What to Do After a Hit and Run on Your Parked Car
Document the damage, call the police to file a report, then file a claim under your own collision coverage.
Five things to do before you touch anything else
- Photograph everything first Take pictures of the damage, the position of your car, and any debris or paint left behind. Do this before you move the car or clean anything off.
- Call the police right away A police report creates an official record of the hit and run, which your insurer will want to see. File it the same day if you can, even if the damage looks minor.
- Ask neighbors about cameras Nearby homes, businesses, or doorbell cameras may have caught the other driver. Footage like this can help identify them and strengthen your claim.
- Call your insurer soon Report the damage and the police report number to your insurer within a day or two. Waiting too long can make a claim harder to support.
- Check which coverage applies Collision coverage usually pays for this kind of damage, with uninsured motorist property damage covering it in some states. Ask your insurer which one applies to you.
Will filing this claim make my rates go up?
It can, but it depends on your insurer and your state. Because you weren't at fault, many insurers treat a hit and run differently than an accident you caused, but not all of them do, and not all states require that distinction to be honored the same way.
The only way to know for sure is to ask your insurer directly how a not at fault claim with an unidentified driver affects your renewal price. Some insurers have forgiveness policies for a first claim, especially if you've driven claim free for years. Ask before you file if you want to know what to expect, since the police report and claim will exist either way once you've started the process.
Treat it like any other claim you're entitled to file, not something you need to just absorb quietly.
Once you know how this claim affects your coverage, compare quotes to see if you're still getting the best price for it.
Filing a claim versus paying for repairs yourself
If you do
You file a police report and a claim. Your insurer covers the repair cost, minus your deductible, and the incident goes on record as not your fault. Depending on your insurer, this may not raise your rate the way an at fault accident would.
If you don't
You pay out of pocket for repairs with no police report on file. If the damage is serious and you later need a claim for something else, you won't have this incident documented. You also lose any chance of the driver being identified and held responsible.
A dented bumper in a grocery store lot
You come out of a store and find your bumper dented and scraped, with no note and no witness in sight. You take photos right there in the lot, capturing the damage, the angle it happened at, and a piece of plastic trim left on the ground that isn't yours. You walk into the store and ask if they have security cameras covering that section of the lot, and they tell you to call back once their manager reviews the footage.
You file a police report that afternoon, even though you don't have a suspect yet, because the report itself matters for your claim. You call your insurer the next morning, give them the report number, and ask which coverage applies to you. They tell you collision coverage handles it, you pay your deductible, and the claim goes through without being treated as your fault. A week later the store calls back with footage showing a truck backing into your car, and you forward it to your insurer and the police in case the driver is ever identified.
