After a hit-and-run accident

The first hour after a hit-and-run

1. Check for injuries and call 911 if anyone is hurt. Your safety and medical care come before any detail about the other car.
2. Don't chase the other driver. A pursuit puts you at risk and can turn you into a driver at fault in a second crash.
3. Write down what you saw at once: the plate, even a partial one, the make, model and color, any damage on the other car, and the direction it went. Memory fades within minutes.
4. Call the police and ask for a report number, even for a scraped bumper in a parking lot. Many uninsured motorist claims turn on that report.
5. Look for witnesses and cameras. Ask bystanders for names and phone numbers, and note nearby shops, homes or traffic cameras that may have recorded the crash. Footage is often erased within days.
6. Photograph everything before you move the car: the damage, paint transfer, debris, the road and the street signs.

Each of these steps answers a question the adjuster will ask: did another vehicle cause this, when and where did it happen, and could anyone find the driver? Our guide to documenting the damage lists the photos that help most.

Which coverage pays for what

With no driver to claim against, you turn to your own policy. The NAIC describes uninsured motorist coverage as protection that pays if you are injured by a hit-and-run driver or a driver without insurance. Damage to the car usually falls to collision coverage, because uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD), where it is sold, often requires the other car to be identified.

California shows how tight the property damage rule can be. Its UMPD law pays only when there was direct physical contact with the uninsured car and either the owner or driver is identified or the car is identified by its license plate. You must report the crash to your insurer or agent within 10 business days, and the payment is capped at the car's actual cash value or $3,500, whichever is less. If you have collision coverage too, UMPD pays only the collision deductible, up to $3,500. How collision claims work is in collision claims.

Two gaps catch people out. First, a policy with liability coverage only pays for damage you cause to others, so it does nothing for your own car after a hit-and-run; without collision coverage, the repair is on you unless the driver is found. Second, deductibles can apply to more than collision: the Texas Department of Insurance notes that you pay a deductible on collision, comprehensive and uninsured motorist claims, while a claim against another driver's insurer carries none. Your declarations page lists each deductible. Personal injury protection (PIP) or medical payments coverage, where you carry it, can pay medical bills for you and your passengers while the UM claim is reviewed.

Conditions a UM hit-and-run claim may have to meet

States write their own conditions for hit-and-run UM claims, and your policy may add more. Two are common: proof that another vehicle was involved, and a prompt report to the police.

• Physical contact. California's uninsured motorist law covers bodily injury from an unidentified car only if the injury arose out of physical contact between that car and you or the car you were in.
• A police report within a time limit. California also requires a report to the police within 24 hours and a statement under oath to your insurer within 30 days after that.
• Any police report at all. The Texas Department of Insurance tells drivers that their uninsured motorist coverage won't pay for a hit-and-run accident they didn't report to the police.

If the police find the driver

Leaving the scene of a crash where someone is hurt is a crime in every state. In Missouri, for example, a driver who leaves without giving their name, address, plate and license number commits a crime, and a felony if someone is hurt or the damage exceeds $1,000; see the Missouri claim rules. If the police identify the driver, you can claim against their liability insurer, or your insurer can pay you first and then pursue that insurer for its money and your deductible through subrogation.

Tell your insurer if the driver is found after you have filed. A claim under your own policy and a claim against the other driver can't both pay for the same loss, and your insurer will want to coordinate them.

What the adjuster will ask for

• The police report number and the date and time you made the report.
• Your account: where you were, which way you were going, and what the other car did.
• Proof of contact: photos of the damage, paint transfer and debris.
• Witnesses and video: names, phone numbers and any footage you saved.
• Medical records and bills for an injury claim, and a repair estimate for the car.

Report the crash to your insurer as soon as you can; most policies require prompt notice. A UM claim is a claim under your own policy, so your state's claim deadlines apply to it. More on how these claims are valued is in uninsured motorist claims.

Questions people ask