Expert: Claims Guy - 10/31/2011

Question
Hi there!

Question for you:

I was a party in an extremely minor fender bender in California, if you could call it that. A person in front of our vehicle went through a stop sign then inexplicably stopped short. We bumped them from behind at less than 5 mph. We pulled over, investigated cars, and there was limited/no damage to either vehicle (attached picture. It is hard to see what is dirt and what is damage. The only thing we could attribute as damage is the 1" vertical scratch on the bumper) We were in a friend's car (the owner was not present).  We took photos of their car to prove no distinguishable damage, and agreed with the owner as such.  It was a black car with scratches already on it/around the bumper, and it was impossible to distinguish any damage done from our car, as we had none either (not even a paint smudge). There were no witnesses, outside of one person is his car and people in our car.  It was night time.

We were both in an extreme rush. No police were called, and I actually didn't get the other car's name (have his license plate). He took down our NJ driver's license, name, and cell phone.  No insurance info was exchanged. We parted ways amicably.

Just received a call from a Farmer's insurance agent asking for the car owner's name and policy numbers.  How do you think we should proceed? We were driving a friend's car.  Again, limited information was exchanged between us, and no police were called. My thinking is just to respond to the next Farmer's call and ask them to send me precise details of what was involved and why. I have no interest in getting my friend's auto insurance raised over such a small incident (I know, no incident is too small).

Thank you and best regards.

Answer
I recommend that you immediately report the incident to your friend and his insurance company.  It is clear that this is not going away.  The insurer for the other vehicle is apparently going to handle the damages and then subrogate against you and the owner of the vehicle.  The insurer of your friend's car will defend you and your friend if you cooperate with their investigation.  This includes reporting the claim to them asap and telling them everything.  

If you fail to do so, they may not provide coverage, on the grounds on non-cooperation.  You do not want this. Unfortunately, people claim serious injuries as a result of the exact scenario you described every day.  You could easily be sued for thousands of dollars.  You need to have the insurer defend you in case this occurs.  

I understand your frustration.  And I share your belief that this is nonsense.  But people are sued over things like this every day.  Insurers know how to handle these cases and you should let them do so.  Hopefully, this will be a simple minor repair  claim.  But you should be careful in case it is more.

I would not speak to Farmers.  I would simply tell them to call your friend's insurer.