Car Accident What Do We Do Now

[mcppalmbeach]

My husband was in an accident this morning. He got rear ended at a red light and got pushed into the car in front of him. I had heard recently that you shouldn’t necessarily call your own insurance unless you have to (ie, the other insurance company isn’t responsive). I’m not sure if the car that was in front of my husband’s will be falling our insurance since technically he is the one who hit her. We have a teenage driver coming up in 4 months so the timing is not ideal. So do we call our insurance first or the at fault driver?

[bex1973]

Call your insurance first. If they can go after the other driver insurance they will do that. Also, lots of this is state dependent if you live in a no fault state then it doesn't always matter who hit who first.

[donutsmakemegonuts]

I would think you should call your insurance regardless. In my state, the first car that started the chain reaction collision is usually at fault. I'm in Maryland.

Also, sorry that this happened.  It's such a pain.

[mala]

Call your insurance.

When this happened to me the insurace of the car who hit me paid for the repairs to the car in front of me, who I hit, because they were the cause of the accident. If that helps reassure you.

[mala]

Aug 29, 2024 8:30:54 GMT -5 donutsmakemegonuts said:

I would think you should call your insurance regardless. In my state, the first car that started the chain reaction collision is usually at fault. I'm in Maryland.

Also, sorry that this happened.  It's such a pain.

Also MD, in my case it was weather related but the car who hit me first was still responsible for all repairs to mine and the car in front of me.

[lust2hart]

Also, he needs to go to the doctor, even if he feels fine. It's important to start a medical paper trail in case an issue shows up later that could possibly be traced back to the car accident.

ETA: I used to work at the front desk of a physical therapy clinic and saw several cases where medical insurance wouldn't pay because during the intake appointment, the patient said they suspected their pain was associated with a past car accident - but they didn't go to the doctor at the time, so the car insurance was like, "Well, you were apparently fine right after the car accident, so WE'RE not paying for this, either." 

[wanderingback]

Not sure where you heard not to call your insurance. Even if the other person has insurance you can give your insurance a "heads up" and they’ll deal with all of it. I’ve been rear ended 4 times (so glad I don’t have a car anymore haha) and thankfully each time the person has had insurance. I still called my insurance (usaa) and gave them the other persons insurance info. Then they took care of everything and kept me updated on where to go for repairs, rental car, etc. I personally have never gone to the doctor but all the times of getting rear ended happened when the driver was going less than 20mph. It did total one of my cars since it was old but I didn’t think it was necessary for a medical visit. Hope everyone was ok!

[momin2013]

You call your own insurance, even if he wasn't at fault.

Where I am (Ontario) I would also go to the collision reporting centre (you need to do this within 24 hours of the collision).

Were the police called to the scene?

[ellipses84]

I’ve always called my insurance. They’ll want to record his statements in case the other party tries to change their story. It’s pretty clear cut that it’s the other person’s fault though so I make sure they also reimburse you for any deductible you may have to pay. Your DH should be noted as not at fault and it shouldn’t raise your rates, but if you notice them increasing later, switch companies.

[cmeon]

If the guy who hit your car was properly insured, you might be able to get away with just dealing with them- but you'll have to be assertive (they are not on your side, IOW). I was able to do that when a guy in a work truck backed into me at a stoplight.

When H was hit while in a chain of cars stopped at a red light (by an drunk guy running the red light in the opposite direction- pushing everyone backwards), the driver wasn't insured. It was an enormous PITA, but he was responsible for all the damages in the line. Not that he ever paid a cent- that company still sends us notices once every couple years letting is know they're going after him for our deductible. Not holding our breath for that!

I'm sorry this happened.

ETA: If it wasn't clear, you should talk to your own insurance company in this case- even with a police report and clear blame, there's a potential for mess when multiple vehicles are involved. Let them deal with it. There are situations where it may not be necessary, but this one is probably not that. ETA2: I fully understand your nerves. I would not expect this situatuon to affect your rates, though.

[lessel]

My H was in two of these 3-car crashes in the past couple years. In both cases he was the last car hit (so he didn't hit anyone in front of him). Both times we called our insurance. I don't remember how they handled the first crash, but I know for the second one they assigned the first car like 80% liability, the middle car 20%. But it wasn't in a stopped at a traffic light chain... they were all moving on the highway, so that middle car was following H too closely. In your H's case if he was at a full stop, I'd try to press that y'all have 0% liability. But IMO that's why I'd work with your insurance co--have them fight that fight.

[mcppalmbeach]

Thanks for talking me down a little.

I talked to my friend who was the one who said not to call our insurance and what she clarified was that her broker said not to make the claim through her insurance in an accident that wasn’t her fault. So we did call and notify our insurance and they said the same thing. Unless they give us a hassle we can deal with the other car’s insurance and we won’t have to deal with paying our deductible which we would if we filed through our insurance.