It sounds as if the person that hit your husband's vehicle stayed around and gave him and you her information. This is good so that you can place a claim against the at-fault party's property damage liability insurance for the damage she caused to your husband's car in the parking lot. If this is done then your rates should not be affected since your husband was not at fault nor is the claim being made through your insurance provider.
If instead you do not know who hit your car or if she does not have insurance for you to place a claim with then you would need to place the claim with your own physical damage collision coverage. If your insurance rates will rise due to placing a claim with your own insurance provider depends on state laws and your insurance company's rating system for surcharges.
In New York insurance surcharges are based on the fact that a driver who has previously been at fault in one or more accidents, or has a record of traffic convictions, has an increased likelihood of being involved in future accidents.
The NY Insurance Department states that insurers classify drivers according to such criteria as age of driver, geographical location, mileage and type of vehicle. To further refine those classifications, many insurers use merit rating plan", a point system in which increases are applied according to an individual driver's record (traffic convictions and accidents).
Surcharges are applied to liability (bodily injury & property damage), collision and no-fault (PIP) coverages, and are only allowed for:
- Accidents involving bodily injury, or losses to property in excess of the accident reporting threshold ($1,000), where the insured driver is at fault, or
- Convictions for certain violations which are chargeable under the Insurance Law.
New York State allows an insurance surcharge to be used by insurance companies as a tool to properly price the exposure the insurer is writing, and not as a means to recoup payment made under a claim. The total dollar amount paid as the result of a claim does not affect the surcharge. An insured being surcharged for a particular accident will pay the same amount regardless if the damages were (for example) $2,000 or $50,000.
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