Tritonal

So about a couple weeks ago, someone backed into my S7 in a parking lot and caused a decent amount of damage (so far from whats visible on the rear bumper minus whats hiding beneath)... We both get out of our cars and i ask him if he saw me - he says that he didn't see me in his rearview or passenger side mirror and also mentions that his driver side mirror is broken. He wanted to settle it privately, but I said no and then I proceeded to get his insurance info and called the police. We give our statements and whatnot and went on our separate ways (it was late and I was tired, but in hindsight I feel like I should have done something else). So the next day, I call my insurance just to report it and then file a claim with the other party's insurance company. I provided them with my evidence (dashcam footage, pictures, etc).

As an FYI, the driver who hit me was not the owner of the car... the owner of the car does have insurance though... but fast forward to today, I give a call to their insurance company asking for an upidate and they tell me that they can't get ahold of the policyholder and that it looks like the driver who hit my S7 might not be on the policy's coverage...? I know in some states, additional insureds might not appear on the insurance cards, but it's weird that it didn't show up when the police ran their license and insurance. I feel like this should be an open and shut case as I have dashcam footage and the police report (driver admits to hitting me bc of broken driver side mirror). Has anyone run into a similar situation before? What are my options? I know the insurance company can deny my claim due to either 1) driver might not be covered under the policyholders coverage or 2) policyholder/owner of car not cooperating/answering their insurance company. Sorry I'm all over the place, but I've never had such an experience before and it's a pain in the ***. I'm trying to avoid going through my own insurance as I don't fancy paying a higher premium. Their insurance is StateFarm btw.

Stroock639

sorry to hear that, but were you both driving at the time or were you still parked? if so, your insurance wouldn't go up... when i was a GEICO agent i would hope that an accident which came up turned out to be while the PH was parked since the price wouldn't go up and i'd have no troubles completing the sale lol... in fact my supervisor once gave me a scolding due to my "interpretation" that a parked accident could include being stopped at a red light (it can't)

as someone who once worked in that industry i say avoid involving insurance for as long as possible, almost always a hassle and there's no rewards for honesty... oh and if the guy who hit you wasn't a covered driver on the policy (called a lending loss) it could mean BAD news for the policyholder, like flat out policy cancellation and other companies not taking them anymore

geko29

There are only limited instances where the owner of the vehicle isn't responsible for damages caused by it. Here are the ones I'm aware of:

1) The vehicle has been stolen, and has been reported as such in a timely fashion
2) The vehicle is in the possession of an entity (like a dealership service department) that has legally taken CCC (Care, Custody, and Control) of it
3) The vehicle is being driven without the owner's permission by a licensed driver living in their household who is explicitly excluded BY NAME on the policy.

Pretty much anything else is considered privileged use, and the owner and/or their insurance is responsible. Note that #3 is not "isn't listed on the policy". That doesn't cut it. They have to be identified by name as not being covered.

You're getting the runaround from the liable party, and you don't have to deal with that. File with your own insurance, and let them subrogate. This is why you pay them. You'll pay your deductible up front, but get it back when they collect from SF, and your rates will not go up.

Stroock639

your 3 points are correct however even a no fault accident will often still cause rates to go up, the only cases where i've never seen it go up after is if the car that got hit was still parked

Tritonal

My case is a bit weird... I was picking someone up from the train station and there are parking spots (literally just one row of spaces) that face the train tracks and right behind the spaces is just like a small shoulder area before the main road. I already had my passenger in the car and was in drive but fully stopped with blinkers on ready to merge onto the main road when the guy backs into my car. Essentially anyone who backs up has to wait for cars on the main road to pass before they can merge on.

So what do you think StateFarm will do? I know there are a lot of technicalities because of the different state laws, policy coverages, etc. so it's probably hard to say. Although with my evidence, I don't think theres any arguing who is at fault here - other driver even got a verbal warning from the police...

Damn, and I was about to look into maybe trading this car in for something new and this happens. Definitely going to file for diminished value...

Stroock639

hard to say... considering the goal of an insurance company is to avoid paying out for any reason, and to increase your premiums for any reason lol

but it sounds like you were still in a "parking space" in which case i don't see how or why this could be considered a regular accident that occurred out on the road, and therefore shouldn't be treated as such

i never worked in claims but as a new policy sales agent i got to see many different criteria points that underwriting will use to justify a premium increase, however in this case it truly sounds like you deserve no penalty... also lmao when i first read this post title i thought holy crap someone here has a Saleen S7?

geko29

But this is not a no fault accident. By definition, if subrogation is successful (which based on the description it should be) then the other party's insurance has accepted fault.

Stroock639

well that "if" always makes me weary lol... prior driving history and severity/cost of the damage all factor in, i'm just saying the best case scenario (at least as far as GEICO was concerned) was always if the accident was considered a "parked" loss, which luckily this actually seems like it is

Tritonal

Other person's insurance company finally got back to me today... They're going to fix my car since it was not my fault (pretty obvious). Not sure if they were able to reach out to their insured, but maybe they made the decision without them since I gave them all the evidence they needed. Now what shop to pick... decisions, decisions. Honestly not sure what to do. Bring it to an approved shop by SF or a shop of my choosing. I know the first option could possibly be less of a hassle but not sure how the repairs will turn out.

Vladi

For a second, I thought you were talking about Saleen S7

jgscott

iTrader: (1)

After you have had your car repaired look into filing a Diminished value claim with their insurance. It varies from State to state, but you are entitled to a additional pay out due to the Carfax and loss of value based on your cars value, before the accident vs after the accident CF report and repairs.

T-Rex06

iTrader: (12)

I'm sorry that it happened to you. Since you captured the incident on your dash cam, don't even bother dealing with the other party's insurance. You're not at fault and you got all the necessary info, so let your insurance file the claim. Your insurance will waive your deductible also.

I was in a similar situation as you. Someone backed into my parked car. I reported to my insurance (AAA) and gave them the other driver's info and insurance. AAA took care of everything and no increase in my premium. Best of luck.

lex_rx

Made a mistake once if using a recommended body shop. Paint started chipping after a few years.

I always used a Lexus dealer-owned body shop after that.

So use a dealer-owned body shop who will also use original parts and matching paint.

geko29

Since this is an S7 we're talking about, it's important to note that Audi has very few dealer-owned body shops--for example, there isn't a single one anywhere in the entire Chicagoland market, which is the #2 metro area in terms of vehicle sales volume behind LA. However, they have very strict standards for certified shops, which use only OE parts and paint specs, and receive factory training for specialties like working on aluminum. We had our Q7 repaired about 4 years ago at one near our house, and they did a spectacular job. Still looks brand new today.

Tritonal

I wouldn't go as far as saying dealer owned body shops do the best job, I've definitely had bad experiences with them too. The thing is most of the time, the insurance reccomended or approved shops have a warranty on the work they do, so you can easily complain and have them fix it.

I found a shop that does a lot of repairs on high end cars and they also have a lifetime warranty on the work, so I'm not worried.