A car came off a curve overnight and hit your vehicle parked at home

Attorney Answer

If the driver was identified and insured, the claim goes to that driver's liability insurer, for your vehicle and for any damage to your yard. If the driver left without being identified, or had no insurance, your own policy is the route: collision coverage if you carry it, or uninsured-motorist property coverage if your policy includes it. For a driver who was never identified, that coverage requires the crash to have been reported to the police.

Your vehicle is covered while parked. O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(1)(C):

(C) "Property of the insured" as used in subsection (a) of this Code section means the insured motor vehicle and includes the personal property owned by the insured and contained in the insured motor vehicle.

If the driver was never identified. O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(b)(2) treats the vehicle as uninsured, and recovery requires that “actual physical contact shall have occurred between the motor vehicle owned or operated by the unknown person and the person or property of the insured”. A car that struck yours meets that. The report is a separate condition: O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(c) requires you, or someone on your behalf, to report the accident to the police as O.C.G.A. § 40-6-273 requires, in order to recover when the driver is unknown.

The deductible. Uninsured-motorist property coverage carries a deductible you chose when you bought the policy. O.C.G.A. § 33-7-11(a)(2)(B):

(B) For injury to or destruction of property of the insured, deductibles of $250.00, $500.00, or $1,000.00, at the option of any named insured in the policy. Deductibles above $1,000.00 may be offered, subject to the approval of the Commissioner;

The yard. Damage to your land, a fence or a building is a separate claim from the vehicle, with its own clock. O.C.G.A. § 9-3-30(a):

(a) All actions for trespass upon or damage to realty shall be brought within four years after the right of action accrues.

What you can do

1. If the crash has not been reported to the police, report it now; an uninsured-motorist claim for an unidentified driver depends on it.

2. Photograph your vehicle, the yard, and any tire marks or debris near the curve.

3. Ask neighbors whether any cameras caught the car, before the footage is recorded over.

4. Call your insurer, ask which coverage applies, and ask what deductible you chose.

5. Even if you are handling this yourself, you would be best served by a brief phone consultation with a local Georgia attorney before you act. Most lawyers offer a short initial call at no cost, and a few minutes on your specific facts — and on how your court actually handles this — is worth more than any general guidance, including this page.

⏱ Time limits apply. A claim for damage to the vehicle has four years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-31, and a claim for damage to the yard four years under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-30(a). Your policy may also require prompt notice of the loss.