umcp

hi fellow cl'ers,

got into a minor accident with my cl.

i was driving on 495 into virginia just after the ww bridge around midnight and the van in front of me had a storm door tied to the top of it.

all of a sudden the storm door flew off and and shattered. i missed running over the frame but the shattered glass was still airborne and i drove right through it.
there are a bunch of scratches and gouges in the paint all over my car. some down to the metal. no one was hurt luckily.

we both stopped, exchanged info and called the police. the va state trooper said it was an 'incident' and not an accident because our cars were not directly involved. so there was no report done.

i called gieco (his insurance company) and filed a claim.

this is the first time i've been in an accident that was not my fault.
my question is..
should i call my insurance company and tell them what happened?
if i do will my premium go up? i have USAA.

thanks,
john

notcreative

if the van's drivers insurance pays for everything then there is no need for you to talk to your insurance company. If there is problems with his insurance then yes contact yours.

This is a good reason to get a custom paint job now

blk2001tlon19s

That's sucks. Did you get the van driver's information? If not and you submit to your insurance and they pay your premium should go up some however if you got the van drivers information and their insurance pays it wouldn't affect your insurance and you wouldn't even have to tell them. Hope everything works out for you.

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

Call your insurance, explain the problem but tell them YOU ARE NOT FILING A CLAIM AGAINST YOUR INSURANCE.

Do not file a claim. That's just dumb.

gsrblack

i hate geico....good luck to you on the claim, hope they pay up.

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

How will the guys car insurance cover your car? You were not involved in an accident. The guy was carrying something that fell off the car & damaged your car on a road. That's not considered a car accident. The trooper should have ticketed the guy for an "unsafe load" Did you file a police report? Was there any report done? If insurance doesn't cover it your only options are:
Get a quote to fix the car & then sue the van driver for that amount.
Pay out of pocket to fix
Call the van driver up & see if he will hand you cash to fix it
Go through your inasurance co.

umcp

i did get the driver's info. nice guy actually, just didn't tie his load down.

i called GEICO, filed a third-party claim and got a claim number.

i haven't called my insurance company and i'm not sure if i'm going to call them yet.

the worst part of the night was that i got TOWED from my girlfriend's apt. after the accident!!

NJTypeS

It may be covered. You have to ask yourself what is the proximate cause of the damage to his veh? the proximate cause is the door flying off the van. Geico may play hardball though. If they don't accept liability, file a claim through your own insurance. It shouldn't raise your rates since it is not your fault. Then let your company subrogate Geico

gsrblack

geico will drag it out like they did to me.....i still need to write a letter of complaint to them regarding one of their insured who hit me but we didn't call the cops or file a report. by them dragging it out, their insured had ample time to buff out any scratches on their front bumper. lucky it was minimal and i may be able to buff out my scratches out, although my bumper has a little bend or bump near the plate.

keep on them.....you mentioned that there was no "accident" report....and this is an "incident"....was an "incident" report filed then (not sure if there's such a thing)?

umcp

the trooper said in VA they don't do reports for stuff flying off of vehicles.

i'll be calling my insurance company to cover my butt. hopefully GEICO will not waste my time. looks like i'll be getting a new fr. bumper and have the hood,truck, and various other parts repainted.

maybe it's time for a ronjon bumper and cf hood!

mlb585

Similar incident happened with my mom on I-75 in florida. An 18-wheeler tranny blew and there were chunks of tranny all over the road. 9 cars had blown tires and other damage. A state trooper stopped by but just to make sure that information was exchanged. He did nothing after that and said it was up to us to settle with our insurance companies. You are probably in the same boat and it will just take some time to get things worked out.

AcuraTL

I used to work as a claims rep in CA. Flying debris will count under comprehensive claim on your own policy. If you file a claim under the other guy's insurance, then it will go under his property damage claim. I don't foresee a problem with your situation unless the other guy lies about the whole thing. If Geico drags this thing out, go through your own insurance and have them subrogate Geico, that's why you pay a premium right? In most States, if your accident was not your fault, your own insurance company cannot raise your rates, especially for a comprehensive claim.