What to Do If Your Car Gets Scratched in a Parking Lot?
1 Answers
If the car is parked in a free parking lot, you can file a claim with your insurance company; if it's a paid parking lot, you should seek compensation from the parking lot management. Free Parking Lots: As long as the car owner is not parked illegally, they can report the incident to their own insurance company to apply for compensation. However, since the third-party responsible party cannot be identified, the insurance company usually applies a deductible rate of 10%-30%. This means the car owner has to bear this portion of the loss unless they have purchased a zero-deductible insurance policy. Paid Parking Lots: If the car is scratched in places like residential areas with property management fees or paid parking lots, the first step is to claim compensation from the parking lot management. Generally, formal parking lots are insured with liability insurance. The property management will file a claim with their insurance company, which will then compensate the car owner. The parking lot management will later use surveillance and other means to identify the responsible vehicle and seek compensation. If the parking lot does not have liability insurance, they should still compensate the car owner first. Some parking lots may have disclaimers, but such disclaimers are not legally protected, and car owners sometimes need to stand their ground.
