Is it worth it to make an auto insurance claim for minor fender bender?

[black booty lover]

Before I ask this question, guys and gals if you don't know for sure, please don't respond as I don't want to go down a million different rabbit holes due to people thinking they know the answer.


Was backing out of my parking spot a few days ago and dinged the neighbors work truck. Left a note his truck letting him know what happened. There's a little dent on the door (barely noticeable). He says he has to let the people in office know about it and they'll get back to me on how they want to proceed. I've read a lot on this, and it's a bit confusing. Basically because of no fault insurance, I believe he's supposed to go through his own company. If they deem him not at fault, he doesn't pay and his premiums doesn't go up. He may be required to pay the deductible but seeing as it a company vehicle, I'm guessing they have really good coverage.

Will his insurance company want to get in touch with my insurance company? Or will they determine on their own what they cover for him?

I don't really want to make a claim on my end as I my car has a minor scratch and probable barely covers the deductible. Not to mention don't want it on my record.

 

[shack]

Before I ask this question, guys and gals if you don't know for sure, please don't respond as I don't want to go down a million different rabbit holes due to people thinking they know the answer.


Was backing out of my parking spot a few days ago and dinged the neighbors work truck. Left a note his truck letting him know what happened. There's a little dent on the door (barely noticeable). He says he has to let the people in office know about it and they'll get back to me on how they want to proceed. I've read a lot on this, and it's a bit confusing. Basically because of no fault insurance, I believe he's supposed to go through his own company. If they deem him not at fault, he doesn't pay and his premiums doesn't go up. He may be required to pay the deductible but seeing as it a company vehicle, I'm guessing they have really good coverage.

Will his insurance company want to get in touch with my insurance company? Or will they determine on their own what they cover for him?

I don't really want to make a claim on my end as I my car has a minor scratch and probable barely covers the deductible. Not to mention don't want it on my record.

Let him get 2 estimates and pay him the cash.

 

[black booty lover]

Let him get 2 estimates and pay him the cash.

Why? This is exactly the kind of response I'm hoping to avoid BTW. I don't want random suggestions without explanations as to why or isn't the best thing to do.

 

[Mr Deeds]

For a minor dent like that his work place may not even bother to make an issue out of it, but if they do the insurance companies will deal with it. Most companies have fleet coverage which cover things like this you may not hear from anyone.

 

[Ceiling Cat]

An insurance adjuster told me that unless you were a young driver or a driver that had many accidents the insurance rates for most people are calculated by age, area you live in and male or female. If you have a high number of incidents you will pay more or be rejected for insurance.

A few years back a woman drove into my rear end with a high end Mercedes SUV, she came out of her vehicle screaming. I told her to shut up and give me her papers or to sit in her vehicle and wait for the police. She shut her mouth and silently handed me her papers. There was actually no damage to both cars, I would have let it go if she was polite. I did not report the incident, but she did. A year after that I bought a new car and my insurance agent checked my records and saw that she reported herself but stated that there was no damage. I asked my agent if she would be paying more even though the insurance company did not pay out. He told me that every company had its own methods but it is not good for any incident to be reported.

In this matter, because she was so rude I set her up to report herself.

FYI- A high number of moving violations tickets will also cost you more for insurance. You can get a full history of you driving career at the motor vehicles department. I have had 0 moving violations in my life.

 

[black booty lover]

For a minor dent like that his work place may not even bother to make an issue out of it, but if they do the insurance companies will deal with it. Most companies have fleet coverage which cover things like this you may not hear from anyone.

From what I've read, because it's a work truck they'll have commercial insurance and they want even bother with me. I think it's best just to tell him (or his boss) to just deal with their insurance company.

Even though I've got collision coverage, apparently you get one at fault free bee to make a claim but I think it's minus the deductible so probably not worth it.

 

[SQUAD51]

In discussing the isssue of minor accidents, where there is little damage my insurance agent advised always reporting to ensure i do not appear to be hiding something.
The problem with that is the insurance company will know EVERY time i have a minor bender. I followed this protocol when I had a minor bender, we exchanged info and i advised my insurance company right away. All good, no issues. Two months later the police want me to make a statement at the reporting centre, which obvously came from her car insurance people (TD Bank).
Its a two edged sword and a lot of non traditional insurance companies (like banks) ae polluting the waters looking to fatten some bottom lines.

 

[black booty lover]

In discussing the isssue of minor accidents, where there is little damage my insurance agent advised always reporting to ensure i do not appear to be hiding something.
The problem with that is the insurance company will know EVERY time i have a minor bender. I followed this protocol when I had a minor bender, we exchanged info and i advised my insurance company right away. All good, no issues. Two months later the police want me to make a statement at the reporting centre, which obvously came from her car insurance people (TD Bank).
Its a two edged sword and a lot of non traditional insurance companies (like banks) ae polluting the waters looking to fatten some bottom lines.

Yeah I'm just going to let him and his insurance company deal with it I think. I think it's worth the gamble.

 

[shack]

Why? This is exactly the kind of response I'm hoping to avoid BTW. I don't want random suggestions without explanations as to why or isn't the best thing to do.

Because it's relatively cheap (as you've described it) and it keeps the incident off your insurance's records. If they start raising your rates (which they might not necessarily do after a single incident) it may be more than the amount you're saving. I've taken the approach that I'll use the insurance for something more significant.

Insurance companies are in this to make a profit.

 

[xmontrealer]

Off on a bit of a tangent, but a true story.

A few years back at a stop light I inadvertently didn't apply enough brake pressure while cleaning up some stuff on my front seat, and rolled at like 2 km/h into the back of an SUV in front of me.

We both got out of our vehicles, and saw there was no visible damage. However, the driver of the SUV, a middle aged woman, insisted on taking my information, and said she was going to take her SUV to the dealer to see if there was any internal damage.

Long story short she got an estimate of $1,750 or so to fix it. Her husband called me to advise the estimate, so to avoid insurance issues I e-transferred the amount of the quote to him out of my pocket.

Here is the amazing part. He called me 2 years later, said they never had the repair done, and had traded in the SUV for another one. Since the dealer didn't notice any rear-end damage during the trade-in and gave them full value for the older car, the husband wanted to repay me what I had paid him, and actually did. Almost science fiction!

 

[black booty lover]

Because it's relatively cheap (as you've described it) and it keeps the incident off your insurance's records. If they start raising your rates (which they might not necessarily do after a single incident) it may be more than the amount you're saving. I've taken the approach that I'll use the insurance for something more significant.

Insurance companies are in this to make a profit.

That’s why I’m saying I won’t make a claim on my end, and the damage his truck is barely noticeable so I don’t think it’s worth his broker time and money to go after my broker

 

[stinkynuts]

Once you make a claim, it goes on the vehicle history record. When you try to sell your car, that is taken into account. The price you can sell your car for will go down accordingly. Most people do not want a car that's been in an accident. For this reason, it could be better to settle out of pocket.

 

[black booty lover]

Once you make a claim, it goes on the vehicle history record. When you try to sell your car, that is taken into account. The price you can sell your car for will go down accordingly. Most people do not want a car that's been in an accident. For this reason, it could be better to settle out of pocket.

Okay so this is stuff im trying to avoid. This info doesn’t help me. I’m not making a claim. He might. The question is will is insurance company try to go after mine for such a minot damage.

 

[thumper18474]

Your insurance Company is gonna know..cus you've admitted fault..so his Ins. May pay for it upfront..but they're gonna come knocking on your Ins. Co. Door For reimbursement.
Plus if it's a CVOR registered work vehicle it goes on the Companies CVOR..which no company wants
If it's less than 2k in damages..it doesn't have to be reported.
Best advice..keep it private and pay for the repairs if any ( being a work truck chances are the company won't want the headaches either as long as it doesn't interfere with its operation)

 

[black booty lover]

Your insurance Company is gonna know..cus you've admitted fault..so his Ins. May pay for it upfront..but they're gonna come knocking on your Ins. Co. Door For reimbursement.
Plus if it's a CVOR registered work vehicle it goes on the Companies CVOR..which no company wants
If it's less than 2k in damages..it doesn't have to be reported.
Best advice..keep it private and pay for the repairs if any ( being a work truck chances are the company won't want the headaches either as long as it doesn't interfere with its operation)

I don’t know if this is true. A guy smacked into the back of me, he was totally at fault, and the damage was minimal. I had all his info and and when I contacted my insurance company, they didn’t ask for his info. They basically said it’s not even worth it and we’ll cover it.

 

[black booty lover]

Your insurance Company is gonna know..cus you've admitted fault..so his Ins. May pay for it upfront..but they're gonna come knocking on your Ins. Co. Door For reimbursement.
Plus if it's a CVOR registered work vehicle it goes on the Companies CVOR..which no company wants
If it's less than 2k in damages..it doesn't have to be reported.
Best advice..keep it private and pay for the repairs if any ( being a work truck chances are the company won't want the headaches either as long as it doesn't interfere with its operation)

it’s less then 2k. He got a quote and it was $850.

 

[GameBoy27]

Your insurance Company is gonna know..cus you've admitted fault..so his Ins. May pay for it upfront..but they're gonna come knocking on your Ins. Co. Door For reimbursement.
Plus if it's a CVOR registered work vehicle it goes on the Companies CVOR..which no company wants
If it's less than 2k in damages..it doesn't have to be reported.
Best advice..keep it private and pay for the repairs if any ( being a work truck chances are the company won't want the headaches either as long as it doesn't interfere with its operation)

Best advice right there. ^^^^^

My advice, is if you're at fault (which you are whenever you hit something while reversing) then offer to pay for the damage. Avoid going through insurance if at all possible. If he makes a claim, his insurance will contact yours and it will go on your record. To keep your rate as low as possible, you don't want any claims. They will look for any excuse to raise your rate. Some policies (like mine) have Accident Forgiveness which applies only to your first accident. Your insurance rate won't go up as a result of your first otherwise surchargeable, at-fault accident.

 

[black booty lover]

Best advice right there. ^^^^^

My advice, is if you're at fault (which you are whenever you hit something while reversing) then offer to pay for the damage. Avoid going through insurance if at all possible. If he makes a claim, his insurance will contact yours and it will go on your record. To keep your rate as low as possible, you don't want any claims. They will look for any excuse to raise your rate. Some policies (like mine) have Accident Forgiveness which applies only to your first accident. Your insurance rate won't go up as a result of your first otherwise surchargeable, at-fault accident.

I’m telling you for sake 850 bucks his insurance company might not, especially cause he has fleet coverage. It’s not worth the headache for them especially since that coverage pretty much covers that shit.

I also accident forgiveness and have never claimed so might as well use it.

 

[GameBoy27]

I’m telling you for sake 850 bucks his insurance company might not, especially cause he has fleet coverage. It’s not worth the headache for them especially since that coverage pretty much covers that shit.

I also accident forgiveness and have never claimed so might as well use it.

Keep in touch with him and find out if they're going to make a claim. It depends what their deductible is, could be high. If they have fleet insurance, and the damage is only $850, they may not bother. Don't report it to your insurance company until you know what they're going to do.

Now for a piece of driving advice. I tell everyone this. Always back into driveways and spacing in parking lots. You have both greater visibility when leaving and if you collide with another vehicle while reversing, you're most likely at fault.

Is the Backing-Up Driver Always Liable?
In most cases, the driver who is backing up will be partially or entirely responsible for the accident. However, there are exceptions where fault cannot be solely placed on the backing-up driver.

Situations where the backing-up driver may not be entirely at fault include:

• Reckless driving by another driver
• Speeding by another driver
• Failure to yield by another moving vehicle
• Negligence by another driver, such as driving under the influence or distracted driving

 

[K Douglas]

If the damage estimate doesn't exceed $1,500+ not worth going through insurance.