QuestionHi, my name is Neal and I live in Alabama. I was recently in an accident in which I was completely at fault. This was obvious at the time of the accident. When I got out of the vehicle to see if the other person was physically hurt, he assured me everything was ok; as this was a minor accident. So I told him we needed, for his sake, a police report. He was in a hurry to catch a flight and said he did not have time to wait, so I gave him my insurance information and we parted ways. I told him at the time of the accident to get an estimate from a body shop and I would most likely pay out of pocket so my premium would not increase as this was minor damage. The next day, I tried contacting him several times, to no avail. I was then contacted the day after that, by my insurance company, and informed that he had already filed the claim. My question is: are there no regulations as to whom and how a claim can be filed; even if there is no police report? I did not think it was legal for someone who is not the policy holder to file a claim without documentation of the accident. Please advice. Thank you for your help.
AnswerHello,
I do not know if it is legal. I am not an attorney, however relating back to my experience with claims for more than 17 years, I have seen claims filed against someone's policy without the insureds knowledge.
I have seen this done fraudulently as well.
After all, you being naive and honest gave him card blanche by giving him the insurance information. He can claim injury even if he was not hurt. He could say pre-existing damage is related. Worse yet, you have no police report on damages.
Did he have a driver's license, insurance? Why was he really in a hurry and couldn't wait for a cop?
Its too late now, but if you are on a public roadway and involved in an accident, never give your insurance information without a police report to document the damages and injuries.
You can't be blamed. You did not know, but there a lot of crooks out there and you might have run into one. Pun intended.
