Every driver treats his car with special reverence and love. This is not surprising, because in a sense this is his favorite child. And at the same time, as the number of unscrupulous people on our roads grows, the number of accidents also increases. It's good if the car is insured, however, this is not enough. Every driver must know what to do if their car is damaged in the yard.
What to do if your car is damaged in the yard
Of course, car owners who have insurance have it easiest. After all, if the damage is minor, the driver can immediately call his company and ask for a meeting. As a rule, such a problem is always considered as an insured event.
Important! If you think the damage is significant, call the police first. They will draw up a document confirming the establishment of criminal proceedings, and after the required period, its closure. With these papers you can contact the insurance company and you will have a better chance of receiving an insurance payment.
It is clear that if a car is damaged in the yard, there may be several reasons for this. Here are the most famous ones.
- A careless driver drove out of a parking spot and hit your car. At the same time, he fled the scene.
- Night hooligans, of whom there are more and more, damaged the car's paint with an ordinary nail.
If you behave correctly immediately after the incident, you have every chance of receiving insurance compensation. So, let's figure out what to do if your car is damaged in the yard.
Is it worth hiding?
We remind you of the liability that threatens you if you decide to flee the scene of the accident.
- You can easily be deprived of your rights. You will have to travel on foot from a year to two years ;
- However, in addition to depriving you of your right to drive, you may also be subject to administrative arrest. You can “serve” up to fifteen days .
Practice shows that most often, after all, people are deprived of their rights . And by the way, the choice of punishment lies on the shoulders of the law, if you think that it would be better to serve two weeks in a cell, but then you will remain with your rights, but the court thinks otherwise - everything will be exactly as the servants of the law decide .
To avoid punishment, we recommend returning to the scene of the accident you committed and amicably reaching an agreement with the driver . Take into account his emotional state, try to calm him down and assure him that he has no need to complain about you to the authorities.
What to do if your car is damaged in a yard with CASCO coverage
So, you came to the parking lot in the morning and discovered damage to your car. What to do first?
Many drivers have a CASCO policy. This gives every reason to immediately seek help from a traffic police representative. However, there is one important condition that many drivers forget about: traffic police officers deal exclusively with traffic accidents. That is, if the damage to the car clearly proves that another vehicle was present at the incident, then the driver can contact the police, and the result will be positive. If, judging by the damage to the car’s surface, it can be decided that the scratches were caused by an attacker, it is useless to contact the traffic police. In this case, it is better to contact the local inspector, giving him all the details.
Advice! To act correctly in any unusual situation, it is better to call your personal lawyer and get advice. You should never leave the scene of an accident, especially if your car was damaged by another vehicle. This is a direct violation of traffic rules and entails liability.
Despite the fact that the owners of a CASCO policy can fully count on covering any costs of insurance events, you need to understand that if restoring the damage is not so important for you, it is better to do it yourself. Why? The point is that if you contact your insurance company for something as minor as this, they will help you. However, the occurrence of another insured event will significantly increase the cost of the policy in the future.
So, we damaged the car in the yard. What to do? CASCO is a reliable insurance policy. If the damage to your car is really significant, and you still decide to apply for payments, you need to know what to do correctly. So where to start?
- First of all, you should call the traffic police.
- They will draw up a report certifying the appearance of scratches on your car.
- Now you can contact the insurance company.
- Provide the policy, as well as a report drawn up by the traffic police.
- Wait for the insurance company's decision.
If you do everything correctly, you can rest assured that a positive decision will be made in your case. At the same time, you should not expect that you will receive all payments at once. The fact is that in criminal proceedings a thirty-day period is always given to conduct the necessary investigation. This means that you can only count on receiving your compensation after 30 days.
First actions after detecting damage
Vandalism in relation to passenger vehicles is manifested in scratching the paintwork of a vehicle with metal objects, the simplest of which is a nail.
Remember! If you find damage in the form of scratches, you should take measures to fix the damage. To do this, you need to call the local police officer.
Be resourceful and find out:
- are there video cameras nearby that could record the offender,
- make sure that there are video recorders on nearby cars, which could also record the person who damaged the car.
These actions will help to quickly clarify the situation and identify the violator. Usually such offenses are committed by minors. However, due to their age, they cannot be held accountable. But the law says that their parents or guardians are fully responsible for their actions.
Attention! Our qualified lawyers will assist you free of charge and around the clock on any issues. Find out more here.
If the car is insured under the CASCO program, you should call the traffic police service and receive a document from it to present to the insurance company, which is obliged to compensate for the damage caused.
If the vehicle is insured under the MTPL program, it is necessary to involve the police, record the violation and, in court, recover damages from the parents of the minor offender.
What to do if you scratched your car mirror?
Read how to return your car to the dealership here.
What to do if the dealer takes a long time to repair the car, read the link: https://novocom.org/avtotransport/remont-avtomobilej/chto-delat-esli-diler-narushaet-srok-garantijnogo-remonta.html
According to the terms of insurance contracts, no matter what program is used, damage to a car by a nail, other metal object, or bicycle is considered damage by third parties.
This fact must be confirmed by drawing up a protocol by police officers. It should list in detail all violations of the vehicle's surface.
What to do if you scratched your car and ran away?
On the same day, inform the insurance company about the occurrence of an insured event. After the police have carried out an inspection, usually within one month, a claim must be submitted to insurers for damages.
When working with insurers, one thing should be taken into account. The application to the Police and the insurance company's statement about the occurrence of an insured event must be dated on the same date. If there is a disagreement, you will not receive insurance.
Watch the video. How to correctly write a statement to an insurance company:
What to do if your car is damaged in a yard with OSAGO coverage
So, your car was damaged in the yard. What to do? OSAGO is a compulsory insurance policy. As a rule, receiving payments under this policy is not as easy as if you were insured by CASCO insurance. However, even a small chance is worth taking advantage of. Especially if the damage is severe enough that you can see that repairs will be expensive.
In the case of an MTPL policy, you need to call the police as soon as possible. And it’s worth remembering that this is only relevant if two cars were involved in the incident. If the car was damaged by hooligans, call the local inspector. In this case, compensation can only be obtained if the culprit is found and his guilt is proven.
Procedure in case of an accident Read about what to do if your car is hit by hail here.
Find out what to do if your car is scratched at this link:
But what to do if you damaged your car in the yard and disappeared? Can you somehow help the investigation? Without a doubt. Perhaps these recommendations will help you.
- Interview all possible witnesses, neighbors, and passers-by. Probably someone saw this intruder.
- Post notices asking those who have seen or heard something to respond.
- Look around. It is likely that your yard has video surveillance installed. Especially if you have a cooperative. In this case, contact the department with a statement indicating that you need to review the records.
- Pay attention to whether any of your neighbors have a private video camera. If so, don't be shy and ask to see the latest footage.
- Walk around the block, paying attention to other cars. You may be able to find a car with the same damage as yours. Sometimes small fragments of paint and dents of the same shape remain on the bumper or fender. Any examination will be able to confirm whether this car hit your car.
All these measures can help the local police officer find who damaged your car. If his guilt is proven, your chances of receiving compensation will increase. If the vehicle that hit your car is found, you may even be able to recover some insurance benefits. Especially if the damage is not too severe and the amount of payments will be sufficient.
Important! If damage to the car occurred before your eyes, and the guilty driver cannot be detained, try to write down the license plate number of his car. This will significantly increase the chances of finding the offender.
How to find out who will be punished
It can be difficult to figure out who is at fault in an accident in a parking lot, especially if the cars of both participants were in motion. However, it often happens that a vehicle crashes into another while driving in reverse. An accident can also occur during other unsafe maneuvers in a limited amount of space. In this case, finding the culprit is not difficult. It will be the one who was moving at the time of the incident, damaging another car.
In accordance with the Administrative Code, the driver is required to pay an administrative fine. The amount of financial punishment will depend on the severity of the accident. In addition, the culprit will be required to reimburse the cost of repairing the damaged vehicle. Because of this, many drivers are interested in whether compulsory motor liability insurance applies if an accident occurs in a parking lot. By law, the policyholder is obliged to compensate the damage caused to the injured party. In reality, it can be extremely difficult to achieve financial compensation, especially if it is not possible to immediately identify the culprit of the accident. In addition, an accident in a parking lot is not always recognized as an insured event, which can significantly complicate the process of obtaining compensation.
What to do if your car is damaged without insurance
In this case, there is no point in counting on any payments. You will only be able to receive compensation if the at-fault driver makes contact.
In some cases, insurance companies may pay compensation to the injured party if the at-fault party has nothing wrong with the policy. Simply put, a compulsory MTPL policy is intended for this. For your own safety, we recommend that you insure it immediately after purchasing a car. Otherwise, you may encounter a number of problems.
Who to call in case of an accident? Find out what to do in case of an accident here.
How to receive insurance payments, read the link:
A way out of the situation for an escaped intruder
So, the driver hit the car in the parking lot and drove away. The most correct and reasonable thing in this situation would be to come to your senses and return.
- Remember that no one will take any money from your pocket for damage, because this is why our country has compulsory auto insurance.
- It is better to honestly look the car owner in the eyes, apologize and solve the current situation together with him, rather than face a number of problems in the future.
If you are found, there is only one way to save yourself from punishment - to prove that you either did not notice that you damaged someone’s car, or to convince that you could not have stayed at the scene of the accident because:
- There was a threat to someone close to you or to you.
- You had to prevent a threat to the state or humanity.
- Your passenger required urgent medical attention.
- There were victims in an accident and you needed to urgently deliver them to the nearest medical center.
- You and the owner of the other car have come to an agreement, there were no casualties in the accident, both have insurance, and no one else’s cars were injured besides yours.
- You are the driver of a special vehicle, and in order to pass you needed to “move” another one. In this case, it is necessary to record everything, take photographs, and also have several witnesses.
Please note that to prove the above points you will need to provide convincing evidence , which will consist not only of witness testimony, but also of providing some official papers.
Keep in mind that if you come to an agreement with the car owner of a damaged car, you need to take from him documentary evidence that you have “agreed”.
We don’t recommend just shaking hands and driving away, because an offended driver can set you up and make you look wanted .
, we strongly advise you to leave a note, which, in addition to an apology, will also indicate your contacts, with the help of which the owner of the damaged car can contact you to further resolve the situation. However, it should be borne in mind that the driver may not be respectable, or may be too emotional about what happened.
For example, a driver who has just bought a brand new car, offended and angry at the fact of damage, can simply throw away the note, call the squad, and when they find you, say that you simply disappeared silently .
To avoid such situations take a photograph of the scene of the incident , also record that the note was written , that it was enclosed, and that there was no malicious intent in the fact that you left. In this case, the court will most likely be on your side and no penalties will be applied.
We damaged our car in the yard at night and fled – what to do?
There is nothing more unpleasant than finding your car damaged in the morning. What is the algorithm of action in this case? So, you damaged your car in the yard: what to do?
- Decide whether you need help or whether you will handle the repairs yourself.
- If you still need it, call the traffic police.
- Immediately report the incident to the insurance company.
- Upon arrival of the police officers, carefully re-read all the documents and fill them out if necessary.
- Contact the insurance company and submit all the necessary documents and certificates.
- Write a statement and wait for a decision on your case.
What to do if your car is damaged by children in the yard
It is important to remember that persons under 14 years of age do not bear administrative or criminal liability. You can communicate with them only in the presence of official guardians. This means that if you are faced with a juvenile delinquent, you will have to tinker a little.
If you only have compulsory insurance, you will have to call the traffic police, explain the situation, and provide evidence. After this, the parents of the perpetrator can be sued. If your car is insured by a CASCO policy, you can immediately contact your insurance company. Although it is still better to first obtain documentary evidence of the origin of the scratches. Such a document can only be issued by police officers, for example, a local inspector.
Your car was damaged in the yard: now you know what to do. And your correct actions will protect you from possible troubles associated either with traffic police officers or with your insurers. Be careful and have a smooth road!
And the video below will help you more competently understand the current situation.
