Rear-Ending Someone While Driving A Rental Car

[jadmva]

My question involves a traffic accident in the State of: Connecticut.

Last night I was following an acquaintance and I rear-ended her car when she was at a stoplight. At the time she said everything was okay (the damage didn’t look like much) so we left (Police were not called). I got a call from her today saying the damage is worse than she thought and she was going to bring it to her body shop. The damage to the rental was minimal so I wasn’t planning on mentioning it to the rental company. But now I am thinking what if she develops "Pain" in her neck, etc....and wants to sue me for more. I said I would prefer not to go through insurance so Id be paying out of pocket. But if its like $2000 or more, I cant pay out of pocket. What concerns me more is that I did not have to give my personal car insurance ID to the rental place (there was an insurance card in the glove box), which also the rental is being paid by my car dealership, not me. So what happens now? If I tell the rental company that I had an accident with their car so they then notify my personal car insurance carrier? That doesn’t sound right. They probably have a deductible...would I pay for that or would my car dealership that was paying for me to have the rental? I know, confusing.... but please help...I need to let them know tomorrow (If I do let them know because if the repair is only going to cost a few hundred, I would want to pay cash). I don’t know what to do.

Thank you in advance.

[jk]

bottom line: you will be discovered. IF she files anything, she will, of course, know who the driver that hit her was. Anything the rental comapny pays out, they will come after you for.

ultimately, you will be responsible for any monetary outlay unless you own insurance will provide coverage. It is based upon what yor policy cover for that to be applicable.