I was driving and the lady in front of me slammed on her breaks which caused me to rear-end her. We exchanged information but we didn’t think it was serious so we didn’t call the police. She called me a few days later and said the damages to her vehicle were about $2,000 which was surprising. She told her insurance company that I rear-ended her but skipped the part about her slamming on her breaks. She also said she was going to call the police. I wonder in this circumstance, will the police still issue me a ticket even for an after-fact report? Should I contact my insurance company and file a claim?
Question
Should I contact the police and insurance company days after I rear ended a car?
Agent Answer
It is unlikely that the other driving contacting the police days after the accident will result in any citation. Unless they were called to the scene, they probably won’t even be able to write an accident report. In the majority of rear-end crashes, the driver in the back is normally considered at-fault, so it would probably be best, in this case, to contact your insurance company to begin the claims process. You do not necessarily have to get your vehicle repaired through insurance, but it’s likely that you will be responsible for covering the other driver’s damages. Your company will investigate the details of the incident and notify of the details if necessary.