Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 10/16/2009

Question
My brand new car was hit in the parking lot of my office sometime during the work day. When I came out to discover it there were no cars in the spaces surrounding my vehicle. Apparently the person hit me and just left. I called my insurance company only to find out that this type of damage falls under my collision which has a $1000 deductible. Do I have any other recourse? Is the management company for the office building liable? Can I file an uninsured motorist claim? I don't feel as though I should have to pay for this repair out of pocket.

Answer
Hi Kristine,

No. The management company is not liable. They did not do anything that caused the damage to your car. In order for this to be classified as an uninsured motorist claim, there would have to be either a known actual uninsured at-fault driver or an independent witness that would state that they saw another car hit your car and then leave the scene. When neither of these exist, the insurance company processes the claim as a collision claim. This is because without some proof of an unisured driver or of a hit and run, everyone who backed up into a tree would claim that they were hit by a "fantom vehicle" in order to not pay their deductible.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh