Chris Kissell has been a journalist for three decades and has written extensively about insurance and other personal finance topics for the past 20 years. For the last 14 years, he has been a full-time freelance writer and editor, contributing to sit.
Chris Kissell Insurance WriterChris Kissell has been a journalist for three decades and has written extensively about insurance and other personal finance topics for the past 20 years. For the last 14 years, he has been a full-time freelance writer and editor, contributing to sit.
Written By Chris Kissell Insurance WriterChris Kissell has been a journalist for three decades and has written extensively about insurance and other personal finance topics for the past 20 years. For the last 14 years, he has been a full-time freelance writer and editor, contributing to sit.
Chris Kissell Insurance WriterChris Kissell has been a journalist for three decades and has written extensively about insurance and other personal finance topics for the past 20 years. For the last 14 years, he has been a full-time freelance writer and editor, contributing to sit.
Insurance Writer Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
Penny Gusner Insurance Writer and AnalystPenny Gusner is a senior insurance writer and analyst at Forbes Advisor. For more than 20 years, she has been helping consumers learn how insurance laws, data, trends, and coverages affect them. Penny enjoys translating the complexities of insurance.
| Insurance Writer and Analyst
Updated: Sep 15, 2022, 2:00am
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A driver hits your car and flees the scene.
If your car is parked, you may not see it happen. If you’re in the car, you may be stunned and not catch their license plate. Either way, you can be left with costly damage and little hope of tracking down the perpetrator (or their insurance info).
Though you can’t buy hit-and-run insurance, there are several types of car insurance coverage that can help. Here’s what you need to know about auto insurance and hit-and-runs.
If you are in a hit-and-run accident, there are several types of car insurance coverage that can potentially pay for damage to your vehicle and medical treatment for you and your passengers.
Depending on your policy and state, these car insurance coverage types may cover a hit-and-run:
Check your car insurance policy to make sure you have adequate amounts for each of these types of coverage.
Collision insurance pays to repair or replace your vehicle if it collides with another object. It covers:
This type of insurance coverage is optional. There are no state laws that require drivers to carry collision insurance. But if you finance your vehicle, your lender may require it.
If you use collision coverage to pay for hit-and-run damages to your car, the amount of your deductible will be subtracted from your insurance check. Still, it can save you significant out-of-pocket costs. Even if you are not required to buy collision insurance, it is worth considering.
Uninsured motorist coverage pays for the medical bills of you and your passengers if you’re in an accident and the at-fault driver doesn’t carry liability insurance.
There are two types of uninsured motorist coverage that pay out after a hit-and-run:
Medical payment coverage, also known as MedPay, pays for medical bills if you or your passengers are injured, no matter who was at fault for the accident. So it can be used in the event of a hit-and-run.
MedPay is typically sold in small amounts of coverage, often between $1,000 and $5,000.
This type of coverage is required in some states, like Maine and New Hampshire, but is not available in all states.
Similar to MedPay, personal injury protection (PIP) coverage pays for medical bills for you or your passengers, regardless of who was at fault for the accident. It also can pay for accident-related problems like lost wages and childcare costs.
As with MedPay coverage, PIP is not available in all states. In other states, like Florida and Delaware, this coverage is mandatory.
As you can see, there’s no single “hit-and-run insurance” policy, but there are car insurance coverages that can help. If you are in a hit-and-run that results in both physical damage and injuries, keep in mind that you may have to rely on more than one type of coverage to pay for related costs.
The rules for reporting a hit-and-run accident may vary slightly from insurer to insurer, but they follow a general pattern.
When you file a claim, your insurance company may require you to provide additional information, photos and documentation as they process your claim. In many cases, they will also send out an adjuster to assess the damage.
Make sure to keep track of any deadlines and follow up with your insurer if you have any questions.
With so many choices for car insurance companies, it can be hard to know where to start to find the right car insurance. We've evaluated insurers to find the best car insurance companies, so you don't have to.
For many drivers, a single hit-and-run accident won’t result in higher car insurance premiums, especially since they aren’t at fault. But that’s not always the case. Whether or not your rate increases depends on several factors, including your state, your insurer and your claims history. Related: How much do car insurance rates go up after an accident?
No, liability car insurance will not cover you in a hit-and-run. Liability insurance covers injuries and damages to others when you’re at fault for an accident. It will also cover your legal costs and judgments if you’re sued following an accident.
If you have collision insurance, it can help pay for damages after a hit-and-run accident, even if your car is parked. If you have uninsured motorist property damage coverage, you may be able to use it to pay for damages, depending on where you live and your insurer. Uninsured motorist property damage isn’t available in all states, and in some states, like California, you won’t be able to use it to cover hit-and-run costs.
Whether or not a deductible will apply for a hit-and-run claim depends on the type of coverage you have, your insurer and your state.
| Coverage type | Deductible? |
|---|---|
| Collision | Yes |
| Uninsured motorist bodily injury | No |
| Uninsured motorist physical damage | Varies by state |
| Medical payments coverage | No |
| Personal injury protection | Typically yes, but varies by state |
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Insurance WriterChris Kissell has been a journalist for three decades and has written extensively about insurance and other personal finance topics for the past 20 years. For the last 14 years, he has been a full-time freelance writer and editor, contributing to sites such as Forbes, U.S. News and World Report, Money Talks News, Bankrate, GoBankingRates, FinanceBuzz and more. His work has also appeared on MSN, Fox Business and Yahoo Finance.
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