What do I do if the other vehicle left before we exchanged contact information?
Unfortunately, hit-and-run accidents occur. A hit-and-run does not mean you will not be covered under an ICBC insurance policy, but there are very specific tasks that you must complete in order to proceed with a claim.
As someone who was in an accident and making a claim, you are expected to make “all reasonable efforts” to identify the other driver. An exact definition does not exist of what a reasonable effort is; however, there are guidelines that have developed over the years. Some of the steps are mandatory such as immediately contacting the police. You will also want to do the following: try to obtain witnesses by approaching homes or businesses in the area; contact ICBC by telephone at dial-a-claim as you cannot report a hit-and-run claim online; take photographs of the scene from various angles and different distances; measure distances and specifically skid marks on the road; put up ads in the local newspaper seeking witnesses and keep a record of your newspaper advertisement; make detailed notes (date, time, action) of the efforts that you made to identify the other vehicle.
In addition to the above, speak to your lawyer immediately about hiring a reconstruction engineer to do an examination of the scene. Make sure you follow up with the police officer in charge of your file to see what progress has been made.
By doing all of the above, you strengthen your case with ICBC by demonstrating that you tried hard to identify the other vehicle and driver.