Got rear ended!!

[1883atlantics]

Today, 8am, going to Wal-Mart to get oil change supplies. Stopped in left hand lane behind a white caddy, leaned forward to get my coffee cup and glanced in my rear-view mirror....
Gold new Honda Pilot slowing to a stop behind me. Then, a dark blue 4 door sedan comes up really fast, and I saw her slam on the brakes, then I heard the crunch! She plowed into the gold Pilot (who had her foot firmly on the brake) and was shoved into me at less than 5mph is my guess. I was twisted a bit, but no pain yet. My car suffered and slightly folded lowermost bumper injury (hehe) but other than that there's no damage. Here's the kicker....
I immediately call the cops from my car, get out, and the Pilot driver (older lady) was very sweet, asked if I was OK, we both knew it wasn't HER fault....so we go to the blue sedan (young girl) and she can't tell me if she's OK or not. So I call for ambulance and she takes off. We thought she was going to pull over, but no, she TOOK OFF. Cops spotted her miles away (within 10mins) and she hasn't been found (the cop that saw her was doing another accident and was on foot at the time). Sucks! So what should I do? My fiance is an insurance agent, she said not to bother with it since I'm gonna re-paint my peeling bumper anyway. Any input guys?
Thanks
Jeff
90 2vzfe sedan Le
130k miles

[boi_si]

should of took the young girls keys and wait till the cops get there for report. its her fault.

[paulcalif]

I know it's not her fault, but she rear ended you. I think you would have a good chance of collecting from her insurance, but then you would have to live with yourself. I think you should just live with it or find the girl on your own. The cops never will...

[1883atlantics]

couldn't take the girls keys she didnt have the window all the way down. Cop said if we claim on insurance (me on Pilot's ins, Pilot on her own) then they will look hard for the girl, because they hate to eat the cost on hit-runs. Girl prob. doesnt have ins. that's why she ran, but now she's gonna be in more trouble.....I tend to agree with the idea that i'll just leave it be (the Pilot is the one that should look for her) and repaint my bumper down the road or repaint the car the same color. It looks fine as is, not like there is any easily visible damage.
Thanks guys
Jeff

[waimser]

Hey man i feel your pain. exactly the same thing happened to my girlfriend while she was driving our camry. she was the car in the middle though. When the cops found the hit and run offender they charged her with "dangerous driving"...... THATS IT...WTF. So anyway we try to get her name address and phone number so we can take legal action and the cops wont tell us. So this chic has got away with paying like a hundred buck fine for damaging two peopleds cars ang giving my girlfriend whiplash.....WTF. Where is the protection for the good guys. So anyway good luck, i sincerely hope you have more luck than us.

[monito]

when the girl took off, you should of called 911 to report hit and run. Especially if she was spotted. It was during the day, so i'm sure you could've given a good description of the car.

o well, hindsight is 20/20

[1883atlantics]

oh i could describe her no problem, but we thought she was pulling out of traffic, which around here is the law. we were both in shock of being slammed in to, and didnt notice she sped straight ahead instead of pulling into a parking lot. the cop even told us they wont put much effort into finding her. oh well.
I got a call from the other insurance company (unsolicited). I don't plan on claiming but the adjuster was a bitch, she said "oh and to end this conversation, we wont be paying since our client was shoved into you by the 3rd party that left the scene" I was like WTF I didnt ask you to pay for anything! Augh! I hate those adjusters.
jeff

[Doctor J]

You and old lady in the Honda should press criminal charges against the hit and run driver.
If you got the car plate. the cops could locate the car and question the owner.If the old lady will complain of any injuries the charge is going to be felony hit and run. The hit and run's car could be impouded and sold.

[scribby]

Thats terrible, people who hit and run should have there car and license taken away.
Theres no excuse for possibly injuring somone, damaging there property and running.

Its like when someone hits your car in a parking garage and just drives off, wheres the honesty and responsibility these days.

[HomeGrown]

Originally Posted by paulcalif

I think you would have a good chance of collecting from her insurance, but then you would have to live with yourself. ...

This is a moral dilemma now? Get real. It's a business decision. You PAY dearly for insurance to protect your investment, and the fact remains that the HONDA plowed into your car, NOT the runner. It wasn't your fault, so your car should be fixed. If any insurance company tries to sidestep their responsibility because there was a hit-n-run involved, I'd get an attorney involved to recover damages. My advice would be to distance yourself from the hit-n-run aspect of this accident. She's not your problem, and getting your car fixed shouldn't in any way, shape, or form be dependent on her getting caught and dragged in. She's the Honda driver's problem.

[1883atlantics]

^ I agree, but the damage to my car was minimal. Not to mention the bumper already has paint chips and paint peeling. So I could get an attorney involved, but I'd lose money on the deal. No attorney will touch this low-money case. I mean, at most, I'd see a couple/few hundred bucks for the bumper repair. It's growing to be less and less worth my time to deal with those ahole adjusters. That bitch that called me up (who wasn't a bitch until that "we won't pay" comment) just irked me. Thanks for all your input guys I appreciate it!
Jeff

[Doctor J]

If the claim adjuster is refusing to admit that your car was damaged just file complaint against your insurance company.
From my own experience they are here just to take your money for ins. payments, but when they have to pay back they disappear.I had horrible experience with 21st century and I terminated this policy.However, my current company is no way better.
In California the DMV, CHP and insurance companies are "corrupted" (the driver is forced to obtain insurance to register the car, but the quality of the insurance services is well below the acceptable level-if it not your fault-they do not care!)

[HomeGrown]

Insurance companies have DEEP pockets, and that's exactly how they keep them deep... by blowing off small claims like this. BTW Jeff, I don't blame you for not pursuing repairs if the added stress is not worth the minor damage.
But I thought all states now adopted "No Fault" for car insurance, basically meaning that your ins. company pays for your car, regardless of fault (although the deductable is waived if the damage isn't your fault). This also means that you never have to deal with the other person's insurance company, only your own.

We had Geico for awhile, and I have to say they were very good to deal with. My wife had a claim on her Blazer a few years ago, and they covered that no problem, as well as towing 2 times for me. They were very helpful. We dropped them when we moved to KY because they don't cover there.

[1883atlantics]

Ah, I forgot to mention that! Thanks to Doctor J and HomeGrown. My deductible is too high to cover any of this. We've never had Geico, they weren't competitive in pricing compared to the others we went with. Every so often we'll shop around and switch (few years) if the prices are better. Of course, we don't let them run our credit until we've narrowed it down. It sucks they "have" to do that, but according to them better credit = more responsible. Go figure. Like if a person can't pay their bills on time, that somehow means they can't control their car. Lame, but we don't worry about it (our credit isn't bad).
Even though my fiance is in the industry, I think it's a corruption of the system that insurance companies made it so that you must legally carry proof of financial responsibility at all times on public roads. I wish it were not so. My father, for the longest time, just carried an insurance bond (but he wasn't in the States that often to drive).
Jeff
ps. [off topic] Anyone want to buy a HC1400 Kinetik battery, brand new? Mine didn't fit!! So it's going back to the retailer Monday.

[HomeGrown]

Yeah, I don't really understand the correlation of a credit score to insurance rates. It's not like you're getting anything on credit.