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.
When all payments are canceled
The insurer's refusal to issue monetary compensation in case of an accident is justified by the following provisions:
- the client was driving while intoxicated or flatly refused to undergo a medical examination;
- the driver did not have an insurance policy with him;
- the policy has expired;
- the driver’s surname is not included in the policy or someone else’s name is included;
- no license to drive a specific vehicle;
- the culprit violated traffic rules and fled the scene;
- The offender used a faulty car.
As a result of the above, the culprit will not receive anything; in addition, he will be asked to pay for the losses himself and pay for the treatment of the victims. In this case, the insurance company will pay part of the losses, but will subsequently demand in court a refund of the money spent from the violator.
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.
Registration of an accident
Traffic police officers should be called to the scene. With their help, an accident is registered. In some cases, it is not necessary to invite law enforcement officials. If there are no victims, and the parties to the incident have agreed among themselves to resolve the situation, then you can contact the department where the accident will be registered.
If the accident causes damage to the health of the driver or passengers, representatives of the State Traffic Inspectorate must be present at the scene. A similar requirement is made provided that the damage from damage to the injured party’s vehicle is estimated at more than 50 thousand rubles.
Drawing up a European protocol
If there is a mutual agreement between the participants in the accident and there are no aggravating factors or victims, the need for law enforcement officers to be present on the scene can be eliminated. In this case, the accident is recorded independently, after which the data is transmitted to the department.
Unfortunately, many drivers do not know how to draw up a European protocol in case of an accident in a parking lot, which is why they cannot take advantage of this method. To issue such a certificate, you must have a sample form with you. It is usually provided by representatives of the insurance company when purchasing a compulsory motor liability insurance policy.
When filling out, you will need the following documents:
- passports of the participants in the incident;
- driver license;
- PTS;
- compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance.
It is important to know! If the driver of the vehicle of one of the participants in the accident is not the owner, you will also need a notarized power of attorney. It is important to be able to draw up a diagram of the incident. Two copies of the European protocol are filled out. One is provided to the injured party, the other to the culprit.
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.
Actions of the owner of a damaged car
So, you are quietly having dinner with your family, when suddenly you hear a notification from your alarm. The display indicates that there was contact with the fender, bumper or hood. You hastily look out the window, then run out into the yard, but there is no trace of the intruder .
Then you get into your vehicle and rush in hot pursuit. And here we want to note the first nuance - as soon as you leave the place where the blow was made, if the culprit nevertheless decides to return, you will also be considered a person who fled the scene of the accident, and you will have to bear punishment .
Things are much better if you managed to remember the color, make and license plates of the car . Then you can rest assured that you don’t have to go anywhere and don’t need to look for anyone.
A common situation: a girl hit a car in the yard and drove away, but due to stress and panic, she did not do it too quickly, so the owner still managed to write down the license plates and determine the make of the culprit’s car. The next thing he does is call the police and report the incident . Law enforcement officers come to the scene of an accident, draw up a report, formalize everything according to the law, and then you go about your business, and the offender is put on the wanted list.
But another situation may happen. A car was scratched in a parking lot, what should you do if you discovered it only when there was no trace left of the offender?
First of all , inspect the windshield - perhaps the person who damaged your iron friend turned out to be respectable and left you a note with an apology and his contacts . If no papers were found, look around. After all, many parking lots today are equipped with video surveillance cameras, and the moment when a person hit a car and drove away can be recorded.
In this case, you should contact the persons responsible for the video materials, call the police and decide the further course of action .
Most likely, even if the numbers from the record turn out to be unreadable, traffic police officers will calculate the make and body of the offender’s car and announce the so-called “interception plan,” which implies that all cars that meet the parameters and have characteristic damage will be checked.
If there are no cameras in the parking lot, take a walk - perhaps they are present in the areas of nearby shops, banks or cafes. If you hit a car in the yard, then contact the managers - perhaps hidden cameras are stationed at the entrances.
So, if this method does not suit you and you have not been able to obtain a single video recording, perhaps you should look for witnesses . Firstly, one of the attentive passers-by or other car owners could “catch” the culprit, and secondly, many car owners do not turn off their DVRs even when they get out of their cars . Perhaps someone around you can be useful to you.
And finally, the last option, in which you still have to leave the scene of the accident.
Although, perhaps, one of your friends will agree to help you? Inspect the area of damage . to find the paint of the car that made it
along with the scratch You need to drive around all the nearby yards and parking lots yourself and look for a car similar in color to the one that hit you. Please note that violators most often abandon their cars so that the damage is not on the side of the road. That is, you should carefully inspect and walk around the suspicious vehicle from all sides.
If you were able to find the car using one of the listed methods, don’t worry, all the damage that was done will be reimbursed to you , and the careless driver will be punished for his negligence and dishonesty.
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:
Will this event be considered an insured event?
Damage to a car in the yard or in the parking lot is considered an insured event. Therefore, if you have an insurance policy, after receiving the certificate, contact the insurance company for compensation.
Compensation under OSAGO
If a vehicle is scratched outside a parking lot, MTPL insurance will be valid for the victim only if the defendant did not leave the scene of the accident.
Here you need to take into account the following nuances:
- If the damage is small, a Europrotocol is issued. If the scratch costs more than 100 thousand rubles. or someone was injured in an accident, then the case must be registered.
- Take a photograph of the incident (the license plates of the two cars should be visible on it).
- Write down the details of the technical passport and passport of the culprit, telephone number, and MTPL policy number.
When all the documents are completed, you can safely go to the insurance company, where employees will help you get compensation for the scratch. OSAGO will only cover damage to the victim if the incident did not happen in a car park.
Compensation under CASCO
If an accident occurred in your yard due to your fault, then only CASCO will help you. The insurance company will reimburse the amount spent on car repairs to both the victim and the defendant. Even if the defendant left without issuing a certificate, the insurance company will cover everything.
ON A NOTE. Do not try to hide evidence of a crime or move your vehicle. This will only lead to worse consequences.
You should also carefully study the contract with the company. If it does not indicate that certificates are needed to compensate for damage, then when agreeing on all the nuances with the injured party, you don’t have to issue a certificate through the traffic police.
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.
