Got lightly rear ended.

[Patton]

I'm no expert, From my experience when the insurance picks up the bill it will be reported to "CarFax" This will in turn lower the value of you car. It will show a accident on the report. Get the insurance to write the check to you. Then pay for the repair like it's out of your pocket or do the repair yourself, then there is nothing to be reported. And you still have a clear "CarFax"

I am not so sure that just from a police report it will not appear on carfax. It will depend on how the police did the report. If it was a short form it just remains with the agency. If the officer thought the damage was severe enough it gets input into TITANS. I have heard that those will show on the carfax.
Now this is for Tennessee. I have never worked as a LEO in Kentucky so I don't know how their system is. Edited February 28, 2015 by Patton

[DaveTN]

As others have said; have your insurance company handle it. If you have a good insurance company it will be painless and they will take care of it.

You might be able to get diminished value; ask. But you will probably need your agent or an attorney to do it for you. You have already paid your agent for that task.

Maybe one of the Tennessee cops here can fill you in, but in the state I was in we (cops) didn’t determine fault; insurance companies and civil courts did that. We just determined if there was a violation of the vehicle code. Another reason you might need your agent involved.

[MphsTiger1981]

Try to relax this weekend, then on Monday go get a copy of the crash report. Insurance information for each party will be listed on the report. You will normally benefit calling your agent and reporting the claim, just in case the driver is not covered. Unlikely but possible. Let your insurance company's claims department guide you to where you need to get estimate and repairs. Then get the claim number and contact number for the other guys insurance company. Call them and see if they are in a position to take care of your loss. Most will set you up with rental, but only while your ride is in the shop. Rental companies will usually also direct bill the insurance company, so your only out of pocket would be extra insurance, or fuel not replaced when you turn it in. If the other company will accept liability and agrees to pay for everything you can contact your guys and ask them to withdraw the claim. Since you are in KY some of the smaller body shops may report to CarFax, most don't except for dealerships, at least here in the West TN area. Most insurance companies do not pay for diminished value (DV) for collision or comprehensive losses, so if you go through your carrier it is unlikely that will be an option unless Junior was uninsured (UM). If so, it can be considered as part of a compensable loss under your policy. Here is the most likely outcome: you get a phone call on Monday from the other guys insurance company. They agree to pay for repairs and your rental. Car is in and out of the shop in less than one week. The repairs are excellent and no CarFax. You have no problems, and life is good. It happens every day. In fact, it is more likely to be your experience. Do bad things still happen? Sure but not as often as it seems. Oh, the possible reason the Gecko couldn't answer your question is in KY you have to be licensed to handle claims, and that can be construed as something as simple as answering claim questions sometimes. Person on the phone probably not licensed by KY. Good luck!

[Murgatroy]

Try to relax this weekend, then on Monday go get a copy of the crash report. Insurance information for each party will be listed on the report. You will normally benefit calling your agent and reporting the claim, just in case the driver is not covered. Unlikely but possible. Let your insurance company's claims department guide you to where you need to get estimate and repairs. Then get the claim number and contact number for the other guys insurance company. Call them and see if they are in a position to take care of your loss. Most will set you up with rental, but only while your ride is in the shop. Rental companies will usually also direct bill the insurance company, so your only out of pocket would be extra insurance, or fuel not replaced when you turn it in. If the other company will accept liability and agrees to pay for everything you can contact your guys and ask them to withdraw the claim. Since you are in KY some of the smaller body shops may report to CarFax, most don't except for dealerships, at least here in the West TN area. Most insurance companies do not pay for diminished value (DV) for collision or comprehensive losses, so if you go through your carrier it is unlikely that will be an option unless Junior was uninsured (UM). If so, it can be considered as part of a compensable loss under your policy. Here is the most likely outcome: you get a phone call on Monday from the other guys insurance company. They agree to pay for repairs and your rental. Car is in and out of the shop in less than one week. The repairs are excellent and no CarFax. You have no problems, and life is good. It happens every day. In fact, it is more likely to be your experience. Do bad things still happen? Sure but not as often as it seems. Oh, the possible reason the Gecko couldn't answer your question is in KY you have to be licensed to handle claims, and that can be construed as something as simple as answering claim questions sometimes. Person on the phone probably not licensed by KY. Good luck!

That is what the person I spoke to last night stated, that in Kentucky you had to be licensed.

 

At the end of the day I just want my car back the way it was before everything happened. That is the most important part. I am frustrated that I will be required to do any legwork or be inconvenienced in any manner as I didn't do anything wrong except be in his way. But that is again neither here nor there.

 

Looking at the damage this morning I feel better. Sleeping on it let me realize that it could have (and I have) been in much worse. Much worse. So there is that.

 

While I would like to be compensated for any and all loss, again, I just want my car back whole the way it was yesterday morning.

[TNWNGR]

If the other driver was the "at fault" driver and was properly insured then that drivers insurance will cover the claim. If the at fault driver didn't own the vehicle but was covered by the vehicle owners policy then your still good. Either way a claim paid by the other driver/vehicle owner has no bearing upon your own insurance rate. Further unless the car crash report indicates you as committing an at fault action then no points will be assigned to your driving history.

 

As for trying to do and end run to avoid having a car crash history after the cars fixed that's unlikely due to so many body shops reporting it. If it were a single vehicle pay out of pocket with no police report transaction at a smaller privately owned shop then maybe. As to the depreciated value of the vehicle. That isn't the case in TN and I can't say as to KY but in a nutshell most property claims involve repair only. It might not be fair but it is what it is.

 

Get the report and read it and if you have questions about it discuss them with your insurance agent. Granted your irked about all of this but it really can't be undone and your really not going to get any satisfaction out of the person who hit you.  

[glowdotGlock]

Carfax is a joke. My cousin owns a major body shop in Lewisburg and has almost completely rebuilt vehicles that were just on the line of being totaled and reported the work to all required agencies and sometimes it never even showed up on a carfax.

[vontar]

I won't be able to pick up the report until Monday, the kid was driving his girlfriend's car and spent at least fifteen minutes trying to convince me that there was no damage to either car. I highly doubt that he will self report to give them the heads up.

 

A guy rear ended my wifes car.  Police report was taken and when I called his insurance he had not self reported.  However they sent their guy out, gave me options of them using their shop but that I had the right to take to whereever I wanted.

I took it to a shop I found.  That shop found additioinal damage and repaired that as well

 

The outside almost looked like no damage, however I could feel something lose with my hand.  I even went to a Ford lot and felt another car of the same model and it wasn't loose.

 

Their insurance guy when I tried to show him the loose part wouldn't write it down as it could not be see with the eye.  However I make a good point to show the repair shop who said the same but that they would check it.  Repair was about 1k more then the insurance guy first wrote up, but had no problems.

 

Also our insurance did not change at all as she was not at fault.

[Patton]

Carfax is a joke. My cousin owns a major body shop in Lewisburg and has almost completely rebuilt vehicles that were just on the line of being totaled and reported the work to all required agencies and sometimes it never even showed up on a carfax.

I have seen a car that people died in come back with a clean carfax.
I totally forgot earlier that my wife filed a police report on someone hitting her car and fleeing. We did not report it to our insurance company and we did not get the car fixed. It showed up on a carfax though. So in fact, in Tennessee at least , it does have the possibility of showing up on carfax just from a police report.

[FUJIMO]

Let me start by saying I feel your pain plus 10 fold. This is how I handled mine. I have been with State Farm since 97.

In 08 I bought a wrecked Saturn and repaired it to make a daily driver. The front end damage was enough to total it out so I received a salvage title when I registered it again. SF would only allow me liability coverage because it had the salvage title.

So it's repaired and I am motoring through Maryville one day when BAM ! someone nails me in the arse as I am stopped on a 2 lane,signal on, waiting for traffic to clear and attempting a left turn. Luckily I was taught to drive by a family of truck drivers so my wheela were still straight and I was launched 200' on down the road.

So it's totaled once again. Taillights are in the back seat kinda wreck. I exit the vehicle and the other driver sends the passenger up to check on me. Tells me it's his fault and his foot had diesel fuel on it and when he hit the brake it slipped. Whatever the story I was concerned about my freshly totaled car.

So the cops show up and fill out a report. The other driver and I exchange information , again what I was taught to do regardless of fault , and while I am waiting for a tow truck I call my agent. They said after getting the report to call his insurance and let them know you are insured and where the car is being towed to. I did that. A couple days later i got a call from their insurance company adjuster and he said he had looked over the car and was prepared to make an offer.

Thinking I would get screwed over because it was a salvage car they offered me a payoff of what the car was worth as a private party sale. Needless to say I took it.

So, I say all that to say this. At no point did my insurance company get involved because as you said IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT. My agent did say if they give you trouble give me a call but the other drivers insurance was more than happy to take care of me because I didn't go to the hospital on a stretcher in a Cleveland collar yelling LAWSUIT.

As far as his story that it's not his car I don't think that will matter in court. Which is were it will have that go if you want to get justice. That's assuming he tries to weasel out of it.

Good luck !