One of the first things you should do is call 911, even if no one is injured. The responding officer, or officers, will write up a police report documenting the accident, which may be necessary to make an insurance claim on the damage.
You should also try to collect as much information as possible. If the driver who hit your parked car is at the scene, take down their insurance information, including their provider name and policy number. You should also record their license plate number, as well as the make and model of their car.
If the other driver isn’t at the scene, let’s hope they did the right thing and left a note. If they didn’t, well, that would make it a hit-and-run, which is a scenario we’ll go over later. But assuming they left a note with their name, contact information and insurance policy number, snap a quick photo of the note so you have an extra copy.
If you have a smartphone handy, you should also take photos of the damage to your car as well as the location of the incident. Ask around to see if there were any eyewitnesses and get their contact information too. If your car insurance company has a mobile app, you may be able to report the accident right from the scene, and upload your photos and other information straight into the app.
Now you’ll need to start the claims process. Contact your insurance, if you haven’t already, and give them all the necessary information. Tell them you’re planning on filing a claim with the other party’s insurance. Then notify the other party’s insurance and tell them you’re filing a claim against one of their policyholders. You can usually do this online or over the phone.
Stay on top of the process, you may be asked to provide more documents or information. The other driver’s liability insurance should cover the damage they caused. If you’ve notified your insurer, they may also work with the other party’s provider.
Contact us today for more information: https://johnsonandjohnsonlaw.com/personal-injury/
Auto accident involving two cars on a city street
