SOMEONE BACKED INTO ME IN A PARKING LOT
Their insurance pays, and you owe no deductible on it. A driver backing out owes a duty to the car already in the lane, so a back-into-you is rarely a 50/50 — but evidence is what makes that stick, so before anything moves: photograph both cars where they sit, get the other driver’s name, plate, and insurance, and grab a witness if one’s there. File on their liability coverage and you pay nothing out of pocket; you can also run it through your own collision and let the insurers settle it. Your shop choice is yours by law (Tex. Ins. Code §1952.301), claim number or not. If they drove off, it becomes a hit-and-run — still fixable, different coverage.
The Longer Answer
WHAT TO DO IN THE LOT, AND WHO ACTUALLY PAYS
First, the fault question, because it drives everything else. A driver backing out of a space has to yield to a vehicle already traveling the lane — so when someone backs into you, the presumption usually runs their way, not into an automatic split. That’s the opposite of the “parking lots are always 50/50” myth, which adjusters lean on precisely because parking-lot hits are often under-documented. The fix is evidence, gathered in the two minutes before cars move: photograph both vehicles in place (position is the story — once you pull apart, you can’t prove who was where), then wider shots of the lane and the space, the damage close up, and the other car’s plate. Get the driver’s name and insurance, and if anyone saw it, a name and number — a single witness collapses most he-said-she-said.
Now the money. When the other driver is at fault, you file on their liability coverage, and liability carries no deductible to you — their insurer pays to put your car back, period. You can also choose to file on your own collision coverage: you’d front your deductible, but your carrier then pursues the other insurer and refunds that deductible once they recover (Texas gives them a one-year window to do it). Which path is faster depends on whether the other driver’s carrier accepts liability quickly; when they do, letting their insurer pay the shop directly is the clean route. If both of you were somehow moving, fault can split by percentage — how that works is in the both-at-fault answer — but a parked-or-through-lane car backed into is rarely that case.
Two things that trip people up. Your shop choice is yours — the other driver’s insurer (or your own) will often “recommend” a shop, but §1952.301 puts that decision with you, and you can bring the car here regardless of whose claim it is or which network anyone names. And if the other driver left the scene — a hit-and-run while you were parked and gone — you’re not stuck: it typically runs through your own uninsured-motorist or comprehensive coverage, and a police report matters more there than in any other scenario. The hit-and-run guide walks that path. Either way, text us a photo of the damage and the claim number if you have one, and the paperwork becomes our job, not yours.
Related Questions