What Do You Do When Someone Hits Your Parked Car?

Parking lots are notorious for accidents - they are busy and confusing, making them prime locations for car collisions.

 

Picture this: You go to a shopping mall with your loved one for a relaxing Friday evening. Things were going great, but you found your car in a parking lot with scratches, broken taillights, and damaged bumpers. Someone hit your parked vehicle and ran away. What do you do now?

 

Here are some tips for handling a hit-and-run accident:

Call the police immediately

Depending on how severe the vehicle damage is to your vehicle, the police may or may not come out. But you can always file a police report documenting the accident - This is vital for insurance purposes as they tend to be skeptical about hit & run accidents due to the large number of fraudulent claims they deal with every year.

 

Bear in mind: You lawfully have 5 days from the collision date to report a crash to the authorities in Massachusetts.

Record evidence and contact the insurance company

Collect as much information as possible, and take pictures and videos of the damage.

 

After contacting the police to file an accident, you must notify your insurance provider of the incident as soon as possible. Your insurance provider may use reporting delays as a reason to deny your damage claim. Report what happened to you on the same day to help expedite your claims process.

Book an appointment with an auto collision repair shop

Collision coverage will pay the repair or replace your vehicle regardless of who is at fault, including damage from your parked car being hit by another car. Your insurance company often suggests places to take your vehicle for repairs, but you don't have to use one of their repair shops. You can choose an auto body shop you feel comfortable with or look for one in your neighborhood.

 

In Massachusetts, you have the legal right to always take your vehicle to the repair shop of your choice.

 

Do your research and select the right auto body shop for your vehicle. You want to make everything easy for yourself while you wait for the repair.

Insurance Claim Handling

An accident is always stressful, and filing a claim can be time-consuming. There's really no need for you to be the middle man between your repair shop and your insurance company. Your collision repair shop should coordinate all the work on your vehicle for you, from the initial estimate to final billing.

Are you searching for the best auto body shop to handle all your car repairs going forward? Call the Toucan Auto Center to speak with a team member.