Hit and Run accident. I'm in a pickle.

[Tyche]

So on Thursday night, my wife was involved in a car accident. A vehicle ran a stop sign, smashed into my wife's SUV, and drove off. Before they drove off, my sister-in-law managed to nab the plates. When the police officer ran the plates of the car, we got her name. Coincidentally, she lives relatively close. Once we got her name, I did what any sane person would do...I facebooked her. I found her facebook, I have her phone number, and her place of business (as well as pictures of the car my wife described hitting her). Now, since I don't know who's driving (and I don't want to risk any kind of harassment counter-suit), I didn't send mean messages or anything. I just obtained information. Anyway...

We have 2 vehicles. My wife's SUV which is sitting in a tow-yard undriveable, and a pickup truck that I own. We have two kids, and we, as a family, can't fit in the pickup truck. The police report hasn't been filed, my insurance adjuster hasn't returned my calls, and I need a god damned rental. Should I call her and ask her for her insurance information, or just leave it? I've left a message on the officer's voicemail, asking if he had any more information. I haven't had that call returned either. I'm in pretty damn dire need of a rental. We had full coverage on our car, so even if they care that hit us was uninsured, we're covered, however, we didn't have rental coverage under the policy.

[kuronosan]

Didn't you post this before? I would call her place of business and leave a voice mail message then follow up with the insurance company.

[Jotaru]

Call her, tell her you got her information via the police records looking up her plates, and you want to file an insurance claim. She will be locked at that. I don't believe it can be considered harassment unless she asks you to stop and you continue- first contact shouldn't include that, really, unless she's immature to the point of hanging up or exclaiming DONT EVER CALL ME AGAIN the instant you tell her you know it was her.

Then again, if the police have the info, won't they pursue it?

[Correction]

If you didn't get rental coverage you're screwed unless you think you can win a claim in court against the person who hit you. Don't call the other person directly, get a lawyer.

[Callisto]

I'd talk to your insurance company first. Give them the other person's name/insurance info and let them sic the dogs. Any outwardly aggressive action you take towards the person that doesn't go through the cops or an insurance agency has the potentiality of backfiring and being held against you in some way, I wouldn't risk it.

If you have to just pay out of pocket for the rental, then get that billed to their insurance company on top of the damages for your wife's SUV when all that gets sorted out.

[Maaglin]

I don't think you'll do yourself any good contacting the person and are only setting yourself up for some potential harassment bullshit.

Sounds like you need to get off the phone, and go down the police station and your insurance company directly to get resolution.

[archibaldcrane]

Pay for a rental out of pocket right now and get reimbursed later - don't contact the woman directly.

It's a hit-and-run, it's serious fucking business, and it's a police matter. It will get sorted out in due time, until then just pay for the cheapest suitable rental vehicle you can find.

And file a fucking police report what's wrong with you?

Also, your insurance adjuster? Are you insured by some mom-and-pop bullshit company? Most of them have 24-hour a day hotlines for stuff like this, and you're waiting on one person to call back?

[Tyche]

If you didn't get rental coverage you're screwed unless you think you can win a claim in court against the person who hit you. Don't call the other person directly, get a lawyer.

If her car is insured, her insurance company has to provide me with a rental car. My insurance is only relevant if she isn't insured.

I'd talk to your insurance company first. Give them the other person's name/insurance info and let them sic the dogs. Any outwardly aggressive action you take towards the person that doesn't go through the cops or an insurance agency has the potentiality of backfiring and being held against you in some way, I wouldn't risk it.

If you have to just pay out of pocket for the rental, then get that billed to their insurance company on top of the damages for your wife's SUV when all that gets sorted out.

I don't know if she's insured (I'm hoping her or the driver was either drunk or in possession, and that's why they ran). I've made calls to both my insurance company and the police to no avail. I just want a damn car, and if she isn't insured, I'm not paying to rent a car out of my pocket, because I won't get it back.

I just want to know, asap, if she's insured, and through whom.

[Cephius]

You haven't filed a police report.. why? And seriously call your insurance company and don't get off the phone until they hook you up with some kind of rental car, I assume your full coverage would cover that, get what you're god damn entitled to.

Don't call the lady, no need to open yourself to bullshit harassment claims. Hire a lawyer if you can afford it to light a fire under people's asses, if the police or your insurance continue dropping the ball you'd have a case for some kind of lawsuit.

[Tyche]

You haven't filed a police report.. why? And seriously call your insurance company and don't get off the phone until they hook you up with some kind of rental car, I assume your full coverage would cover that, get what you're god damn entitled to.

Don't call the lady, no need to open yourself to bullshit harassment claims. Hire a lawyer if you can afford it to light a fire under people's asses, if the police or your insurance continue dropping the ball you'd have a case for some kind of lawsuit.

No, the officer hasn't completed the report, and it's not ready for me to pickup. Holiday I guess. I have a report number and what not to pick it up when it's available. Thursday night, they were looking for the car that hit my wife. I still have no idea if they've even talked to the owner I assume they have, since they have her name and address, etc, but her facebook seems awfully god damned cheery.

[Bregor]

So on Thursday night, my wife was involved in a car accident.

Obligatory:

http://cdn0.knowyourmeme.com/i/000/0...jpg?1283829954

[Valisk]

Pay for a rental out of pocket right now and get reimbursed later - don't contact the woman directly.

It's a hit-and-run, it's serious fucking business, and it's a police matter. It will get sorted out in due time, until then just pay for the cheapest suitable rental vehicle you can find.

And file a fucking police report what's wrong with you?

Also, your insurance adjuster? Are you insured by some mom-and-pop bullshit company? Most of them have 24-hour a day hotlines for stuff like this, and you're waiting on one person to call back?

^In case you missed it. Go ahead and get the rental. If your insurance company is worth 2 shits, they'll reimburse you for the car if the other motorist is uninsured. They'll just have to take her to court to sue her and get her wages/assets garnered/sold (and increase your deductible).

[Silviya]

^ this. You should get reimbursed either way. Just be sure to keep all paper work.

Also, don't contact her directly. Let your insurance company sort it out, or hire a lawyer.

[Miragemaiden]

I'm with all the "don't contact her directly, let the insurance handle it" comments. A) You're setting yourself up for trouble either way (whether she says something over the phone to piss you off or whathaveyou) B) Let the insurance agency do their job--they know how to get their money.

[Byrd]

As everyone else has said, don't contact her directly, no matter how much you want to. She committed a crime. Anything you say to her might be information she can use against you, as there may be some "she said-she said" in this case. Don't give her any information that may help her cause. Do you know how many people she had in the car with her? She may have three reliable witnesses that counteract your reliable witness. And Thursday night? In all likelihood, she probably had too much wine to drink at Thanksgiving dinner and didn't want a DUI, so now she gets a Hit & Run.

While you're probably going to have to rent a car out of pocket, your insurance company *should* reimburse you for a rental regardless of this woman's insurance status. Before it gets to the other woman's insurance, it's going to have a criminal investigation and it will have to be proved she was involved. No part of this nightmare of red tape is going to go quickly, particularly since leaving the scene of a crime is (I believe) a felony, so she'll probably deny it ever happened. No matter what, it's going to be a huge inconvenience, and you probably won't get a rental car any time soon unless you pay for it yourself, at least initially. If she denies the claim happened, I don't think her insurance won't even be applicable for a long time. I don't think it's going to get resolved quickly, no matter how much you want it to. This could take months.

Make your insurance company provide you a car for extenuating circumstances, assuming a rental car is in your policy. They should be able to get reimbursed from the other party's insurance company after the investigation. It's not reasonable for them to expect you to wait months to get this resolved, and would be terrible customer service if they don't. If you can't get this over the phone, go to their office and don't leave until they've given you the authorization you're after. Tell them if they don't take care of you, you're going to find another insurance company as soon as they take care of this expensive claim. They make their money on you continuing your coverage after your accidents. If you bail on them now, they lose future income but are still on the hook for this accident. If that doesn't work, have your wife and kids go to the insurance office and wait in their waiting room until they give you a car; give the kids lots of sugar before hand. You can, as their client, push them around to some extent.

[Belkin]

I think we all want to know: How trashy is this girl that hit your wife's car?

[Tyche]

I just called the insurance company, and they said that they can't say whether they can or can't provide a rental until I see an adjuster. So I asked what would happen if they determine that we weren't liable and she's uninsured, would they still provide a rental? The lady on the phone didn't know, said I'd need to speak with my adjuster (with whom I've left 2 voicemails and called about 10 times). Phone calls are going strait to his voicemail.

[aurik]

Just to summarize:

1) absolutely do not contact the other driver. You don't even want her thinking you know who she is.
2) enlist the help of your insurance company. This situation is exactly what you pay them for. Inform them that you will need to rent a car and they will be responsible for covering the cost. If they can get the other woman's insurance for it, more power to them.
3) make sure you follow up on that police report daily. Hit and run is a serious crime (I mean, what if someone was injured?) and you should make sure that she bears the full consequences.

Also I'm glad you guys are ok.

edit: If they say they can't commit to coverage until you see an adjuster, ask them to send an adjuster RIGHT NOW. This is what you pay them for. Get your money's worth.

[archibaldcrane]

Do you need a rental car or not?

If so, rent one.

If you can wait, wait.

Any other questions?

[Bregor]

I just called the insurance company, and they said that they can't say whether they can or can't provide a rental until I see an adjuster. So I asked what would happen if they determine that we weren't liable and she's uninsured, would they still provide a rental? The lady on the phone didn't know, said I'd need to speak with my adjuster (with whom I've left 2 voicemails and called about 10 times). Phone calls are going strait to his voicemail.

Adjuster is banging the girl who hit your car.