by V.V. » Tue May 25, 2010 11:12 pm
Here's my situation. Any advice would be greatly appreciated....
Ok, so my friend is out of town. She asked me to watch her car and re-park it on street sweeping days. This is NOT my car, I am NOT on the insurance policy.
Last Thursday evening, I went to move the car. Someone honked behind me, I looked in the rear view mirror, got distracted and hit the taxi in front of me (I was going around 5mph, the driver is a Middle Eastern guy). The taxi then bumped into a Honda in front of it (driven by a Hispanic woman).
There was no visible damage to any of the 3 cars involved. No "official" injuries. But obviously my fault.
The taxi driver went to call the cops so they would come and write an accident report (it's his company's policy that he do this in every incident). However, the Hispanic woman started to freak out and took off when she heard he was calling the cops. All she got was my license plate number and cell phone. She was also totally unreasonable about the situation. The taxi hit her at even a slower rate of speed and she started screaming at everyone. I apologized for causing the incident and she got in my face, cursing at me. She then started saying something along the lines of "Oh jeez, my back might be hurt. I don't know what I will do. I might have a really serious injurt....blah blah blah." She said all of this in a very sarcastic, taunting tone and it was obvious that she was faking it.
The cop comes, writes the report for us and gives me a $25 citation for failing to pay attention. However, the cop was totally chill and she purposely made a mistake so the ticket would get tossed out of court (lucky me!)
Today, the Hispanic woman's insurance company called my cell phone. They started asking about the accident, they wanted all the information about my friend's car (insurance, registration, etc). I told them I was headed to a meeting and didn't have the info on me (true).
I did not give the insurance company any information. They don't even know that it's not my car.
Am I obligated to give her insurance company ANY information? The cops told me that since she left the scene, she is not entitled to access to the police report.
It's pretty obvious to me that this woman is a bit of an ambulance chaser, looking for a quick payday. Her car had no damage at all and she was not injured in any way. She was walking quite fine and even flailing her arms in her ridiculous, profanity-laced tirade in the middle of the street.
I just feel like giving her insurance company any information will just make my (and my friend's!) life a pain in the ass. As far as I can tell, I don't think I'm obligated to give them anything and they really have no idea who actually owns the car. All her insurance company seems to have is my cell phone number and perhaps the license plate (I'm not even sure about that).
What do you think?
BTW - the taxi driver was super cool. I don't think he wants to do anything that will mess with his insurance or increase his rate. When we were talking to the cop, he was much more concerned about the Hispanic woman coming after him than any possible damage to the taxi (there was no visible damage).
Also, what are the issues with my friend's insurance? Will they cover this? Or am I total liable here? Please advise.
Ok, so my friend is out of town. She asked me to watch her car and re-park it on street sweeping days. This is NOT my car, I am NOT on the insurance policy.
Last Thursday evening, I went to move the car. Someone honked behind me, I looked in the rear view mirror, got distracted and hit the taxi in front of me (I was going around 5mph, the driver is a Middle Eastern guy). The taxi then bumped into a Honda in front of it (driven by a Hispanic woman).
There was no visible damage to any of the 3 cars involved. No "official" injuries. But obviously my fault.
The taxi driver went to call the cops so they would come and write an accident report (it's his company's policy that he do this in every incident). However, the Hispanic woman started to freak out and took off when she heard he was calling the cops. All she got was my license plate number and cell phone. She was also totally unreasonable about the situation. The taxi hit her at even a slower rate of speed and she started screaming at everyone. I apologized for causing the incident and she got in my face, cursing at me. She then started saying something along the lines of "Oh jeez, my back might be hurt. I don't know what I will do. I might have a really serious injurt....blah blah blah." She said all of this in a very sarcastic, taunting tone and it was obvious that she was faking it.
The cop comes, writes the report for us and gives me a $25 citation for failing to pay attention. However, the cop was totally chill and she purposely made a mistake so the ticket would get tossed out of court (lucky me!)
Today, the Hispanic woman's insurance company called my cell phone. They started asking about the accident, they wanted all the information about my friend's car (insurance, registration, etc). I told them I was headed to a meeting and didn't have the info on me (true).
I did not give the insurance company any information. They don't even know that it's not my car.
Am I obligated to give her insurance company ANY information? The cops told me that since she left the scene, she is not entitled to access to the police report.
It's pretty obvious to me that this woman is a bit of an ambulance chaser, looking for a quick payday. Her car had no damage at all and she was not injured in any way. She was walking quite fine and even flailing her arms in her ridiculous, profanity-laced tirade in the middle of the street.
I just feel like giving her insurance company any information will just make my (and my friend's!) life a pain in the ass. As far as I can tell, I don't think I'm obligated to give them anything and they really have no idea who actually owns the car. All her insurance company seems to have is my cell phone number and perhaps the license plate (I'm not even sure about that).
What do you think?
BTW - the taxi driver was super cool. I don't think he wants to do anything that will mess with his insurance or increase his rate. When we were talking to the cop, he was much more concerned about the Hispanic woman coming after him than any possible damage to the taxi (there was no visible damage).
Also, what are the issues with my friend's insurance? Will they cover this? Or am I total liable here? Please advise.
Posted: Wed May 26, 2010 02:01 am Post Subject:
Am I obligated to give her insurance company ANY information?
You are required to exchange drivers into and insurance info. The other person (her insurance) has a legal right against the owner and you (as the driver). You can feel free not to give them your (the owners) insurance but you can also feel free to pay for any damages out of your pocket. Not giving them insurance information is not going to make them go away.Her car had no damage at all and she was not injured in any way.
Then you don't need to worry about your friend's insurance paying for any damage.BTW - the taxi driver was super cool. I don't think he wants to do anything that will mess with his insurance or increase his rate
That would be a first for me... a taxi driver not wanting to make a buck off an accident. Things will probably change but I'd not worry about it too much.Also, what are the issues with my friend's insurance? Will they cover this? Or am I total liable here? Please advise.
It does not appear that you live with your friend and are only an occasional driver at most. As such, her insurance should provide you and her coverage in this accident. If this accident has not been reported to them, it needs to be reported asap. The reason being, they can contact both of the other drivers and obtain statements from them about damages and injuries not. Either that or those other people can come back weeks, months, years later and claim whatever they want.People think if they ignore everyone and everything that everything will just go away. This is the worse thing that anyone can do. It's much better to allow everyone to communicate now, rather then waiting for time to slip by.
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