Northwest Drivers Who Hit Parked Cars Don't Always Leave Notes

Many motorists don't leave proper contact information.

A surprising PEMCO Insurance poll found that motorists in Oregon are worse than Washington drivers when it comes to leaving contact information after hitting an unoccupied car. Almost half (47%) of Portland drivers surveyed admitted to leaving the scene without leaving any contact information!

Seattle motorists, on the other hand, said they left notes two-thirds (67%) of the time when they were responsible for damage to a parked car.

In addition to hitting parked cars and driving away without leaving a note, most drivers in both states responded that they've been involved in an accident at least once, and men are significantly more likely than women to be involved in an accident, no matter who was at fault. The poll also found that 62% of Washington men admitted to be at fault in an accident, whereas 51% of women admitted to being to blame.

For those involved in an accident, Washington motorists again proved to be more proactive. PEMCO's poll revealed that 56% of Washington drivers called 911 following the accident, while only 39% of Oregon drivers did.

While it's important to take photos of the accident scene to document the situation, only one-quarter of drivers say they did. Younger drivers were much more likely to take pictures of the collision than older drivers. Nearly half (49%) of Washington drivers under 35 took the photos, while 52% of young Portland drivers did.

Drivers in Portland must immediately notify law enforcement of the accident if damages total more than $1,500, according to Oregon’s Department of Motor Vehicles. In Washington, drivers must notify the Washington State Patrol if vehicle damage exceeds $700 – but drivers have up to three days to file a report.

Proper things to do if you are involved in an accident:

• Stop and determine if anyone is injured. If needed, call 911 for help.
• If it can be done safely, move your vehicle to the side of the road. 

• Exchange contact and insurance information, but don’t discuss responsibility for the accident.
• Take photos of the damage.
• Report the accident to the local police.

ACV vs Stated Amount vs Agreed Values for Vehicles

Every time you get into your car and start the engine it is very likely that pennies fall off. Well, not actual pennies but the value of the car drops a very small amount each mile it is driven. This is because most cars are a depreciating asset. With this in mind let's talk about three common ways you can insure the value of your vehicle. The three ways are Actual Cash
Value (ACV), Stated Amount and Agreed Value.

Actual Cash Value is the most common form of valuing a car by insurance companies. What this means is that after an accident they take the original value of the car when it was brand new and they then depreciate the car over time until the date of the claim. They taking into account the miles driven, prior damage to the vehicle, wear and tear and maintenance upkeep of the vehicle. The farther away you are from the date the car was made the lower the value of the car.

Stated Amount is a little bit different. In this case you would tell the insurance company what you feel your vehicle is worth, say $30,000. This $30,000 is now the most the insurance company will pay out for the car, however when you have a claim they will research to see what other vehicles similar to yours are being valued for. If that value is less than the $30,000 they will give you the lesser amount. You often see this in collectors cars or cars that have a lot of specialize equipment attached to the body of the vehicle.

Agreed Value is where both the insurance company and you come to a prearranged value for your vehicle. When you agree upon this value, say it is $30,000 again, when a claim arises you are going to automatically be paid the agreed upon value of $30,000. Unlike Stated Amount, they do not go out and decide if the market still feels your car is worth a certain amount, they just agree to pay the agreed upon value that was settled before the claim even happened. This is most used for classic/collector cars. In fact it is best to make sure your classic/collector car is an Agreed Value instead of a State Amount. Often this requires an appraisal which may cost a little money to have done. One other thing to take into account when vehicles are insured for an Agreed Value, they can often have a limit on how many miles the vehicle can be driven each year.

For more information on valuations of vehicles please feel free to get in touch with Fey Insurance Services. We have been serving the Oxford, OH and Cincinnati, OH areas since 1958.