Car Insurance Options for Hit and Run Accidents and Shopping Carts

Talk about a bummer. Bob just bought his first new car right off the lot, a silver 2007 Impala. He’s feeling really good, so he decides to stop in to show his new ride to his dad. Bob’s dad works in a big office complex, so Bob gets there and parks as far away from the other cars as possible, in the very back of the parking lot. Bob takes the elevator up to see dear old Dad, but has to wait for about five minutes while he’s on the phone with a client. Finally, Bob and his dad take the stairs down and begin the trek across the parking lot to see Bob’s new pride and joy. But half way there, Bob stops dead in his tracks - something is terribly wrong!

Will Bob’s Insurance Cover The Damages?

The first question Bob wants answered is, “What the heck happened?” The second question is, “Will my insurance cover the damages?”

The answer depends. This is where the story ends, so we’ll have to speculate about what kind of damage was done to our protagonist’s Impala. It’s a mystery. But unlike most mysteries, the suspects in this story don’t have any motives - they’re cold-blooded car damagers.

The Usual Suspects

Suspect #1 is the frequent perpetrator, the shopping cart. Shopping carts cause millions of dollars in property damage every year, as careless shoppers leave them in the middle of grocery and department store parking lots only to find their way into the sides of shiny new cars. In such cases in which the damage is significant enough to warrant filing a claim, comprehensive car insurance will normally cover it. In Bob’s case, the shopping cart seems like an unlikely assailant, since this was an office complex parking lot, not a Wal-Mart or Whole Foods.

Suspect #2 is our old nemesis, Mr. Tree Branch. If a mammoth Oak limb fell on Bob’s new car, the damages might be covered by the office complex’s liability insurance, but it’s doubtful. More likely, Bob will be praying that he signed up for comprehensive, which covers almost any kind of damage except collision insurance with other vehicles and vehicle upsetting (flipping over). Assuming Bob didn’t pay for his new car in cash, the financial institution that provided his financing would have required him to get comprehensive, so in this case, Bob’s covered.

Suspect #3 is the most despicable culprit of them all, the hit and run motorist. All kidding aside, hit and run is no joke. Government statistics estimate that as many as 700,000 hit and run incidents occur each year in the United States, so the chances of it happening to you at least once in your lifetime are great. If a hit and run motorist is the perpetrator in Bob’s case, Bob can feel fortunate that he wasn’t in the car at the time of the accident. As soon as he’s finished counting his blessings, Bob will need to be on the phone with his insurance agent, making sure that he has uninsured motorist (UM) protection on his car.

It’s Important to Understand Your Insurance Options

UM is a “rider” (add-on) to most full coverage policies and typically the type of insurance that covers damages suffered through a hit and run. If you don’t know whether or not you have this coverage, consider using the internet to comparison shop for the insurance package that’s right for you. Having adequate coverage to make a loss whole is what insurance is all about, and by using the internet to find the best deal, you can usually save yourself some money too. Soon enough, the savings might just allow you to be like Bob, and splurge on a brand new car.