Since you have full coverage on your vehicle, which usually means liability, collision and comprehensive, you can make a claim against your collision policy to get your car repaired from the damage sustained from the hit and run driver.
As for the affect on your insurance rates, in New York insurance surcharges are allowed for a driver who has previously been at fault in one or more accidents, or has a record of traffic convictions, and thus 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).
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.
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.
You will need to check with your insurance company to find out how their rating system is set up. From the information listed above from the NYS Insurance Department, it would appear that your rates should not be raised from a claim due to a hit and run since you were not at-fault in the incident.
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