Hit and Run Accidents and Your Car Insurance

If there’s one thing that nobody likes to experience on the road, it’s a car crash. It can be stressful, especially if the other driver leaves the scene. With many of these situations happening, it is only right that you understand what this means for your car insurance.

Hit and runs are any type of road accident where the driver hits a vehicle, object, or person. The driver knowingly flees the scene immediately without offering their information or help. Damages can be incurred such as yourself, the passengers, and the car itself. It is where your car insurance policy helps you with your expenses.

California is an at-fault state, so the coverages below do not all apply here. Personal injury protection is not sold in California, and medical payments coverage is the closest equivalent. Depending on which state you’re residing in, these are the following coverage options that your auto policy may cover:

Collision coverage

Collision responds to physical damage to your car from contact with another vehicle or an object. It adds to the premium, and it is the coverage that answers when the other driver cannot be found. You would have to pay a deductible even if the accident wasn’t your fault. When the faulted driver is identified and insured, you may recover your deductible from that driver’s insurance.

Uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD)

A driver who leaves the scene often has no insurance, which is why UMPD comes up in this context. There is a condition on it that matters here, though. In California uninsured motorist property damage pays only where the uninsured driver is identified, so it does not answer a hit and run in which nobody is traced. For that situation collision coverage is what responds to the damage to your car.

Uninsured motorist bodily injury

UMBI covers injuries you sustain rather than damage to your car, and it is not limited in the same way. It can respond to a hit and run where the vehicles made contact, which is the situation UMPD does not reach.

Medical payments coverage

Medical payments coverage applies to injuries from a road accident regardless of who was at fault. Deductibles sit on comprehensive and collision rather than on this coverage. Personal injury protection, the equivalent sold in no-fault states, is not available in California, so medical payments coverage is what a California policy carries.

Deductible for a hit and run insurance claim?

A deductible may be necessary depending on the circumstances of the accident and the type of car insurance coverage you have. If claiming an uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage, a deductible won’t be needed.

At Schneiderman Insurance Agency, we go through the options with clients so the decision is an informed one. To learn more about how we can help you, please contact our agency at (818) 322-4744 or request a quote online. Coverage discussed in this article is not guaranteed. Please contact our agents to find out information about your specific policy. An article cannot see your declarations page, which is where the answer for your own policy sits.