If I barely scuffed a bumper while backing out, and there were no witnesses or police report?

Question

There were no recorded witnesses, no police report, but he did get my insurance information. Is it true that he doesn't have enough to make me or my insurance pay unless I admit my fault? Also, how much would a repair like that cost?

Answer 1

He does not have to have a witness or a police report to make your insurance pay.  All he needs is your negligence. That makes you responsible for his damage.

And if your insurance company does not pay.....he'll just sue you.

So....call your company.

Report the claim.

Provide all information on the other driver so your company can contact him and get his car fixed.

Confirm what happened for the adjuster when he/she calls.

You damaged his car.

You are responsible for any damage that you caused.

If the situation was reversed - you'd expect him to do the right thing.

So - suck it up - act like a grown up - and do the right thing.

Quit trying to weasel out on a technicality that does not exist.

Answer 2

if you exchanged insurance information with somebody, you have admitted only that there was an "incident", not that you were at fault. This willl not stop him claiming against you if he wants, then it is up to you to prove it was NOT your fault. For a bit of scuffing he probably won't bother to claim...or if he tries claiming $1500 worth of new bumper and some other parts, you can refuse to pay. Let's hope he just polishes it off.

Answer 3

he has your info- you were there- you were involved.  You aren't getting out of it like that.

Answer 4

Not true that you have to admit fault.  Him having your name, car info, and the insurance info is pretty damning that it was YOU involved in the accident.  

If the bumper is plastic, and you only need to replace the cover, it's going to be between $300 and $1,000 depending on the kind of car you hit.  Plus rental.

If it's not just a cover, but the whole bumper, it could run as high as $2500.  Depending on the car you hit, plus rental.

Answer 5

If you admit to it, he can charge you to have the bumper repaired, even replaced with a new one. Anyone backing out is at fault for not taking due care. Don't admit to anything.

Answer 6

It's up to him if he wants to call your insurance. You can deny it, but obviously you did it if you gave out your insurance info.

He might let it gol

Your insurance will pay for it, you'll just have to pay a deductible.

Answer 7

You're not going to get very far trying to weasel out of involvement.

Did you hit the other car fast enough to jostle you?  Or to bend metal?  Or at an angle?  Because if you hit it head on, at no speed at all...  One of my pet peeves is these "California style" bumpers that are plastic and made body color.  In the cities I park in, parallel parking is everywhere and tight - if the rule was you can't touch another car, then no one could park.  And sure enough, everyone's bumpers show the wear and tear of 1000 tiny bumps made parallel parking.  In my personal view, that's normal wear.  Though I have heard people (who live in the far suburbs, apparently) get uptight about people touching their car while parallel parking.

Answer 8

Most states have a cap limit where you must file a report. If you just scuffed the bumper, buff it out with a shammy and some wax and don't worry about it. Check your state's laws for the amount of damage where you must claim for future reference. It shouldn't cost anything to fix a scuff (maybe 2 cents in wax). But no matter what, even if you nailed the guy in the rear at a red light going 90, NEVER ADMIT FAULT. Admiting fault gives him reason yo sue. Don't even apologize. Just make sure he isn't hurt and trade information if it was serious enough.

Answer 9

Does there being no police report or witnesses somehow change things to "I didn't do it."?

You backed out and damaged a car.  Turn it in to your insurance and let him get the damage that you did fixed.  That is the fair, proper, and moral thing to do.

Go do the right thing.  Karma you know.