hit and run happened last night.

[bhbnuckle]

I need some help on hit and run accident
I parked my car at young and cummer coffee time parking lot for an hour then I found somebody hit my front left bumper and took off (mother eff er).
Thanks god fully I had my dash cam running through the parking mode so i was able to find license plate number. Reported right to the collision centre + police and filled out the suspicious form and stuff.

I called insurance company this morning to report hit and run but they're saying I still have to pay deductible for the incident occur and deductible will be reimbursed once they find the hitter. But it won't be reimbursed if they can't find who those that and will remain in my history.

It is less than $300 worth of accident as the bumper doesn't need to be replaced if I fix it out of my pocket.


Should I wait for police to get back to me or report to insurance company and open a claim as I have their license plate in Video.

I need you guys/gals's opinion!!!

Thanks in advance.

[Tcoat]

I would wait until the police get back to you. There is no deadline for the claim since it has been filed so no big rush (other then a messed up bumper of course). I would also give the plate number to the insurance company as they may try harder that the police to find the other guy.

[raven1231]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I would wait until the police get back to you. There is no deadline for the claim since it has been filed so no big rush (other then a messed up bumper of course). I would also give the plate number to the insurance company as they may try harder that the police to find the other guy.

This

[bhbnuckle]

But my insurance broker said they can process the investigation once the claim is set.. they won't do anything unless I place a claim.

[tiz22]

I was actually in the same situation a couple years ago.... Transport rear-ended me and took off but I quickly snapped a picture of his plate before pulling over and calling the cops.

They said they tried to find him but because it was a Quebec plate they couldn't understand him (french) when they tried to call so it wasn't looking good... I said are you kidding me? Let me talk I speak french - I'll find him

Sure enough 2 weeks later they said they charged him and there would be nothing against me..

Bottom line - give the plate # to both cops + insurance and don't stop pushing til they find the person responsible. In the mean time I guess you'll be driving around with a bruised bumper

[Rameus]

In my recent not at fault collision (which coincidentally is the reason I now have an FR-S), the other driver was not the vehicle owner. In my naivety, I also didn't insist on insurance info at the scene. I went to two different police stations with the other vehicle's license plate number. The most they could tell me was (a) the other vehicle was insured with Company X and (b) the name of the owner.

That information was sufficient for my insurance company to get the insurance information of the other party. However, when speaking with them on the phone before making a claim, they did not seem to guarantee that finding the insurance information of the other party was possible.

Have you actually opened a claim yet, or just asked your insurance company a bunch of questions? If you haven't opened a claim yet, I would try to determine if opening a claim will affect your rates, both for the case where they find the other party's insurance info and for the case where they can't. Then weigh the potential increased cost against just fixing it yourself.

[bhbnuckle]

Originally Posted by tiz22

I was actually in the same situation a couple years ago.... Transport rear-ended me and took off but I quickly snapped a picture of his plate before pulling over and calling the cops.

They said they tried to find him but because it was a Quebec plate they couldn't understand him (french) when they tried to call so it wasn't looking good... I said are you kidding me? Let me talk I speak french - I'll find him

Sure enough 2 weeks later they said they charged him and there would be nothing against me..

Bottom line - give the plate # to both cops + insurance and don't stop pushing til they find the person responsible. In the mean time I guess you'll be driving around with a bruised bumper

Thanks for the sharing the experience!

Did you get it fixed through the insurance company before you find the person responsible?

[bhbnuckle]

Originally Posted by Rameus

In my recent not at fault collision (which coincidentally is the reason I now have an FR-S), the other driver was not the vehicle owner. In my naivety, I also didn't insist on insurance info at the scene. I went to two different police stations with the other vehicle's license plate number. The most they could tell me was (a) the other vehicle was insured with Company X and (b) the name of the owner.

That information was sufficient for my insurance company to get the insurance information of the other party. However, when speaking with them on the phone before making a claim, they did not seem to guarantee that finding the insurance information of the other party was possible.

Have you actually opened a claim yet, or just asked your insurance company a bunch of questions? If you haven't opened a claim yet, I would try to determine if opening a claim will affect your rates, both for the case where they find the other party's insurance info and for the case where they can't. Then weigh the potential increased cost against just fixing it yourself.

I haven't opened a claim yet, they were saying once the claim is opened it will be remained on my history and has to pay deductible in advance so i said nono.

Should I visit actual police station to give away the information instead of just wait for collion centre police get back to me?

[tiz22]

Originally Posted by bhbnuckle

Thanks for the sharing the experience!

Did you get it fixed through the insurance company before you find the person responsible?

I believe I did because at first I didn't think there was any chance they weren't going to find the guy...If I were you I would just wait because you can still drive the car without repairing it

[Tcoat]

Not sure about a hit and run but when I was recently hit by debris on the highway it was covered under my comprehensive insurance not by collision. The reason it was not collision was the debris was moving and hit me I didn't hit it.
Not sure about your coverage but for me the comprehensive coverage was only $100 deductible and does not go on the car or my record as an accident.
Of course none of this may apply since you were hit by a car with a driver but may be worth asking about.

[Rameus]

Originally Posted by bhbnuckle

I haven't opened a claim yet, they were saying once the claim is opened it will be remained on my history and has to pay deductible in advance so i said nono.

Should I visit actual police station to give away the information instead of just wait for collion centre police get back to me?

Where my collision happened (Brampton), the reporting centre was a police station...to be honest, I am somewhat surprised that you could even file a report at the collision centre without the insurance information of the other party...but that's beside the point here.

Have you asked your insurance company if the license plate number of the other vehicle will be enough for them to find the other party's insurance information? In my case, my insurance company (wawanesa at the time) was able to find the other party's insurance information using the license plate #, owner name, and insurance company name. I suspect the only important piece of information is the license plate # though.

Going to the police station to ask for information may still be worth a try though, you don't really lose anything except for the time to go there. You should probably also get yourself a quote from a decent shop, and try to determine if the potential increase in your rates will cost more than simply getting it fixed on your own dime. I know it sucks, but such is the system here.

The way I see it, you have three options:

1. Ignore insurance, get it fixed yourself. Probably cost $300? Get a quote to be sure.

2. Open a claim, and insurance company finds insurance information of other party. Cost to you after all is said and done = $0 (after reimbursement) + potential rate increase? Inquire with your insurance as to whether your rate may go up.

3. Open a claim, and your insurance company cannot find insurance information of other party. Cost to you = $deductible + potential rate increase?

[bhbnuckle]

Collision centre which I went had both reporting centre and police station in one building so it was quick access. I asked my broker but she told me that it is not 100% guaranteed to find out other party's insurance information by using license plate# but most cases YES. I just didn't want to take a risk of not finding the guy and paying $1000 deductible + history on my insurance record as this is not a huge accident. My broker said it won't affect my insurance rate however I don't believe what insurance company says anyway.

I'm still debating what to do as Canadian police system is really slow on investigating in minor accidents.

[VTEC]

Originally Posted by bhbnuckle

Should I visit actual police station to give away the information instead of just wait for collion centre police get back to me?

Yes visit the police station and find out if anyone is actually bothering to look into your case. I'm sorry to say but from what I've heard cops don't give a shit about hit and run unless someone died. Just like burglaries or robberies.

My friend chased down a hit and run vehicle until he got close enough to see the license plate. Then he pulled over and gave the plate to the police. He was told unless he saw the guy's face and could identify him in court, they won't even bother to investigate. The officer suggested that he should've continued following the vehicle "at a safe speed" until a police car could take over the pursuit.

I have a feeling that nobody at the police station really cares to investigate your case and you might as well just file the insurance claim and fix your car now. But hopefully I'm wrong and maybe you get an eager cop or something. They probably could just visit the registered address and bluff one of them into confessing. And even if nobody confesses and they can't lay charges, maybe having the police show up at their door would make them park a little more carefully.

[Mr.Impreza]

Insurance = New age Mafia.

I once had a rental car and someone hit it in a parking lot. I remember having to pay $500.00 deductible and the insurance covered the other $500.00.

Later on when i noticed they were trying to be sneaky and increase rates so i just switched to another company. So i mean you could do the same if worst case scenario.