What do I do when someone hit my parked car and Leaves?

Actionable steps at the scene

If you were not in the car when the car was hit and it it was in a parking lot or on the street, this is what you should do.

1. 1. Contact the Police

This is not just a routine step that is a waste of time; instead, it is a necessity to notify the police every time. This is important if you want the incident to be documented appropriately. When you make a report, the official document that will be documented will be useful for your insurance claim. But if you don’t do it, it will be a lot of back and forth when you need to file for an insurance claim. When you make the report, remember to get the officer’s details so that it will be easy to go back for any further documentation.

Sometimes when you call the police, they might be unavailable to get to you at the moment. If that is the case, you should make sure you file the incident yourself and submit the physical or virtual report.

1. 2. Check for Security Cameras

You will be lucky to find a security camera that covers the crash of your car. So, you should check around for the security cameras if you can. But if you don’t find any immediately, ask shop owners around if there is a hidden camera that you can’t see quickly. Once you have the video footage, it will shed light on what happened with your car and the culprit involved.

1. 3. Document the Details

Even if you can’t find video footage, the next major thing you should do is to remember important details. You should be able to pen down the date and time of the accident or when you realize it. Also, you have to write the location, a time frame of the car parked and any other thing you think would be useful. If you note it down immediately, you can remember many things at that time than wait for weeks after the crash.

1. 4. Take Pictures

The best form of evidence is always pictures. Therefore, if there is an accident, take as many photos as possible. Once you have gotten first-hand pictures, you can support them when filing for an insurance claim. Also, the photos will help you remember some details if you forget them.

When taking pictures, take the most intricate places, hence be thorough. The type of pictures you should take should include:

• • The damage to the car
  • The vehicle position when it was hit (either on the street or parking space)
  • The major landmark of the incident
  • Other damages on other vehicles or objects
  • The condition of the weather

Also, remember to take pictures at different angles to view the damage better. When you take so many photos and videos, you can be able to have a good view of the car’s damage and the scene.

Will Insurance Cover Repairs?

If you ever get involved in an accident, whether you were in the car or not, you must call your insurance company as quickly as you can. No matter the type of accident or the location of the accident, your insurance company should be aware of the collision.

If you or your car were involved in a hit and run situation, it might be hard to put the bills on someone you cant identify. Therefore, you will need to trust your insurance coverage to foot the bill. But if you can locate the driver, your insurance might not have to raise a finger in that case.

Once your insurance includes collision coverage, they will help cover most of the cost when a collision occurs. But, sometimes, you might have to pay a deductible to cover part of the repairs. In some states, this is not so as you won’t have to pay anything once you have property damage coverage in your insurance plan.