called us and tried to get us to pay for some damage to his car. Luckily, since our insurance co had documented everything, he didn't have a leg to stand on.

Chances are that the guy who rear ended you isn't that sleazy, but that whole experience made me really glad that my insurance co was keeping track of things.

blink · Coach

Call his insurance company ASAP and report what happened. And no, you didn't need to call the police to determine fault, rear enders are obvious. The man's insurance company will contact him to confirm that he hit you, if he denies it, they will let you know what to do from there, but that's extremely unlikely!

Then you will need schedule a time to let them photograph and inspect your car, it is very possible that there is damage to your undercarriage or otherwise, often they will have you meet them at their nearest office, or they will meet you at your employer parking lot during the day. They will know what they are looking for. Even if it's just chipped paint you didn't immediately see, it's their responsibility. Also, you do not need to contact the individual who hit you for any reason of courtesy or whatever. This is what insurance is for, this is why he provided it to you.

There is absolutely no reason to contact your insurance company. If you provided him with your insurance information and for some nutty reason he called them to report himselt hitting you (and they likely then would have laughed at him), your insurance company would then call YOU to get your confirmation of the story, but that's it.

Don't just blow this off, you could have unseen damage in your car that will cost a bundle later on.

curiouscookie · BCBG

Definitely call his insurance company and file a report with them. Also for good measure if you feel any worse/stiff go to the doctor. Since it wasn't your fault his insurance should have to pay for it. Same with getting your car checked up.

I was in what I thought was a mild accident last fall and am still suffering from headaches and necks and back pain! who would have thought something like this could take so long to heal.

NCshopper · Hermes

Thanks ladies! I'm definitely going to call his insurance company this afternoon. I think I knew I needed to do that, but needed someone else (you guys) to tell me. What really irritated me about the whole incident (aside from the plain fact that I didn't really feel in the mood for being rear-ended) was that the guy acted as if this happens all the time. He didn't even put out his cigarette. He just stood there smoking while I copied down all his insurance info and was like "sorry bout that, ma'am!"

member · Hermes

lorelei wrote:

There is absolutely no reason to contact your insurance company.

That's not true actually - I used to work for State Farm and we always advised clients to contact us no matter who's fault it is. You never know if isn't insurance isn't reputable or didn't come through, and you did have damage - your insurance company would be there to fix it. That exact thing happened to my boyfriend and our insurance covered it, so I would call both his and yours.

blink · Coach

shopchicago33 wrote:

lorelei wrote: There is absolutely no reason to contact your insurance company. That's not true actually - I used to work for State Farm and we always advised clients to contact us no matter who's fault it is. You never know if isn't insurance isn't reputable or didn't come through, and you did have damage - your insurance company would be there to fix it. That exact thing happened to my boyfriend and our insurance covered it, so I would call both his and yours.

that makes sense. last time someone hit me from behind though, my insurance company did not sound interested when I called but advised me to let them know if it didn't work out.

blink · Coach

NCshopper wrote:

Thanks ladies! I'm definitely going to call his insurance company this afternoon. I think I knew I needed to do that, but needed someone else (you guys) to tell me. What really irritated me about the whole incident (aside from the plain fact that I didn't really feel in the mood for being rear-ended) was that the guy acted as if this happens all the time. He didn't even put out his cigarette. He just stood there smoking while I copied down all his insurance info and was like "sorry bout that, ma'am!"

heh. if he's a tail gater, it has probably happened before. I don't tail people, but I am kind not a great driver, I have rear ended someone three times in my life already. I have also been rear ended myself, and what I initially thought wasn't damage ended up being a $2000 claim I was glad I didn't ignore.