Auto Insurance Claims: Claims Procedure, information phone number, noticeable marks

Question
Hello, i was involved in a seemingly minor accident over a month ago.  I was coming home from work when i rear ended someone in the process of switching lanes after being cut off by someone in the lane i was attempting to switch into. i was going about five mph and slid into the car in front of me from a distance of about five-ten feet.  now immediately prior to the accident i witnessed the people in the car taking pictures, including the driver, both in them and taking them.  they were listening to extremely loud music singing along and making the car shake as they drove as well as talking to people in nearby cars.  there were four girls in the car and i was by myself and they were leaving a concert and the traffic was dead stopped for about 25 minutes so i had lots of time to grow nervous being behind her and the one moment i took my eyes off of her she slammed on her breaks.  after the collision i got out of the car and checked to make sure everyone was okay in her car.  they were all uninjured.  i asked the driver if she would like to check her vehicle and she said she didnt know.  i then asked her to get out of her car and check whatever damage there might be with me.  her rear bumper must have had previous damage because their was noticeable marks but most looked old and she said her car was fine but i offered to exchange information (phone number, plate number and name) anyways which we then did.  there were police officers around directing traffic but none of them attempted to speak with any of us, in hindsight i should have just gone and got one because the girls may have been drinking cause they had just been at a concert and they were at least behaving somewhat recklessly which is beside the point.  five days later the driver's boyfriend calls me and asks for my insurance information which i did not have on me at the time although he did tell me that the damages were 595 dollars.  i called back later that day and he answered her phone again and i asked to speak to her. when i told her i had some questions about what happened that night and she replied she would call me sometime soon and i never heard from her again but she did tell me that she had yet to contact her agency.  two days ago  which is 41 days after the accident,a claims professional calls me and tells me he needs my insurance information because her father, the owner of the car, and who now claims it is his primary vehicle even though two different people described it as her car, has processed a claim.  he then proceeds to tell me that if i withhold my insurance information, and i am properly insured, i can lose my license.  so i have a few questions.  can i really lose my license when there is no police report and no evidence there was ever an accident albeit they do  have my plate number, phone number and name?  can i somehow prove that there was previous damage and whatever i may have caused is minimal?  is there anyway her fathers insurance company will listen to my side of the story and drop the claim because the story the claims agent had heard included none of what actually happened, in fact it said nothing at all except we got into an accident? i am extremely frustrated because i feel like at first i was trying to do the right thing by exchanging information and checking on them only to then feel like they are trying to extort money out of me.  now i feel like i am the victim of some kind of insurance fraud because the father processed the claim after her boyfriend tried to get either money or my insurance information out of me and never once was it mentioned that it was her fathers car and that she was not the owner until the claims agent called me.  it just seems to be very unprofessional and suspicious that the father would allow his daughters boyfriend to call me if he is the owner and primary driver of that car.  any ideas or information would be a great help, thank you.

Answer
Hi Jamesm

I understand your frustration, however, if you hit the other car in the rear you are responsible for the damage. All of the other stuff is irrelevent. The amount being asked for ($595.00) is very reasonable. Auto repairs and repainting are very expensive. It could cost close to that just to paint the bumper cover. In this case you should either turn it over to your insurance company or you should call the othe vehicle owner and offer to make a cash settlement of say $500.00. You should meet in person with the vehicle owner and have him sign a full release of all claims form before you give him any money. That way they can not later for more money nor can they make a claim against your insurance.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh