Guy whose car I tapped hasn't responded in 10 days — just wait or call insurance now?

Almost the exact same thing happened to me — I bumped someone's car in a shopping center, we agreed to keep it private, and then the other person went completely silent for almost three weeks. I was a nervous wreck the whole time. They eventually texted back with a totally reasonable estimate and we settled it without insurance. Sometimes people just get busy or lose the urgency once the adrenaline wears off. That said, I totally get the anxiety.

I'd be careful with the 'just wait and see' approach. The tricky thing about private settlements is that the other person can change their mind at any point and decide to go through insurance after all — sometimes way later than you'd expect. If that happens, you want your insurer to at least know the incident occurred, because finding out from a third-party claim out of nowhere looks worse than you self-reporting. Not saying file a claim, but maybe a quick 'heads up' call to your insurer to document the incident might not hurt.

Former auto adjuster here. What you're describing is actually pretty common — the other party cools off, gets a scary estimate, and then doesn't know how to bring it back up. Or they genuinely moved on.

Here's the thing though: most policies require you to report accidents 'promptly,' and the definition of that varies. If a claim comes in from the other side down the road, your insurer will ask when you knew about it. Calling to just notify — not file a claim — is usually an option, and it protects your timeline without necessarily triggering a full claim. Worth a quick call to ask your insurer what their process is for that.

Notify your insurance company that the incident happened. You don't have to file a formal claim, just document it. Then stop texting the other guy — you've reached out twice, that's enough. The ball is in his court. You've done the right things.

Just to flag something — statutes of limitations for property damage claims vary by state, and in some places the other party has longer than you'd think to pursue something. The silence now doesn't necessarily close the door on them. Keeping your own records is really important: save every text, keep the photos, note the dates of all your contact attempts. If something does come up later, that paper trail matters more than people realize.

Not legal advice, but the private settlement approach — while totally understandable — does leave you in a bit of a gray zone. The other party hasn't released any claims in writing, so your exposure isn't technically zero. At minimum I'd suggest sending one final text (or even a short email if you have it) summarizing what was discussed and confirming you're still willing to work something out. That creates a record. Beyond that, a quick call to your insurer to ask about 'notice without claim' options is worth it. Most carriers have a process for that.

Quick question — did you actually get his full name and contact info, or just a phone number? Because if the number stops responding and you don't have more than that, you might have very little recourse if something does come up on your insurance unexpectedly. Just want to make sure you have enough to actually track this if needed.