Should I file a claim with my car insurance?

Question

My car was rear ended yesterday. I'm not sure whether or not to file the claim? There is minimal damage to my bumper. The other cars paint is smeared on there and a few nicks on the back bumper. Should i file a claim? When I file do I file it with their insurance or with my own? I've never had to do this so I'm like clueless of whether i should report w/ my insurance or the whole process. Please advise.

Answer 1

Stop by a body shop and ask for an estimate of damage.  If it's as minor as you think, drop it.  If not file a claim with the other insurance company.  Since they rear ended you, they are at fault.

Best advice you can get is from your own agent if you have any other questions about it.

Answer 2

you would file a claim with your insurance. if the damage was as small as you say it would be a waste of time and cost you more than it is worth.

Answer 3

My suggestion is to contact the person who ran into you.  Ask him/her to pay for your damage, or suggest a price like $500.00

Chances are, they'd pay you, rather than summit a claim, because filing a claim will raise their insurance costs more than the cost of just paying you direct.

If they do not pay, then file a claim with your insurance company.  The other party ran into you, they are completely to blame, it should not affect your insurance rates.

All this assumes there was a police report.  Without the report, your claim may just be a "he said", or she said, and less provable, more complicated.

You buy insurance to make the hassle of costs and repairs more easy, but the problem is that the more complicated it becomes for the insurance companies, the more they want to raise your rates too.

Answer 4

Whether or not to file depends on several factors.

The first, and most important, is how high your deductible is. This is the amount you have to pay out of pocket (whether it was your fault or not) before the insurance company will help you out at all. If your deductible is higher than the amount it would cost to fix your car completely (or to the extent that you care), then don't bother filing a claim.

However, if the damage will cost you more than the deductible, in your case you should file. If you have the other driver's information, great; if not, most insurance policies have a clause so that if someone rear ends you and leaves you'll be covered without a premium (the amount you pay every month) increase.

File the claim with your own insurance company. It's their job to take the info you give them on the other driver and find that driver's insurance company to collect. They'll probably want a description of the accident (time of day, cause, amount of damage) as well as all the info you have on the other driver. You will then need to take it to an auto body repair shop to get a quote. You bring the quote back to your insurance company, and in most cases they'll send you a check for the amount or pay the shop themselves.

Lastly, something like this happened to me recently. Depending on how bad the damage is, if you decide not to file a claim there are ways of touching it up without paying an auto body shop. First, a lot of the streaks and paint marks can be cleaned off with soap or windex and a lot of elbow grease. The easiest to get off is rubber (the black streaks), then plastic, then paint. In many cases, you'll find that your paint job isn't damaged underneath the marks. If it is, depending on how fancy/new your car is, you can buy small bottles (like nail polish) of touch up paint for your car. If it's a generic car, an auto parts store may well have it. If it's a fancy car with a rarer metallic color, you may have to go through a dealership or certified parts carrier for the make.

It sucks when something like this happens, but it's fortunate that your damage doesn't sound horrible, and that it's not your fault. Good luck with everything!

Answer 5

Her insurance should pay for repairs to your car. You need to notify your insurance company and let them handle the claim for you.  You will not be required to pay a deductible (if she has insurance) .  BTW, You are either cluless or you are not cluless but you are not "LIKE" clueless

Answer 6

a few nicks on the back bumber? is this a new car? Is it worth your time? It's up to you dude, it depends what you want. I'd have asked her $200 and would have moved on.

Answer 7

The person who rear ended ended you is at "fault".  Their insurance must pay and this is what you want.  You should immediately call the police so they can file a report.  This is your proof to the courts and the insurance company.  You should report the accident to your insurance company but a claim should not be filed if their insurance is paying for it.  If the person is uninsured and you can't prove it after the fact you may have to file it with your insurance, which could increase your monthly rates.

Answer 8

well is one of the steps you are to report it....their insurance should pay for it.. but you report it to yours if you want it fix.. so they can report it to the others for repair... the way it shoul dgo is you ask the other person if they are ok  then call cops get a report of what happen then you call insurance

Answer 9

Since the other lady was at fault, you would file a claim with her insurance company.  That way you would not have a deductible to pay.

Answer 10

Contact the agent/representative of YOUR insurance company to report the incident.  This is for your protection in case other party decides to claim that you were at fault.