Any reason for me not to file an insurance claim after this car accident?

[Ns1]

Well at least you know it's irrational.

 

[TheGardener]

I just need independent validation. lol

I was driving home from work last night in bumper to bumper traffic when I got hit from behind pretty hard... guy and I pull off onto a side-street, exchange insurance information, and I call the police to file an accident report.

guy waits around with me for the cops for like 15-20 minutes before he says that he really has to go and drives off. I wait around for another half hour before saying fuck it and driving off myself (this was in NYC during rush hour, so the cops could have taken hours to show up and I know NYC cops are pretty notorious for not filing accident reports if there's no injuries anyways)

the damage to my car isn't terrible, and tbh, if I had a 10 year-old car I wouldn't even give a shit, but my car is just barely a year old and the paint is chipped off pretty badly on the bumper. my gut says to just file a claim and have the other guy's insurance pay out since it should be an open-and-shut case, but are there any factors I'm not thinking of where it could be a better idea just to pay for the fixes myself?

Must be about 17 years back, but I was hit from behind when I stopped for a pedestrian crossing the street. I didn't see damage, except a scratch. But then it was winter and the car was dirty. I decided to ask for the 19 yo's paper work anyway, not intending to file a claim.

Turned out there was a big scratch, so I filed the claim. Why should I have to pay to repair it which I decided to do. The adjuster who came down to where I worked, asked me about the quarter panel damage. I couldn't see it. On both rear quarter panels there were dents. He hit me square on, and the quarter panels buckled. Turned out to be almost $2.5K to repair in 1998 dollars. If I hadn't filed a claim, my car would have depreciated by that amount.

Don't lose any sleep over Mayne. He hasn't realized that if looks in the mirror, he'll find out just what clueless is.

 

[SKORPI0]

File a claim. The rear bumper did it's job by absorbing the impact. Damages might not be apparent to your untrained eye. Have it inspected and fixed ASAP, and let his insurance company pay for it.

 

[balloonshark]

If it's not your fault I would report it and file a claim on his insurance. If your vehicle is damaged it will hurt the value when you go to sell it or trade it in. You shouldn't have to absorb that cost if it's his fault.

Make notes of when you called the police, when the guy left and when you left the scene. Perhaps they have the police have a record of when you called and what about in case there is a dispute.

 

[stockwiz]

you guys are fucking clueless how the world works.

Please enlighten us.

 

[Ketchup]

Hi loki8481, when you are hit from the rear, 99.9% of the time, it's the other guy's fault. Go to a shop you trust and get an estimate Tell them it's not for insurance. If the cost is less or near your deductable, get it fixed move on with your life.

If it's more than you are willing to pay, contact his insurance company and let them take it from there. Don't call your insurance company.

And don't bother filing an accident report at this point. If you are away from the scene, there is nothing that report will do for you.

Also, be prepared for the chance that your insurance could go up. It's not right, but I have heard of people going through this (not extremely common though).

Also, not filing a report and not going through an insurance company could mean that the repair doesn't have to be filed, and therefore not add to the car's depreciation.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Got rear ended a few weeks back - my bumper had cosmetic damage and held up very well from a small pickup truck hitting me. He lost his radiator.

Took it in to get repainted/replaced - underlying damage to the support was found and estimate increased by over $500 more.

The moral of the story is if you are rear ended again with crushed support the damage to you could be a lot worse. Safety is paramount, have the shop check it out.

 

[nageov3t]

officially reported to insurance

the lady on the phone said it should be a pretty open and shut case if the guy admits guilt and I should know something early next week. thankfully the pictures I took of the guy's front license plate show damage to his bumper along the same places where mine has damage.

no police report from NYC accidents is pretty common according to the insurance lady, and shouldn't be an issue unless the guy tries to deny any damages (and in that case, why would I have pictures of his vehicle registration and insurance info?)

 

[Craig234]

I'd say the think to check on is just your rates not going up even though you weren't at fault. Barring that, I think you should file.

I was burglarized for thousands in electronics twice, and didn't file claims thinking it would cause big rate increases, and when I finally checked, that wasn't the case but it was too late to file one of the two claims. I don't see why not to file, after making sure about your rate. You might give HIM the option to pay cash if he wants.

The other thing I'd check on is just making sure there isn't any legal issue with having left the scene, and what to do if there is. Might be a quick question for a lawyer.

 

[Meghan54]

At least you got to see who hit you, OP.

This happened to us 3 weeks ago today.

I'm sitting on my front porch, sucking down some coffee and watching the birds, when a cop turns into my driveway and parks...this is around 9AM. Odd, I thought, as I walk down to his car. And also thought rarely does anything good result from a cop "visiting" unannounced.

Get to the window of his cruiser and he asks if I own the truck in front of his car, which I answer affirmative. Then he asks if we got the note he stuck in the driver's door last night? Nope.

He then proceeds to tell me the truck was in an accident last night......while it was parked in Belk's parking lot (wife was inside for an hour or so shopping.) Seems a 16 y.o. girl, backing out of a parking spot in an '05 Mazda3, backed into our truck. She hit hard enough to shatter the rear window of the Mazda. Cop noted on the accident report that the damage to her vehicle was "extensive." And apparently she hit the truck then drove off, but was "persuaded" to return to the accident scene and call the cops when a witness to the accident followed her and suggested she do the right thing.

Here's a pic of the damage to the truck....the bumper was awash in broken glass, btw, although we hadn't noticed.

Don't see it?

Here's the (major) damage circled:

The circled part on the driver's side of the tailgate has two "major" scratches and the top scratch is in a dent that's about silver dollar sized. The bumper has a dime sized dent on the driver's side, circled, and the bumper got pushed in approx. 3/4".

Ins. Co. estimate on repair was $1483, incl. tax.

 

[Ketchup]

Honestly, I noticed the cat before I noticed the mark on your truck. Funny story.

 

[BoomerD]

At least it's not like this one I was in 3 years ago:

Fucking hippie pulled a hit and run...fortunately, some lady saw the whole thing and got out her iPhone and took dozens of pictures...of the accident and the driver.

The cops finally caught him...and he was charged with the hit and run, but, IMO, he got away with DUI. I only saw him for a few seconds, but he looked high/drunk.

 

[Moonbeam]

Just had a guy back out into my car as I was driving by. I got 2000 for a new Apple 5K.