humble-swift-8425/11/2026

Someone backed into my car in a shared parking garage — filed against their insurance but now I'm second-guessing myself

So this happened maybe two weeks ago and I'm still kind of spinning on what I should've done versus what I did.

I park in a covered garage attached to my apartment complex. A neighbor — we've chatted a few times, friendly enough — apparently clipped my front bumper while pulling out of the spot diagonal from mine. I wasn't there when it happened. Came out to run errands and just noticed the scrape and a cracked piece of trim.

Here's the thing: he actually knocked on my door later that evening and owned up to it. Showed me a little paint transfer on his rear quarter panel that matched mine. He was apologetic, gave me his insurance info, said "just file it, that's what insurance is for." So I did — filed directly with his carrier the next day.

Now a friend of mine is telling me I should've gone through my own insurance first and let them duke it out. But that seems... backwards? He admitted fault. I have photos of both vehicles. I have his insurance card in my email. I even have a text from him saying sorry.

The adjuster from his insurance called me pretty quickly and seems cooperative so far. They did ask for my own insurance info, which I gave them — not sure why they needed it.

I live in an at-fault state, for what it's worth. And since this happened in a private garage, I looked into it and apparently police don't respond to or file reports for incidents on private property here, so I don't have an official report.

Did I do this right? Is there any reason going through his insurance directly could backfire on me? Just want to make sure I'm not walking into some trap I don't know about.

8 replies

Most helpful first

hearty-stoat-1245/11/2026
You did exactly what I did when someone hit my car in a shopping center lot. Filed straight with the at-fault driver's insurance, no police report because private property, and it worked out fine. The fact that you have an admission in writing (a text!) honestly puts you in a better spot than I was. Trust the process — you're not doing it wrong.
- silent-sparrow-2665/11/2026
  Honestly the fact that your neighbor came and told you instead of just disappearing is kind of remarkable. Most hit-and-run stories on here don't go this way. You've got the admission, the photos, the claim open — you're way ahead of where a lot of people end up after a parking lot incident.
keen-tern-7605/11/2026
Going through his insurance directly is totally normal, but keep your guard up. His insurer's adjuster works for him, not you. They'll be friendly right up until they decide the damage is worth less than you think, or they start implying the trim was already cracked before. Get your own repair estimate from a shop you choose — don't just accept whatever shop they try to steer you toward. And screenshot that text admission like ten times and back it up somewhere.
gentle-heron-2805/11/2026
The reason they asked for your own insurance info is pretty standard — they're verifying coverage on all parties and making sure there are no coverage overlaps or subrogation issues down the line. It doesn't mean anything suspicious. What you want to watch for is if they start slow-rolling the claim or low-balling the repair estimate. A written admission from the at-fault driver is genuinely valuable; a lot of claims come down to a he-said-she-said, and you don't have that problem here.
patient-otter-3715/11/2026
Filing a third-party claim directly with the at-fault driver's insurer is completely standard practice in at-fault states. That's literally what it's designed for. Your own insurer doesn't need to be the middleman when fault is clear. Just document everything going forward — keep a folder with the photos, the texts, the claim number, every adjuster call with date and time and what was said. If anything gets weird later, that paper trail matters a lot.
- tidy-kestrel-5465/11/2026
  One thing I'd want to know — did you get a repair estimate yet, or are you still waiting on the adjuster to send someone? Because there's a difference between a claim going smoothly and a claim settling smoothly. The cooperative phase can sometimes cool off once they see the actual repair number. What's the damage looking like?
warm-newt-8615/11/2026
Did you check yourself over after? I know it sounds silly for a parking garage bump, but sometimes people don't notice they bumped their head leaning in to look at the damage, or they carry tension in their neck from the stress of the whole situation. If anything feels off physically even days later, see someone and mention the incident. Just covering the bases.
bright-heron-3235/11/2026
You're fine. Neighbor admitted it, you have it in a text, you filed immediately, you have photos. The only mistake people make in your situation is waiting too long or agreeing to just "handle it privately" without insurance. You didn't do that. Stop second-guessing and just respond to the adjuster promptly.