Tips For Handling A Parking Lot Car Accident

Posted on: 13 November 2019

If you ever park your car in parking lots while shopping or doing business, there is always a chance you could end up in an accident. You might cause an accident by hitting a parked or moving car, or you might get hit by another car. In any case, here are several things you should understand about parking lot accidents and how auto insurance works for these types of incidents.

What you can do if you cause an accident

First of all, if you are the person responsible for causing an accident in a parking lot, you become responsible to pay for the damages. Fortunately, if you have car insurance, your insurance company will pay for the damages, which means you will not have to pay for them yourself. After an accident occurs like this, you should aim to locate the owner of the car. If you cannot, you should leave a note on the car that explains what happened and gives your personal information. You could also contact the police to report the accident, and this is the best thing to do. After this, the other car owner could file a claim with your insurance company, and your liability coverage will pay for the damages.

What you can do if another person hits your car

If the accident was caused by someone else and you now have damage to your car, you can file a claim with that person's insurance company. If that person does not have insurance, they could pay the damages out of pocket, or you could end up using your own car insurance to pay the damages if you have uninsured motorist coverage.

How to handle a hit-and-run

If you walk out of a department store and find that someone hit your car and there was no note left, you will be dealing with a hit-and-run accident. In this case, you could seek compensation by filing a claim with your own insurance company. You should also contact the police, though, to ensure that the incident is documented in the form of a police report. The police might even begin an investigation to find the person that caused this.

Accidents can occur at any moment of time, and that is why people have auto insurance. If you have any questions about the policy you have, or if you need coverage for your car, you can learn more by calling an insurance agency.

Share