Hit and Run

by Luca

I was parked outside one of my friends houses. My car is dented as a result of a hit and run which i noticed as soon as I got to my car. Its not very severe, the rear quarter panel is dented.

I called the insurance company right away and asked them if i needed to file a police report and they told me that i did not have to. Somebody told me today that if i had filed a police report I would not be responsible for my deductible regarding repairs. Is this true? I live in Michigan.


Answer:

Hi Luca,

Sorry to hear about the hit and run. Well, usually you do have to file a policy report if there is no physical contact between the two vehicles. This is known as a phantom vehicle claim. It happens when a vehicle "cuts you off" or make you go off road and you crash you car.

The person that cuts you of would be at fault, but her/his vehicle never came into contact with yours. This type of claim must be reported to the police. The insurance company wants to make sure that you do not make things up and there is more evidence (a police report) to justify your damages.

Your case is different, there is physical contact, so you are not required to file the police report. If you file a police report, would your deductible be less?

Well, you need to read your policy under the uninsured property damage coverage. The common situation is that you have a lower deductible if the person that caused the accident is known. If you do not have a police report, that would be very hard to asses.

However, most hit and run accidents go unsolved and the police never ready investigate deeper than that.

Filing a police report is not very difficult. You can come into the police station and file a "walk in report", that way if you do get a discount, then you have the report. It will take you 10 minutes to do.

I hope this helps some