Two not-at-fault claims in under a year — will my insurance drop me or jack up my rates?

I had two not-at-fault claims in about 14 months a couple years ago and was terrified of the same thing. My rates did nudge up slightly at renewal but nowhere near what I feared. The key thing my agent told me was to document everything obsessively — police report, photos, the video if you have it. The more airtight your 'not at fault' status is, the less leverage they have to penalize you.

Former claims adjuster here. Honestly, insurers look at your overall loss history, and two not-at-fault incidents do show up in your CLUE report regardless of fault. Some carriers weigh it less heavily, others use it as a soft signal that you park or drive in 'high-risk environments.' It's not fair, but it happens. That said — DO file the police report for the hit and run. Without it, your own insurer has less reason to waive your collision deductible, and it also protects you if the other driver somehow surfaces later with a different story.

Please don't just call your insurer and chat casually about what happened before you've filed the police report. Adjusters are trained to ask open-ended questions and anything you say gets noted. Get the report filed first, have the damage documented by a body shop, THEN open the claim with evidence in hand. Going in prepared makes a difference.

A couple of things worth knowing: first, many states have consumer protection rules limiting how much an insurer can penalize you for not-at-fault claims, but the specifics vary a lot by state so it's worth a quick look at your state's insurance commissioner website. Second, if you can get law enforcement to run that partial plate and identify the driver, you may be able to file directly against their liability coverage instead of touching your own policy at all — which would be ideal for keeping your claims history cleaner.

Were you in the car during the hit and run, or was it unoccupied? Just checking — sometimes people don't realize they felt a jolt or tension in the moment and brush it off. If you were inside when it got hit, even a low-speed impact can do more to your neck and shoulders than you'd expect. Don't ignore any physical stuff while you're focused on the car damage.

File the police report today. Not tomorrow. The longer you wait the more it looks like you're unsure it happened. You have video — that's gold. Bring it to the station on your phone if you have to. After that, get the body shop estimate. Then open the claim. Do it in that order and you'll be in a much stronger position.

How clear is the partial plate really? Like, enough characters to narrow it down to one vehicle, or just a couple digits? And is the truck make/model visible enough to cross-reference? Asking because if police can actually ID the driver, your whole situation changes — you'd potentially have a real person to go after instead of eating a deductible through your own coverage.

The fact that you have footage at all is honestly huge. Most hit and run victims have nothing. You've got visual evidence of the incident happening, the other vehicle, and potentially an identifiable plate. That's way more than average and it genuinely puts you in a strong position whether you're dealing with your insurer or law enforcement.

Ugh this is so stressful, I'm sorry you're dealing with it again so soon. Just want to say — don't let the fear of a rate increase stop you from filing what you're legally entitled to. The damage is real, the other person caused it and ran. You shouldn't be absorbing that cost out of pocket.