Auto Insurance Claims: Extremely minor fender bender in california, no damage to either car, insurance called anyway?, minor fender bender, auto insurance claims

Question

damage   QUESTION: Hi there!

Question for you:

I was a party in an extremely minor fender bender in California, if you could call it that. A person in front of our vehicle went through a stop sign then inexplicably stopped short. We bumped them from behind at less than 5 mph. We pulled over, investigated cars, and there was limited/no damage to either vehicle (attached picture. It is hard to see what is dirt and what is damage. The only thing we could attribute as damage is the 1" vertical scratch on the bumper) We were in a friend's car (the owner was not present).  We took photos of their car to prove no distinguishable damage, and agreed with the owner as such.  It was a black car with scratches already on it/around the bumper, and it was impossible to distinguish any damage done from our car, as we had none either (not even a paint smudge). There were no witnesses, outside of one person is his car and people in our car.  It was night time.

We were both in an extreme rush. No police were called, and I actually didn't get the other car's name (have his license plate). He took down our NJ driver's license, name, and cell phone.  No insurance info was exchanged. We parted ways amicably.

Just received a call from a Farmer's insurance agent asking for the car owner's name and policy numbers.  How do you think we should proceed? We were driving a friend's car.  Again, limited information was exchanged between us, and no police were called. My thinking is just to respond to the next Farmer's call and ask them to send me precise details of what was involved and why. I have no interest in getting my friend's auto insurance raised over such a small incident (I know, no incident is too small).

Thank you and best regards.

ANSWER: Hi Jon,

You are correct. No incident is too small. Especially in this case. Based on your description of events, this may have been a staged accident. The other driver may have intentionally hit his brakes so you would bump him in the rear. Now the occupants of that vehicle are likely both represented by the same attorney and treating with a chiropractor.

You need to tell your friend about the incident and you need to contact his insurance company. You need to give a detailed statement about what happened and when. Send them the photos you took at the seen. The more info you give the better. Auto insurance follows the car not the driver. So it is your friends insurance that must deal with this. The insurance company will investigate and try to minimize any potential claim against you or your friend.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------


"damage"   QUESTION: Thank you, Richard. I'm wondering if you have any advice on keeping my friend's insurance out of this if at all possible? I watched the man write down my NJ license number, snap a photo of it (which I protested, but he didn't speak english and neither of us were getting anywhere with that). The really dumb part of me was not getting his contact info. But we were both flustered, I wasn't even positive we hit his car (there really wasn't any damage that you could feel or relate to my bumper/license plate).

If/when his Farmer's agent calls me back, can I plead the 5th and just request all the information related to the case? (the claim report, who the person even is, contact info). I'd really like to get a day time picture of his car pronto and contact them, but as of now, I have no way of doing that.  Since he's already called his insurance, can the claim be stopped if I can somehow get a hold of him and just pay off any "damage"?

My biggest fear isn't any kind of whiplash claim (again, no witnesses, and no confirmation that we even hit them! We thought the brakes just stopped suddenly, but then they turned on their flashers and got out of the car), but getting my friend's insurance involved and resulting in a problem for her (or costly for me, really!). In your experience, if something like this "occurs" and literally doesn't do damage, what are the chances of my friend's clean insurance going up, and by how much? (we're in California)

Thanks again for your insight, it's really helpful. I've attached another picture to indicate the "damage" the smudges you see are my fingerprints trying to wipe away the dirt to see if there's damage.

Answer
Hi Jon,

I understand. But there is nothing you can do now. The insurance company will not give you any information. You can try to call them and expalain there is no damage. You can ask them to send you a damage repair estimate to see what they are seeking. You can ask them if there are any injuries being alleged. They may answer some or none of your questions. The only way to protect yourself and your friend is to report this to your friends insurance.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh