A-Hole with nose ring wrecked my rear bumper

[GunMonkeyINTL]

Stopped for an accident yesterday, some punk skater puke put his POS BMW into the rear bumper of my truck. Then, like an entitled snot-nosed Gen Alpha is wont to do, he ran.

Since he had to go through an active accident scene to get away, one of the attending cops peeled off and got him a mile or so up the road.

I came away with his contact info and report showing me at zero-fault.

I took a look at the damage this morning, and it appears to entirely be in the bumper, with maybe a ding or two on the plastic cap. There’s a light scuff on the tow hook, but my backup lights and tail pipes appear to have come out unscathed. Satisfyingly, the front of his BMW was thrashed pretty bad.

I think I could get away with bolting on a new bumper (OEM or aftermarket) and be no worse for the wear- but do need to do a more detailed inspection to be sure.

I haven’t had an insurance claim in 20+ years. What should I look out for? Is there a way to avoid my premiums taking a hit? A hit to the value of my truck? And, more importantly, anything I can do to ensure Skyler McDoucebag gets his ******** gets stretched good and proper in the clink?

 

[Booth9999]

That sucks, honestly I would take it for a estimate and see the extent of the damage, get the check from insurance and have a after market bumper on his dime. Probably cheaper to just pay to fix it your self if it just the bumper that pay the insurance premium over the next 3 yrs.

 

[GunMonkeyINTL]

That sucks, honestly I would take it for a estimate and see the extent of the damage, get the check from insurance and have a after market bumper on his dime. Probably cheaper to just pay to fix it your self if it just the bumper that pay the insurance premium over the next 3 yrs.

They told me that as along as the puke’s insurance ponies up, mine wouldn’t increase.

I honestly don’t know how that works, though. It boggles my mind that your insurance rates could go up for an accident in which the police said you weren’t at fault.

 

[isis]

Call his insurance and complain about being sore. They’ll write you an extra check to sign away your right to sue down the road.

 

[CoronaRaptor]

How can your insurance go up, if that dufus is 100% at fault? Have the police report handy, if you don't have one, get one from the officer that gave you his info, keep a copy for yourself and give a copy to your insurance company. Wait till your insurance company has his insurance companies particulars and then you should have the green light to get it fixed.

 

[NoReason59]

First, really sorry that happened to you. Glad they caught up to the guy.

Insurance is all about risk. Every insurance company underwrites risk differently. Some of the larger insurers owned by stockholders have an incentive to increase your premiums every time you’re in an accident because in their eyes you’re considered a higher “risk”. Others will only raise your rates if you’re at fault. Even still, someone could be rear ended 5 times in a year and not be at fault in any of the accidents, but should still expect a premium increase. Why? They’re considered a higher risk because they’re involved in accidents more frequently than the average driver.

Risk is determined by hundreds of factors: what vehicle you drive, your driving history, the area you live, the types of accidents you’re involved in, the amount paid out for claims you’re involved in, the cost of repairs in your area, etc.

Not saying that I agree with it, but it’s how the system works. I’d recommend looking for an insurer that won’t raise your rates for a single not at fault accidents. They’re out there.

 

[GCATX]

Same happened to me last year. Crawl under the truck and look behind the plastic piece that is over the hitch. There is a metal plate in it that is attached to the hitch receiver, right in front of the license plate area. On mine, the metal plate was bent, so I insisted it be replaced, along with the plastic piece and bumper halves. Other insurance stroked a check for 1800'ish. I bought used bumper parts of craigslist and massaged the metal plate back to flat. Done deal.

I told them I wanted to fix it myself to keep it off carfax. Not sure if it's on carfax or not, but they understood my reasoning.

The hitch is the most expensive part, I believe it is raptor specific, then they also need to pay to paint the bumpers. Anyway, best of luck.

 

[Oldfart]

Sucks to hear, hope it works out decently for you. Usually guys with big nose rings are very responsible guys!

 

[GunMonkeyINTL]

Same happened to me last year. Crawl under the truck and look behind the plastic piece that is over the hitch. There is a metal plate in it that is attached to the hitch receiver, right in front of the license plate area. On mine, the metal plate was bent, so I insisted it be replaced, along with the plastic piece and bumper halves. Other insurance stroked a check for 1800'ish. I bought used bumper parts of craigslist and massaged the metal plate back to flat. Done deal.

I told them I wanted to fix it myself to keep it off carfax. Not sure if it's on carfax or not, but they understood my reasoning.

The hitch is the most expensive part, I believe it is raptor specific, then they also need to pay to paint the bumpers. Anyway, best of luck.

I looked, and the bracket the bumper-half bolts to is bent too. I can’t tell if that is part of the hitch or not, but it does look like a more complicated part swap than just the bumper.

 

[smurfslayer]

Since he had to go through an active accident scene to get away, one of the attending cops peeled off and got him a mile or so up the road.

Proof positive that there is a God and he is a just God.

report showing me at zero-fault.

You’re in good shape.

Satisfyingly, the front of his BMW was thrashed pretty bad.

Out-freakin’-standing.

I haven’t had an insurance claim in 20+ years. What should I look out for?

In all seriousness, if you were -in- the vehicle you should get checked out by a Dr. Adrenaline will mask all manner of pain and can cover up some pretty serious injuries. I’m not in anyway advocating you exaggerate or make it up, only that you’re checked out and you make sure you’re ok.

As to the claim, yours is a rock solid claim, there’s no avenue for the other insured to claim something else happened and he’s been cited by 5O. Unfortunately, depending on how much alpha-hotel quotient their coverage tries to be, they may try the “we can repair this damage” ruse. It’s stupid, but that’s what they do to try and save money. Another is a “quality replacement part”. Absolutely, do not accept a non OEM part replacement, period. Especially a bumper. Interview the repair shop. Ask to see samples of their work. True craftsmen won’t need to be asked, they’ll volunteer to show you. I used to live close to a pair of custom body work places and that’s exactly what happened. They had all manner of hot rods in various stages of custom work. Some of the most beautiful auto work I’ve ever seen.

You, not being at fault, should not be footing bills. All should be addressed via the claim. Good luck with it.

Glad it was only this and you’re able to type up this tale.