Must I report a minor accident to car insurance, if I don’t intent to make a claim?

[jmc]

At the light, I stop, then I let go of the brake and my car slide and slightly bump into the car in front. Of course no injury, and if you look hard -barely noticeable visible damage on both vehicle; the usual insurance information were exchanged, etc. Then off I when....
I don’t intent to claim (I only have 3rd party liability anyways), and I don’t know or care if the other drive will claim or what it will cost them (I can’t see it being that high, or it being even worth fixing).

Must I report the accident to insurance, even if I do not intent to make a claim? What are the consequences? Should the insurance call to ask if this happened - I will of course say yes; but Must I voluntary report this now and why?

[Masked Bandit]

You should be able to discuss something like this, off the record, with your broker.

If however you are insured with a bank...well...I can't help you there.

[Jetta-2.0]

YES let them know what happen and what time and where it happend, u nver know if they come a month later and say that u crashed in to there car... if they have an accident, they can easly blame it on u... the insurance will put it on file alone with all the other parties info and if they call to claim on ur behalf then ur insurance will know what had happen and where and if the other party is not telling the truth

[Thaco]

no, do not tell your insurance company, they will have it on your records and will potentially increase your premiums next year due to "increased risk"

[elite]

If u tell the insurance company, whether u make a claim for damages or not, it counts as an accident and ur insurance goes up.

Not sure if this applies if there is no other driver/vehicle involved, ex, you hit something like a concrete barrier and cause damage to your own car only, which you plan to fix out of your own pocket. But my gut feeling is, doesn't matter what you hit, if you tell the insurance company about it, they count it as a strike against you and raise ur insurance premiums as your "driver rating" gets crappier

that is my understanding.

i would talk to the other driver and work something out with them. Of course u have to do this before the other driver reports this to their insurance company.

[Rat Fink]

.

[jmc]

Ok thanks, not going to brother as it seems optional…
I would think my insurance company will do its full diligent before paying out suspicious claims made against me. If I am involve, I would definitely suggest the insurance company perform a full investigation [e.g. inspect my car to see there’s no way that much damage could be done (picture already taken)] and charge them with insurance fraud.

[elite]

Originally posted by jmc
Ok thanks, not going to brother as it seems optional…
I would think my insurance company will do its full diligent before paying out suspicious claims made against me. If I am involve, I would definitely suggest the insurance company perform a full investigation [e.g. inspect my car to see there’s no way that much damage could be done (picture already taken)] and charge them with insurance fraud.

clearly u missed the point even if both parties claim no damages and no payout, the insurance company will count it as an accident against you and ur insurance goes up











fuck it, yea don't do anything
insurance company is ur bro, let them fight for you

[M.alex]

So you go around hitting other people's cars and don't care. And english doesn't seem to be your first language. Imagine that

[jmc]

I care about the other person's well being, i.e. if the other person is injured or not. I believe the damage is minimum. But I do not care if they make a claim against me or not, it's out of my hand and caring does not help: they can say they will make a claim and decide not to, or they can say they will not make a claim and decide to change their mind.
English is not my first language, so if I did not explain correctly I am sorry.

[GTS4tw]

Originally posted by M.alex
So you go around hitting other people's cars and don't care. And english doesn't seem to be your first language. Imagine that

I lol'd

[Sugarphreak]

...

[-relk-]

I once backed into a car on my way to an exam. Just a small scratch on my car, but blew up their bumper. Left my name and number, but no insurance number and made sure I didnt give them any insurance stuff as I was planning on just settling it with them out of my pocket. Got it repaired for them in the end, cost me ~$800, and never told my insurance company about it. No increase in premiums.

If I were you, I wouldnt have given my insurance info right away and made it clear you were gonna pay out of pocket for it. Insurance companies like to look for excuses to jack up your insurance rates (at least I think). I think everything else has been covered by people above, so good luck!

[colsankey]

Originally posted by -relk-
I once backed into a car on my way to an exam. Just a small scratch on my car, but blew up their bumper. Left my name and number, but no insurance number and made sure I didnt give them any insurance stuff as I was planning on just settling it with them out of my pocket. Got it repaired for them in the end, cost me ~$800, and never told my insurance company about it. No increase in premiums.

If I were you, I wouldnt have given my insurance info right away and made it clear you were gonna pay out of pocket for it. Insurance companies like to look for excuses to jack up your insurance rates (at least I think). I think everything else has been covered by people above, so good luck!

Leaving a note is one thing, but if it's a "live" accident, even if it's extremely minor fendor rub, you better believe I'm going to ask for the persons insurance info. Even if it looks minor and I thought I would settle it "cash" or out of pocket, I want that insurance info so if I'm getting dicked around, I file a report, call my insurance and then it's not my problem any more.

I've been there once - hit by someone backing up, they admitted fault. She said they would pay for any damages after we agreed there was possibly some scratches (winter, muddy, hard to tell at accident site) but when I called back, she said she couldnt talk to me and I've have to talk to her husband, who would never answer the phone, and their lawyer.

Now if I I'm ever in an accident, they can ask what they want of me, but I'm walking away with a plate number, name, address, DL #, insurance info and a quick cell phone snap of the damages.

[Kloubek]

I have a few issues with this thread.

First of all, OP, you damaged someone else's vehicle and you didn't discuss with them how it is going to be fixed? Unless they are gracious enough to let it go, if you made not arrangements to pay them out then they are likely to go through insurance to get it fixed. This will result in your rates going up and you'll end up paying several times over what it would have cost to just pay to have it fixed.

Your best bet it to contact them if you have their info, ask them to get quotes to fix the damage, and pay them out with a receipt saying they absolve you from any further action.

Second, there is some misinformation about how an insurance company handles accidents. If the person at fault pays out the damage instead of letting insurance handle it, their rates will generally *not* go up. Obviously if the insurance companies are never contacted this will be the way it works, but even if they are, they might keep the information on record but they will not raise your rates.

I had a very minor bump backing out in a parking lot several years ago and I paid out the damage after contacting my insurance company. Rates did not rise. I know many people who have paid out minor incidents without a change in their rates.

[-relk-]

Originally posted by colsankey


Leaving a note is one thing, but if it's a "live" accident, even if it's extremely minor fendor rub, you better believe I'm going to ask for the persons insurance info. Even if it looks minor and I thought I would settle it "cash" or out of pocket, I want that insurance info so if I'm getting dicked around, I file a report, call my insurance and then it's not my problem any more.

I've been there once - hit by someone backing up, they admitted fault. She said they would pay for any damages after we agreed there was possibly some scratches (winter, muddy, hard to tell at accident site) but when I called back, she said she couldnt talk to me and I've have to talk to her husband, who would never answer the phone, and their lawyer.

Now if I I'm ever in an accident, they can ask what they want of me, but I'm walking away with a plate number, name, address, DL #, insurance info and a quick cell phone snap of the damages.

I can see where you are coming from.

For me, I would do the same if I was in an accident and it wasnt my fault. But if it is my fault, and a situation like above, I would suggest not giving out my insurance, for the single reason of not wanting them to file a claim that goes against me. Im willing to pay up for it and sort it out 100% (like to think I am a good guy), but I can see why people would want the added security of having the insurnace info.

If I did get in that situation, made it very clear I didnt want my insurance company to know, and they still went ahead and fucked me over, well then, you better believe that I will be trying my absolute best to get out of it, and will be a complete dick in the process (just returning the favor).

I can see how just filing it with your insurance company can be the easy way out, but if the person you are working with is really good about getting in touch with you, calling you back, etc... its not much work to settle it with them. If they are dicks about it, then the insurance route is by far the easiest. This is under the assumption of a minor accident where you dont need a rental or anything.

Are you legally required to provide your insurance info after accident? My assumption is yes?

Originally posted by Kloubek
I had a very minor bump backing out in a parking lot several years ago and I paid out the damage after contacting my insurance company. Rates did not rise. I know many people who have paid out minor incidents without a change in their rates.

This is good info to know! Thanks. I still think that the less accidents your insurance company knows about, the better, but good to see that its not always an increase for something you pay out of pocket for.

[Stealth22]

Originally posted by colsankey
Now if I I'm ever in an accident, they can ask what they want of me, but I'm walking away with a plate number, name, address, DL #, insurance info and a quick cell phone snap of the damages.

And if I ever get the runaround from someone after the fact, I'm filing an insurance claim and letting them fight it for me. Or worst case, I'd be calling the police to get it reported as a hit and run.

[guessboi]

You better contact them to try to settle this out of insurance if you don't want to be hit with big insurance increases in the next 5-6 yrs or so.

[TaiChino]

Originally posted by Jetta-2.0
YES let them know what happen and what time and where it happend, u nver know if they come a month later and say that u crashed in to there car...

Their

[Khyron]

You still have the option to pay out of pocket. If I claim against you for 800 bucks and you have a 500 ded your company will ask if you want them to pay or not. Yes there are notes in your file, but it's NOT a claim.

The ins company isn't just going to pay them and come knocking without talking to you first (as you need to pay the deductible)