{"id":996,"date":"2022-12-24T00:33:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-24T00:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/?p=996"},"modified":"2025-01-17T17:00:27","modified_gmt":"2025-01-17T17:00:27","slug":"someone-hit-parked-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/auto\/someone-hit-parked-car\/","title":{"rendered":"Someone Hit My Parked Car. What Can I Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As you walk out into the parking lot or parking garage and get ready to get into your car to continue your busy day, you notice a big dent that wasn\u2019t there before. You realize <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">my parked car was hit!<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Someone crashed into your vehicle while you were away and clearly they are no longer there. Now you\u2019re wondering what to do when someone hits your parked car.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A parked car accident can be a frustrating and inconvenient problem in your already busy life. However, know that parked car accidents happen all the time and you have options on how to deal with your situation. Continue reading for tips on how to deal with a parked car accident and how to make sure you\u2019re prepared for the worst with excellent <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/auto-insurance\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">auto insurance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Someone Hit My Parked Car and Left a Note<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If someone hit your parked car and left a note with their contact details or their insurance company\u2019s information, it\u2019s a good idea to keep the note in a safe place for later. Before contacting the at-fault driver in question or their insurance company, you should determine the approximate cost for repairs by visiting a few auto repair shops and getting an estimate. After determining the estimated cost of repairs you have a few options:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Contact the driver and ask him or her if they would be willing to pay for the damages out-of-pocket<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Get the at-fault driver\u2019s insurance information and try filing a claim with their insurance carrier<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the driver\u2019s insurance company doesn\u2019t respond or won\u2019t confirm financial responsibility, you can pay for the repairs out-of-pocket or file a claim with your own insurance company<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Keep in mind that if you file a claim through your insurance you will need to pay your collision deductible before your insurance kicks in. In addition, your premium rates will likely increase 20%\u201325% once you file a claim. So, if the cost of the repairs is around the same amount as your deductible, you may want to consider paying for the repairs out-of-pocket to prevent your premium from going up.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Hit and Run Accident With a Parked Car<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If the driver left without leaving a note, then it\u2019s a hit and run accident. The steps for dealing with this are similar to how you would deal with a hit and run accident in moving traffic. In this case, ask people in the vicinity if they witnessed the incident. If you get in contact with witnesses, make sure you get their phone number and their account of what happened. If they happened to take note of the offending car\u2019s license plate number, that\u2019s even better. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gather as much information as you can from anyone who witnessed the accident scene. Keep it for your reference and if they are willing to wait for the police to arrive, ask them to stay and speak to the on-scene officer.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If there are any businesses nearby, ask staffers if they saw anything and\/or see if you can get a copy of video footage, if it was caught on security cameras. You might be able to obtain the license plate of the offending vehicle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If you are unable to obtain contact information about the driver who hit your car, then you can decide whether you want to file an insurance claim with your own insurance and pay your collision deductible or pay for the repairs out-of-pocket after you have taken your car to a repair shop to get an estimate.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Someone Hit My Parked Car While I Was Inside<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since you were in the vehicle at the time it was hit, the first thing you need to worry about is your <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/auto\/car-emergency\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">health and safety<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. If you sustained injuries, seek immediate medical attention and be sure to ask the physician for an official report outlining your medical expenses. This documentation will come in handy throughout the claims process. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While you\u2019re still at the scene of the accident and if you\u2019re able to, see if there were any witnesses and exchange information with them as well as the driver of the offending vehicle. Also take photos of the damage. Once you have the driver\u2019s information, witness reports, police report, and a medical report, you\u2019ll now have what you need to file a claim for the incident.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Contact the Police<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Whether there was a note left or not, you need to call the police and make a report of the incident. The police officer will take your account of the incident and will file an accident report. You\u2019ll need this should you decide to file a claim with your car insurance company, so when the officer finishes his\/her report, make sure you get a copy and keep it for your records.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">How It Relates to Your Insurance<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Lastly, you\u2019re probably wondering how this will get handled in relation to your insurance. When you bought insurance, you might\u2019ve asked your insurance agent questions like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What if I get in an accident on the freeway, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">not <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">What if someone hits my parked vehicle. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, how do you know if you\u2019re covered?&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While there\u2019s no such thing as parked car accident insurance policy, there is collision coverage and it could be your best bet in a situation like this. Collision coverage is not required for standard insurance policies, but it is an option that can come in handy during situations like this, should you choose to purchase it. Not having collision coverage could mean that you\u2019re responsible for paying the damages if the offending driver flees the scene and cannot be located.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Note that collision coverage has to be purchased before the accident and it must be purchased with comprehensive coverage as well. Normally, collision coverage pays for some, most, or all of the damages done to your vehicle, while comprehensive coverage applies to other incidents such as severe weather and car theft.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The other type of coverage that can help you in this situation is <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/auto-insurance\/coverage\/uninsured-motorist\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">uninsured motorist coverage<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. This will help you in the event that you are hit by an uninsured driver or by a driver who is unable to pay for the damages. Keep in mind that this type of coverage is not available in every state. You should verify with your agent to be aware of what you can add to your policy.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As mentioned, parked car accidents happen all the time. For all future accidents, make sure you get proper coverage at a low-cost. Freeway Insurance can get you an affordable rate, as we\u2019ve been doing for customers like you for over 30 years. Request a free <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/rate.freeway.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">auto insurance quote<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> online or over the phone at <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">(800) 777-5620<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As you walk out into the parking lot or parking garage and get ready to get into your car to continue your busy day, you notice a big dent that wasn\u2019t there before. You realize my parked car was hit! Someone crashed into your vehicle while you were away and clearly they are no longer [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1002606,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,5],"tags":[79],"importance":[],"type-content":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1002606"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=996"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7550,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/996\/revisions\/7550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=996"},{"taxonomy":"importance","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/importance?post=996"},{"taxonomy":"type-content","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.freeway.com\/knowledge-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-content?post=996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}