wise-wren-4005/15/2026

Hit by an on-duty officer and now I'm the one scrambling for a rental??

I'm still kind of in shock so bear with me.

This afternoon I was stopped at a yield waiting for traffic to clear when a city police cruiser rolled right into the back of my car. Broad daylight, no emergency lights, just… didn't stop. The responding officers (different department, thankfully) cited the cruiser driver. Everyone on scene basically acknowledged it was completely his fault.

Here's where it gets wild:

My car got towed because the rear end is pretty mangled and I didn't feel safe driving it.
I called my own insurance to figure out next steps and they told me I'd have to pay my deductible upfront and then they'd try to recover it from the city's insurer later. That could take months.
On top of that, I apparently skipped rental reimbursement when I set up my policy last year, so they said I'm on my own for a rental in the meantime.

I understand I made a coverage choice I now regret, but why is the financial burden falling on ME when I did absolutely nothing wrong? Shouldn't the at-fault party — or the municipality they work for — be covering my rental and repairs directly?

I've never dealt with anything like this and I have no idea how filing a claim against a city or government entity even works. Is it totally different from a normal claim? Do I need to do anything specific quickly or is there some kind of deadline I don't know about?

Any advice or just knowing someone else has navigated this would really help right now. I'm exhausted and carless and frustrated.

8 replies

Most helpful first

sharp-elk-6745/15/2026
Oh man, I went through something similar — not a cop, but a city vehicle hit me and the whole process was a completely different animal from a normal insurance claim. One thing I wish someone had told me early: claims against a government entity often have a much shorter notice deadline than regular personal injury claims. Like, some places require you to file a formal notice of claim within 30, 60, or 90 days. I almost missed it because I assumed it worked the same way. Please look into that for your city or county ASAP.
sharp-fox-9445/15/2026
Not legal advice, but this is worth knowing: when a government employee causes an accident on the job, you're typically dealing with a municipality's self-insurance pool or a specialized liability program — not a standard auto insurer. The claims process, timelines, and even whether you can sue can all be different depending on your state's sovereign immunity laws. The notice-of-claim deadline my fellow commenter mentioned is real and can be very short. I'd at least have a free consult with a PI attorney soon just to understand your rights before any deadline slips by.
calm-grouse-5335/15/2026
From the inside looking out: municipalities and government insurers are often slower to respond than private carriers and they know most people don't understand the process, so they wait you out. Don't expect them to proactively call you and offer to set up a rental. You will likely have to push, document everything in writing, and be persistent. Keep a log of every call — date, time, who you spoke to, what they said.
- quick-grouse-5995/15/2026
  Three things to do tomorrow morning: 1) Get the police report number and confirm the officer was on duty at the time — that matters for who's liable. 2) Call the city's risk management office and open a claim directly. 3) Call a personal injury attorney for a free consult — most don't charge unless they win. Don't sit on this.
bold-vole-2735/15/2026
Your own insurance company telling you to pay the deductible and then 'we'll fight for it' is technically how subrogation works, but don't assume they'll hustle for you. Their incentive is to recover their payout, not necessarily to make you whole quickly. Stay on top of them.
silent-beaver-6945/15/2026
The rental situation is annoying but here's the thing — even without rental coverage on your own policy, you can request rental reimbursement directly from the at-fault party's insurer (in this case, the city or municipality). You don't have to go through your own policy for that. The catch is the city's liability carrier may drag their feet acknowledging fault, which is why your own policy's rental coverage is a nice bridge. Going forward, it's usually pretty cheap to add. But for right now, contact whoever handles the city's liability claims and make that rental request directly.
genuine-crane-4655/15/2026
Please don't forget about yourself in all the logistics chaos. Even if you feel okay right now, whiplash and soft tissue injuries from rear-end collisions can take 24-72 hours to really show up. Get checked out, even if it's just urgent care. And document everything — if you start having neck pain or headaches next week and you never saw a doctor, it makes things harder.
quiet-grouse-6615/15/2026
This is so unfair and I'm sorry you're dealing with it. The fact that you did everything right and are still scrambling is infuriating. Please take care of yourself and don't let the insurance stuff make you forget to actually rest tonight.