Should have installed that dashcam I got last week

My son's home from college and he is broke so he took my Mazda6 tonight to doordash. We are on the phone now as he waits for a cop.. 

He was driving on a four lane divided road.. just going straight through an intersection with a green light - when the left turn lane had blinking yellow (an Atlanta thing?) and he just had a car coming the opposite direction turn in front of him across the intersection. He says he slammed on the brakes but contacted the back right corner of the other car. He immediately pulled into a gas station. The other car TOOK OFF.

My car has a wrinkled RF fender and busted headlight. He is waiting for the police. 

I don't think there is any way to make this seem like his fault.. Is there?

Borrowed your car for his doordash'ing.  Don't let your insurance company know the car was "working" (as in door dashing) at the time unless your insurance already know the car "works/door dashes"

An accident involving one car making a left turn always results in fault falling onto the left-turn-er since that is the car that has to yield.  

Yeah this might be an odd one. I had to go hard to get Uber to pay me after I got rear ended by a driver who wasn't in his stated car. I only had liability coverage but his insurance said it wasn't their problem as he was operating as a for hire business violating their policy. Uber said he wasn't an official driver (had a passenger with him) because it wasn't the car he had registered with them which violated their policy. I'm afraid if you're insurance realizes he was driving for hire, you might be out of luck without finding the other car.

He was on his way home, not actively delivering. And my insurance doesn't care if you aren't transporting people. Transporting Cheeseburgers is ok as far as I know. Gonna look at it in the daylight. Car runs and drives fine. 

Maybe you will be lucky and the intersection has a cam video of the incident. They all seem to have them nowdays.

MyMiatas said:

Maybe you will be lucky and the intersection has a cam video of the incident. They all seem to have them nowdays.

Hope so. We spoke before the officer arrived - so my son asked the officer about traffic light cameras. Officer wasn't certain but thinks there is a good chance.. and that an "investigator" will find out. 

In 36 years if driving I have never had a vehicle insurance claim... until a cracked windshield about one month ago.

I am not even sure how to proceed in this case. Car is drivable with no rubbing in the fender.... 

Does this become an uninsured motorist claim automatically since the other driver bolted?

Do I go to a body shop first or talk to my insurance company?

Any guidance is appreciated. 

Kinda ridiculous that I consider getting a used fender for $230 and a headlight from RA for $50 instead of filing a claim..... but that's what I'm pondering. 

OHSCrifle said:

He was on his way home, not actively delivering. And my insurance doesn't care if you aren't transporting people. Transporting Cheeseburgers is ok as far as I know. Gonna look at it in the daylight. Car runs and drives fine. 

Err, maybe want to check that again. My employer (and pretty much every insurer I've worked for) consider any kind of paid delivery using your car for a business purpose.

So on mine, insurance provided a list of 3 approved body shops in the area. I picked one and dropped it off for an estimate. They looked it over and gave me a number, $1,500 I think, to replace the rear bumper and paint to match. I then could either leave it with them to fix or take a check for that amount and do what I wanted. I took the check and pulled a junkyard bumper and kept the difference. 

I agree with David that the driving for a delivery co might disqualify things. Maybe one of the other experts will chime in but thread carefully. 

I guess I will see about food delivery. Very easy to see he wasn't on a delivery when it happened anyway. When I got the policy i believe it asked if the car will be used for rideshare and "food" isn't rideshare, I think. 
 

If he is not at fault would it matter....?

Do I just visit a body shop and wait for the police report, then submit to ins..?

With us, a hit and run fell under un/underinsured and it was covered up to our  limit with no deductible. 
 

jfryjfry said:

With us, a hit and run fell under un/underinsured and it was covered up to our  limit with no deductible. 

Do I need a police report (says must wait 5-7 days) before starting a claim?

OHSCrifle said:

I guess I will see about food delivery. Very easy to see he wasn't on a delivery when it happened anyway. When I got the policy i believe it asked if the car will be used for rideshare and "food" isn't rideshare, I think. 
 

If he is not at fault would it matter....?

Do I just visit a body shop and wait for the police report, then submit to ins..?

Yes, unfortunately it does matter.  If you need help, certainly feel free to reach out to me as this is what I do for a living...as does ddavidv.  I'd have to see your policy, but the vast majority of personal lines coverage specifically excludes the type of thing your son was doing at the time.  If they determine he wasn't working at the time since he was on his way home, then yes this would be an uninsured motorist claim.  You can bring the car to a shop for an estimate if you wish, or you could also send your carrier photos of the damage.  

As for always being at fault when turning left, generally speaking yes, but not always 100%.  For example, imagine the road is 4 lanes each direction with no line of sight issues and no major traffic.  The vehicle going straight is an Accord, the vehicle turning left is a loaded tractor trailer.  The Accord is in the far right lane.  The tractor trailer starts to turn left and makes it all the way across the intersection before the Accord hits the right rear tire of the trailer.  Clearly not 100%, or even close.

Technically you can just pay for the repair yourself. I have repaired many cars that have been paid by owner not insurance. Then your driving record is still clean.  IMO Buy a used fender have it painted to the paint code and install it. You and your son can both learn about how to install a fender. And maybe he will learn to be more cautious while driving.

Found a used fender in correct color for $150. Bumper cover TBD. All seem cheaper than opening a claim which I have not yet done (out of concern for the rate increase that'll follow). $420/month with 100% clean record on all four drivers is high enough!

And he wasn't working. He was finished, had been Christmas shopping and was on his way home. 

MyMiatas said:

Maybe you will be lucky and the intersection has a cam video of the incident. They all seem to have them nowdays.

Google street view shows a camera on a pole at the corner directly overhead the point of the collision. I guess we might find out whether that camera was on/recording. Or maybe we won't..

Also went to see a fender found fairly close by car-part.com, stated to be "unblemished" but in reality it looked like it fell out of the back of a pickup at 40mph onto a gravel road.

So Insurance claim initiated. This is why we pay for it every month. Thanks Steve K for the offline info on process.