Imagine this – you’re in the grocery store. You’re pretty pumped because they had your favorite ice cream on sale. You walk out to the parking lot and to your car…only to have any thoughts of sundaes vanish. The rear end of your car is pretty smooshed. Someone hit your poor car. Now instead of debating topping choices your question is this – are you covered if someone hits your car in a parking lot? We’ll explain.
If the other driver left you a note with their information…
Well, it would be nice if the other driver left a note on your windshield with their name and contact information. That would be helpful – and it’s also common courtesy. If you have the other driver’s information, you can give them a call and see about getting the damage repaired through their property damage liability coverage. That could be a viable option for getting the damage repaired. (In theory, the other driver should have property damage liability insurance – Georgia requires drivers to carry $25,000 of coverage per occurrence.) Then you could get your car all fixed up.
Pro tip: Take pictures of the damage.
What if the other driver took off after hitting your car in a parking lot?
What if the other driver is nowhere to be found? They might have backed into your car in the parking lot and split. (Which is pretty rude.)
You could get the damage to your car repaired through your collision coverage. (This is the coverage that can help repair or replace your car if it’s damaged in an accident or by a, well, collision with something.) If that’s what you want to do, you might want to give your insurance company a call and let them know what happened. They can give you some guidance on how to proceed.
However, you have to consider your deductible. Are the costs of the repairs going to be higher than your deductible? If they aren’t, your insurance might not be too much help. (Your deductible is how much you agree to pay if you have a claim – you have your deductible and insurance helps take care of the rest up to the policy’s limit.)
Pro tip: Call the police and have them file a report. This could help with the insurance claim.
But – if you don’t have collision coverage and you can’t locate the other driver…that’s unfortunate. Your liability insurance won’t help cover the repairs because, quite simply, that’s not what it does. Your liability insurance can help you cover your legal obligation to the other driver if you’re at fault in an accident, but it doesn’t cover your car. Bodily injury liability can help cover the other driver’s medical bills and pain and suffering while property damage liability can help cover repairs of the other driver’s car – and possibly other property you happen to damage.) It can also cover your legal expenses if the other driver sues.
Long story short – if you only carry liability insurance, your insurance isn’t going to be super helpful. That’s not its job.
So, that’s how you could get your car repaired if someone hits your car in a parking lot. You might be able to go through the other driver’s liability insurance. Or you could go through your own collision coverage if there’s no way to get ahold of the other driver. So, you have options! Your poor car will not have to stay damaged forever.
And another option you have is choosing what car insurance you want. We can help you get quotes for your car insurance to help you get great insurance at a great rate. All you have to do to get started with your auto insurance quotes is fill out our online form, give us a call, or message us on LiveChat.