Auto Accident
 

I'm making this thread mainly because I need advice...I'd like to hear if anyone else has been in an auto accident, and how they handled it.

My car was rear-ended on Thursday, and the first thing I did was jot down the other driver's information, as well as call the cops. The cop gave me a case number, and we decided to try to settle the damages outside of insurance.

The bill ended up being over a $500 deductible, so insurance is now involved. I visited the claim adjuster this morning and everything seemed fine and dandy since they acknowledged the damages and offered to replace my bumper with OEM parts...

But the problem is that when I got to the police station in the evening, it turns out that the cop didn't even bother to write any kind of report. I was expecting something that would detail the accident, but the only thing they were able to dig up was an incident report, which looks like a log containing the location, response, and the name of the cop.

Now, I am afraid that the lack of a detailed, written report on what occurred and what the cop saw will affect my insurance claim in some way. Is it still possible for the other party to wiggle their way out of paying for my damages.

Pretty much, it's out of your hands right now.

Did you go to YOUR insurance, though, or THEIR insurance provider?

Remember, ultimately, that it's the job of their provider to get out of paying you by ANY means possible. NEVER, ever talk with them directly. Call up YOUR insurance provider, give them the contact info, and let them deal with it.

Also, I'm not entirely an expert, but I think that since they already offered to pay for the damages, you're fine. I've never involved the cops in any accident I've been in (the damage was either never serious enough, in a parking lot where cops would refuse to go, or I was on the clock and didn't have time to wait for police), and when their insurance offered to pay, I walked out with a check equal to the cost of replacing the damaged parts.

I think, though, that you should do two things:

1) Call your insurance provider and ask them this same question. They're the experts, and they'll know what this'll do.

2) Take advantage of the bureaucracy and get the parts replaced/check written out ASAP.