Years ago when I first started as an insurance agent, I went on an appointment to write a car policy.  The customer was a old gentleman living in the Los Angeles area.  I asked the normal questions about accidents and tickets.  The insured replied that he never had any tickets or accidents.  The prospect had no tickets or accidents on his motor vehicle report and his insurance report showed no claims. 

As I was examining his car and taking pictures I noticed a big dent on the passenger side near the rear of the car.  I asked him, “What happened here?”  “I see you were in an accident.” He replied, “Oh no, I wasn’t in an accident.”  I said, “Then, what happened?”  The prospect explained to me that he backed out of his garage and hit his tree.  He further told me, “there was no other car involved, so it wasn’t an accident.”

Well, unfortunately, that was an accident. 

I explained to him that any time you hit something while driving your vehicle is considered an accident.  No one else has to be involved.  He seemed pretty amazed at that. 

As you can imagine, I had to explain this several times over the years to people.  But, its not just older people who have this idea, as I have had to explain this to young people as well. 

This is one of the reasons agents inspect cars and a major reason why we ask if there are any dings, dents or damage to your car.

Remember, an accident is an accident anytime you drive your car and hit something that damages either your car or another’s property.

If you have any questions contact us by email and we will respond in our weekly blog.