Tis the Holiday season and everyone is scurrying around buying gifts for their loved ones. What happens when everyone descends on the shopping malls at the same time? First, you spend fifteen minutes trying to find a parking space within walking distance. Second, sometimes you return to your car to find out someone hit it. In fact, I got just that call yesterday from a client. She was out all day Saturday going from store to store and noticed Sunday morning that someone had hit her car on the passenger side. In her case no one had left a note so she had no idea where it happened or who did it. She had two main questions. Does her collision deductible apply? And, will she be surcharged?
The answer to her first question is "Yes". Because the party at fault did not leave a note and is unknown then the deductible does apply. In MA, the deductible can only be waived when the at-fault party is known. The answer to her second question is "No". Surcharges only apply when the driver is at-fault for the accident. Since her car was hit while parked she cannot be at-fault. If the driver of the car was known then he would be surcharged. So, in her case, she is responsible for her $500 deductible but she will not be surcharged.
Happy Holidays!