Who finds out about a hit-and-run accident?

Q: My coworker hit a bicyclist and nothing has been reported. His car is damaged. Will his insurance company know that he did a hit and run? What happens next?

A: Well my question would be why is this a hit-and-run accident? Did your friend hit the bicyclist and then take off without making sure that person was okay and without giving them his insurance information?

His insurance company will not find out if there was no police report filed and the other person doesn’t file a claim. His insurance company will also not find out if he doesn’t put in a claim for the damages to his vehicle.

While this may be good news, if he did indeed flee from the scene of an accident the damages to his vehicle can link him to the accident and then he can expect a whole lot of legal trouble in the future.  In other words, his insurance company finding out about the accident will be the least of his worries.

Talking to a live person is best to solve a de-insured mystery.

Question: After I am ready to put insurance back on after being de-insured, what do I need to do? Also I put the de-insure on and the website said the car is already de-insured even though I have been driving it for months, does not really make sense. As the website does not give me any dates showing when the car is de-insured and in this case no reference number either.

Answer: This is definitely something you need to contact the Motor Vehicle Division about immediately. Talk to a live person and have them look through your records to figure out what is going on before you get in trouble for driving around a vehicle that is supposed to be showing as insured and not de-insured.

Hitting a car at 17 doesn’t mean an automatic insurance rate increase.

Question: I was in a little fender bender in October of this year. I was in bumper to bumper traffic and I accidently bumped the car in front of me. There were minor scratches and I placed my finger across them and it was almost as if they smeared off but there were about 3 minor scratches. We didn’t make a police report the women just called her insurance company and claimed. I’m 17 years old and I’ve only had my license since June of this year. Btw I have no tickets and I’ve never been in an accident. What will happen to my insurance? Will it increase rapidly?

Answer: Okay, this is a great question to get right now because it is pretty similar to the last question we answered. HOWEVER, the difference here is the amount of damage that was caused and the fact that a police report was NOT filed.  One, there will be no record on your DMV report, so that will not affect your insurance rates. Two, the damage is so minor that even if it does come up on a C.L.U.E report for you, the amount of damage puts it under the threshold that insurance companies usually use to decide whether or not it will affect your rates.

So most likely you will not see your insurance rates go up, but each insurance company is different so you won’t know for sure until your next renewal.

The repercussions after you hit a car affect not just you.

Question: I am 17 years old. I was on my way to school and I hit a car. I was pressing the brake pedal to slow down and stop but it wasn’t working and I ended up hitting the side of the other guy’s car. I drive a truck, there wasn’t much damage to it, just a broken head light, 2 dents to the front bumper and its leaking antifreeze. The guy that I hit, he car got dented up a couple of places. The back door by the passenger side is where got hit. The police were called and everything was sorted out. I am not on the insurance policy because it was my uncle’s truck I was using. How much would the insurance go up? Would it go up? Please help.

Answer: Yes, your uncle’s insurance is most likely going to go up because it was his insurance company that paid for the accident. You are also going to see high insurance rates when you get your own insurance because the accident is going to be on your DMV record. As far as the amount each insurance policy will go up because you hit a car, there is no way to be able to tell you.

Figuring out how much your car insurance premium will be before you buy is easier than you think.

Q: Hello! I got into a car accident about three years ago. It was my fault and I did not have car insurance. The damages were 6,000 dollars, so now I am making monthly payments to the insurance company. I want to figure out how much car insurance will be for me before I buy a car. If its ridiculously high I will put a hold on buying a car until I am more financially stable. How do I find out an estimate of how much my car insurance will be?

A: First, collect the information for the vehicle you are looking to purchase (VIN, year, make and model). Next, call an insurance agent or insurance company for a quote on a policy. Make sure when you are giving them your information that you include ALL of your accident information so that you get the most accurate quote possible.

This will give you a very good idea of how much your insurance premium will be.