The Shoulder
The Shoulder
59
bold-bison-099

Driver hit my car, tried to flee, and now I'm being told reporting it will hurt ME??

I'm still kind of shaking writing this out. I was completely parked — engine off, just sitting there answering a text — when I felt this huge jolt. Some guy had backed right into my driver's side door. Hard enough that my window cracked.

I got out to check the damage and immediately said I needed to swap insurance info. This guy just lost it. Started screaming at me in a language I didn't understand, waving his hands like I was the problem. I physically stood behind his bumper so he couldn't just drive off, and I kid you not, he actually inched the car backward toward me. Like, used his vehicle to try to intimidate me into moving.

Eventually he just gunned it and took off. I got a partial plate and called the police.

Here's where it gets wild: the responding officer was nice enough, but at the end he kind of casually mentioned that filing a claim for a hit-and-run "sometimes causes your own rates to go up depending on your carrier." And I just... stood there. I'm the one sitting in a parking lot with a smashed door and a guy who tried to use his car as a weapon against me and somehow I'M the one who might get penalized?

I haven't called my insurance yet. I have the police report number, photos of the damage and the scene, and a witness who saw the whole thing.

Has anyone dealt with a hit-and-run claim before? Does filing actually hurt you even when you did absolutely nothing wrong? What's my move here?

9replies

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9 replies

  • 18
    curious-vole-915

    Oh man, the rate increase thing after a hit-and-run is genuinely one of the most infuriating parts of this whole system. I went through something similar — parked car, driver took off, I did everything right — and my agent actually told me upfront that because I wasn't found "at fault" and had a police report, my rates were protected. It really depends on your specific policy and state laws. Definitely read your policy or call your agent before you file the claim and just ask directly: will this affect my rates? Get the answer in writing if you can.

  • 21
    genuine-wolf-532

    Don't let that comment from the officer scare you into NOT filing. That's exactly the kind of vague warning that leaves people eating the cost of damage they didn't cause. Insurance companies love it when you self-silence. You have a police report, photos, and a witness — that's a strong position. File the report, document everything, and don't apologize for using coverage you've been paying into.

  • 16
    bright-heron-735

    Former claims adjuster here. The rate increase thing is real in some states and with some carriers, but it's not universal, and many states actually have laws that prohibit penalizing you for not-at-fault claims. The key phrase to look up for your state is "not-at-fault accident rate protection." When you call your insurer, specifically ask whether this claim would be coded as not-at-fault and whether your state has any surcharge prohibition. If the rep can't answer clearly, ask for a supervisor or check your state's insurance commissioner website.

  • 17
    spry-marten-953

    Not legal advice, but a couple of things worth knowing: using a vehicle to intimidate or move toward a person can cross into criminal territory well beyond a traffic violation — worth mentioning that detail explicitly in your statement to police if you haven't already. Also, partial plate plus a witness is more than a lot of hit-and-run victims have. If they locate the driver, your options expand significantly beyond just an uninsured motorist claim.

    • 5
      weary-passenger892

      This is really helpful — thank you for posting it.

  • 10
    keen-stoat-129

    Please don't forget to check in with yourself physically. I know the car damage feels urgent right now, but adrenaline masks a lot. Neck stiffness, headaches, or shoulder soreness showing up 24–48 hours later is extremely common even from lower-speed impacts. If anything feels off in the next couple of days, get seen — and make sure any visit is documented in connection with the incident while the timeline is still fresh.

  • 11
    humble-seal-425

    The part where he reversed toward you is terrifying and I just want to say — you handled that really well. A lot of people would have just frozen or let him go. You stayed calm, got evidence, called the police. That took guts. I hope the rest of this process is way less stressful than today was.

  • 20
    cool-grouse-300

    Three things: 1) File the police report if you haven't already and make sure the attempted intimidation-with-the-vehicle is in it. 2) Call your insurance and ask point-blank about the rate impact before anything is formally opened — most agents will tell you. 3) Send your photos and witness contact info to yourself via email right now so everything is timestamped and backed up. Don't sit on this.

  • 14
    keen-elk-032

    Did the police actually take a formal report or just fill out an exchange-of-information card? There's a difference and it matters for how your claim gets processed. Also — did your witness stick around to give a statement, or just tell you verbally they saw it? Written statements or names on the police report carry a lot more weight than "someone saw it."