What Happens If I Hit My Own Car?

Hitting your own car sounds silly, how would that even happen? Well, it does. Some families have more than one car and when yore in a rush and just trying to leave well, you may have an accident and hit your own car on by mistake! Now, what do you do? What happens if you hit something else like your own mailbox or you drive through your own wall or garage? There are a lot of things that can go laughably wrong when driving and here is how you deal with some of them!

I Have Just Hit My Own Car in MY Driveway, Now What?

Here is where collision coverage would be perfect to have and a great idea. Say you are backing out and you don’t realize that your wife has stuck the nose of her car out just farther than normal in the driveway where you need to pull out. You reach down to grab your coffee and bam you smack right into her car. Now what do you do? Besides getting a little irritated at your wife, everything should be fine if you have collision insurance even if both cars are on the same insurance plan!

The collision insurance will cover the damages to your wife’s car as well as your car. If you don’t have collision insurance, then things may get a little pricey depending on what insurance you do have. Call your insurance company and see what they cover. The best news, you’re covered, less great news you have to pay for it out of pocket and your wife is a little peeved.

But What If I Hit My Car on The Road?

The roads get a little trickier because it is public property. Similar situation as to before but now you are driving home. You want some dinner and to relax, you turn the corner and you catch your wife’s car with the front end of yours. If your wife is inside and not injured and you are not injured, then your insurance should take over from there and you can use it to cover the costs of the damages that occurred.

Now if you, a passenger or your wife were injured in this accident then things start to get just a bit more complicated. The at-fault car, you in this situation, your liability insurance will cover the medical expenses of the person you hit, so your wife. If you are injured, then your PIP or personal injury protection insurance will kick in and that is what you would use to see a doctor or cover medical bills. If you don’t have personal injury protection, then your regular health insurance should cover the medical costs depending on what you have.

Now I drove Through My Mailbox or Wall!

Most of us who are on social media have seen people run over their own mailboxes. In that case, your insurance will cover the damage to your car, and you need to buy a new mailbox. But what about the people that dive through their own garages or straight into their own living rooms? Who covers the damages and costs of that?

There are two ways this can go, and it may be surprising. If you own the home, then you may be out of luck unless our homeowner's insurance will cover the damages to the house. If the homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover the costs to the house, then you have just made a very expensive mistake.

Now if you are a renter then you may be in luck. When you rent you do not own the home you are living in. most car insurance companies will cover property that is not, you’re under their collision insurance but they will not cover property that you own. You have driven into the landlord's property, therefore, your insurance should kick in.

Whether you own the property or not, you should call your insurance company to report the accident and damage. The insurance agent can help you assess the damages to the vehicle, walk you through the steps that need to be done and help you file a claim. Sometimes you may not think that your insurance will cover something, and it actually will so its always a good idea to call and start a claim right away!