Question: I was in the Target parking lot the other day loading up my trunk, and the car that pulled up beside me flung open the door, and it dinged my door. The dent isn’t huge, but it’s more than noticeable. I didn’t say anything then, but now I have a $500 car repair bill. What should I do if this happens again?
Answer: If the ding on your happened and you know who is responsible for the damage or witnessed the damage happen, there are several vital steps to take right away:
- Advise the other driver of the damage and exchange insurance information. You’ll want to get their key information such as name, insurance company, policy numbers, license plate, make and model of car, and any other relevant information on their insurance ID card.
- If the other driver doesn’t comply, take a picture of their license plate and car so you at least have some basic information to help authorities or insurance companies track them down.
- Check with security to see if there is a video recording of the incident. Depending on the severity of the incident, this will help your case with either the police or insurance claim.
- Contact your local police department and file a report. This is mainly to create a paper trail of the incident.
- If there is enough damage to warrant a claim, contact your insurance company and file a comprehensive coverage claim.
Important Reminders
Remember that if you’re filing a comprehensive coverage claim, you’ll have to pay your deductible before insurance will pay. That’s why it’s a good idea to check with a local repair shop to get an estimate of the cost of repairs before you contact your car insurance company.
If the cost of the repairs is less than your deductible, you should pay for the repairs out of pocket and avoid the potential subsequent increase in your insurance rates from filing a claim.
If someone dings your car door and you aren’t able to see who caused the damage, here’s what you’ll want to do:
- Take photos of the damage: You’ll want to have documentation of the severity of the damage for the possibility of a police report or an insurance claim.
- Check with security and see if they have video footage of what happened. You may be able to collect the license plate to file a police report. If it happened on a residential street, you should check if any of the residences in the area have security cameras facing where your car was parked. Getting video footage of the incident is ideal.
- If there is enough damage to warrant a claim, contact your insurance company and file a comprehensive coverage claim, which generally covers damage to your vehicle caused by a wide range of non-collision situations.
Shannon Martin is a licensed insurance agent and insurance writer with 18 years of experience in the industry. She specializes in car, homeowners, and umbrella insurance and ensures readers can trust content for accuracy and usefulness. Prior to joining Jerry’s editorial team in 2021, Shannon was a founding member of Jerry’s customer response team, building on her 14 years of experience as an insurance professional at GEICO and The Hartford.
Kevin Berry is the Senior Director of Content at Jerry and has been working in the digital content space since 2011 across the car insurance/repair, personal finance, travel and sports industries. Prior to Jerry, Kevin was a content team lead at NerdWallet overseeing the Multimedia Production and Travel Rewards teams. Previously, he worked for NBC Sports, Comcast Cable and Nike. He has a Master`s Degree from Arkansas State and a Bachelor`s from Oregon State University.
Giselle Gomez is an editor with over a decade of experience editing content across personal finance, education, travel, and sports. In editing for Jerry, Giselle’s focus is on making sure content is consumer and SEO-friendly and helping readers understand all things car ownership. In prior roles, she worked as a content strategist, syndication editor, and writer. Her work is featured in AP, NerdWallet.com, BestColleges.com, and more. Giselle holds a master’s degree from Arizona State University.
