At fault accident - do you claim or pay for it yourself?

[nzwasp]

yesterday i caused an at fault accident to myself - no persons or property damaged.

The damage is $3300

I have no accident forgiveness (not been in canada for long enough)

If I pay outright my premiums dont go up, if i do im certain they will but i have no idea how much and TD wont tell me how much, not sure how they dont know.

Currently my grid step is -5 if i claim it will go to 0.

[spikerS]

if you pay it, your rates wont go up. if you claim, on average I hear people say their rates went up $300-500 a year, some have been more. There are a lot of variable they use to calculate risk.

If you can afford to, pay it, if not, claim it. That's about as simple as it gets.

[BavarianBeast]

I'll pay for damage on my own if it is less than 2.5x my deductible. I'd go through insurance for anything more, sounds like a small fender bender, shouldn't make your premiums go up too much. Just my $0.02 though.

[jdmXSI]

Pics of the damage?

[guessboi]

Ask your broker for an estimate if you file a claim.
Every situation is different. If you are going from a 5* to a 0* (0 yrs claim free) You are going to take a big hit.
Your grid won't change with a single vehicle accident. Grid is for liability.

[Masked Bandit]

I'm guessing you've been driving in Canada for five years now, right? You're ALMOST at the point of qualifying for accident forgiveness. If you claim this damage you'll go right back down to the bottom and it will be another six years before you can qualify again. If you have the cash I would just pay for this one out of pocket.

Edit: Confirm with TD that if you pay for this out of pocket they aren't going to rate you for it. Some insurance companies will still rate you for a claim once they know about it even if you pay out of pocket. That's the one big down side to a direct writer like a bank, you can't ever discuss things with them "off the record" like you can with a broker.

[nzwasp]

Masked Bandit, Would i get a discount in your experience if I waited one more year before changing providers? (and paying out of pocket for this)

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by nzwasp
Masked Bandit, Would i get a discount in your experience if I waited one more year before changing providers? (and paying out of pocket for this)

Depending on the timing you may not need to wait. It really depends on when your six year anniversary hits and where you were licensed & insured before Canada.

[nzwasp]

Licensed in Canada 23 July 2009.

Licensed in New Zealand Sept 1995

i guess my six year anniversary is next year in july.

[Masked Bandit]

Did TD tell you that your New Zealand driving experience wasn't valid? Or were you not able to get your hands on the appropriate documents to prove your NZ experience?

[nzwasp]

they said only canadian experience was valid

[Masked Bandit]

We have numerous companies that accept New Zealand on par with Canadian. We could have insured you at a top rating the minute you set foot in Alberta.

It's up to each individual insurance company to decide what they will and will not accept as prior driving experience.

[nzwasp]

will keep that in mind when we shop around later on in the year.

[Dave P]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit

Edit: Confirm with TD that if you pay for this out of pocket they aren't going to rate you for it. Some insurance companies will still rate you for a claim once they know about it even if you pay out of pocket. That's the one big down side to a direct writer like a bank, you can't ever discuss things with them "off the record" like you can with a broker.

If you are not going to claim it, dont tell TD anything. haha

Best option is to cancel Td, and go to Bill.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by Dave P
Best option is to cancel Td, and go to Bill.

Drop TD like they're hot :werd:

[BrknFngrs]

Originally posted by Dave P
Best option is to cancel Td, and go to Bill.

:werd:

[shakalaka]

I am with TD MM and have been right from the start and get a reasonable rate cause of all the discounts (family home, other cars etc). I believe mine is around $1400 a year for the C63.

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by shakalaka
I am with TD MM and have been right from the start and get a reasonable rate cause of all the discounts (family home, other cars etc). I believe mine is around $1400 a year for the C63.

I was with them, $990/year on a old Corolla, we also had the parents house and 2 cars on the policy. Went elsewhere and my insurance dropped to $620 :nut:. After I left TD, parents also moved their policies elsewhere which saved them money.

[ExtraSlow]

Originally posted by shakalaka
I am with TD MM and have been right from the start and get a reasonable rate cause of all the discounts (family home, other cars etc). I believe mine is around $1400 a year for the C63.
I had "all the discounts" as well with TDMM, and I was able to do better with a good broker I found on Beyond.ca.
TDMM has excellent marketing, but they aren't as cheap as they pretend.

[nzwasp]

I think we did look at M bandit earlier in the year when we bought the Forte but my wife was really against changing because she thought her appega discount was king. Then my buddy who is also with TDMM decided to change because they wouldnt insure his sewer backup and now shes all into changing from them. For some reason though our house insurance is way way cheaper with TD than most other providers could have for theirs.

I think we currently pay about $1000(i think) for the house in Montreux/Aspen (worth 650k), 1000$ for 2013 toyota highlander, 1500$ for 2014 Kia Forte 5 SXT and $80 a year for the 1973 Boler vacation trailer.

[revelations]

Suffice to say, if you havent talked to Bill, youre probably paying too much!! :D

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by revelations
Suffice to say, if you havent talked to Bill, youre probably paying too much!! :D

Bill is a solid guy, if it's not worth it for you to switch over - he will tell you to stay where you are:thumbsup:

[shakalaka]

Hmm maybe I should speak to Masked Bandit for a quote. I didn't have issues with TD and thought the rate was reasonable so never really even thought about switching. But if it does make that much of a difference then I guess it's not a bad idea to at least get a quote. If I can get the exact same or better coverage for cheaper than what I am paying now then why now. Coincidentally my policy is up for renewal in January that they automatically renew unless I tell them not to.

[Masked Bandit]

Beyonders, I'm happy to personally review your portfolios and tell you where money can be saved, where coverage can be strengthened, and what strategies can be employed to better your insurance situation. And this isn't some goofy sales pitch, if we truly can't help you, I'll tell you straight out. Honest advice is always free.

Of course I won't be doing anything until Monday as we're closed now and I ain't working over the weekend...lol.

To those that have recommended us, I sincerely appreciate the positive responses. I don't know if you'll ever truly know how much that means to a small business owner.

[know1edge]

.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
Beyonders, I'm happy to personally review your portfolios and tell you where money can be saved, where coverage can be strengthened, and what strategies can be employed to better your insurance situation. And this isn't some goofy sales pitch, if we truly can't help you, I'll tell you straight out. Honest advice is always free.

Of course I won't be doing anything until Monday as we're closed now and I ain't working over the weekend...lol.

To those that have recommended us, I sincerely appreciate the positive responses. I don't know if you'll ever truly know how much that means to a small business owner.

I can personally vouch for Bill's integrity in this. We looked at my portfolio annually for 3 years in a row and just couldn't make it work. This year, it was close enough that even though Bill was more expensive than my TDMM insurance, it made sense to switch because of the much better coverage, and the quality of the service that Bill gave me.

In a couple of years, when my "at fault" no one else involved accident goes away, Bill's rates will be much cheaper overall than I can get at TDMM. He priced out what it would have been if I didn't have that little booboo on my record, and it was pretty sweet...

OP, you have to do the calculation on whats cheaper for you, paying to get it fixed out of pocket vs the potential hike in rates down the road. Every situation is different.

[nzwasp]

I've decided im going to suck it up and just pay it. I had two options fender replacement, bumper replacement and paint for 3300 or fender repair (the dent is 3cm x 1cm) and bumper replacement/paint for 2900 so thats the option im going to take.

The paint and finish is $2000 of the work.

[shakalaka]

What's the best way to get in touch with you Bill and discuss figures?

[G-ZUS]

Originally posted by nzwasp
I've decided im going to suck it up and just pay it. I had two options fender replacement, bumper replacement and paint for 3300 or fender repair (the dent is 3cm x 1cm) and bumper replacement/paint for 2900 so thats the option im going to take.

The paint and finish is $2000 of the work.

If you want a cheaper option and can remove/reassemble the bumper and fender i may be able to save you some money. I know of a good painted you can drop the parts off to get painted and then pick up and install.

Alternatively, have you looked into used parts? Sometimes you get lucky and find the same color.

[nzwasp]

car's too new for the used parts - already looked into it, most of the parts places I looked at already also didn't carry the parts either. Im just sucking it up and getting it done at this place in the SE

[Mitsu3000gt]

TD has accident forgiveness, if you haven't got into an accident in I think 3 years, you should have it again.

[nzwasp]

6 years they told me.

[zipdoa]

Just as a heads up, make sure that if you pay out of pocket, you get the other party to fill out a waiver stating that they won't sue/forgoe any future medical expenses in relation to the collision.

I was going to pay out of pocket to repair the rear bumper on a Jeep GC I bumped into (15km/h collision), but when I inquired with the other party as to whether they'd sign off on forgoing medical claims, they refused. I ended up claiming through RBC, which was the right choice, because had I paid out of pocket, they would've just gone and filed a claim anyway. Turns out they claimed $8800 in medical expenses.

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

Another +1 for Bill and the guys at Touchstone!

[Masked Bandit]

Originally posted by shakalaka
What's the best way to get in touch with you Bill and discuss figures?

Shoot me an email at work ([email protected]) or give me a call (403-457-5758). I expect Monday to be a bit of a gong show after being gone for four days but things should settle down after that.

Cheers!