That is the question.
If I can figure out how to put up car photos with WP, I will. I took some photos this morning of the damage. You can clearly see the silver paint scratches on the car. It’s technically on two front panels and I’m lucky he didn’t take out the headlight.
I have a high deductible and have never been in an accident before, and now I’ve been in 2 minor incidents in the past month. I don’t know what kind of karmic payback this is, but I sure don’t like it. The question is if I should file to fix it or not. I’m lucky that it’s not serious. I can drive the car without a problem.
Even though this is bad luck, I keep thinking how lucky I am that it wasn’t worse. Because really, if it was a terrible accident, I’d probably be freaking out. As it is, I’m trying to calculate what’s going to cost me more? 1) My ego, driving around a car with dents for the next 3 years, which costs me nothing. 2) My insurance rates if I file the claim, which could cost me thousands over the next 5 years. 3) Lost interest on the cash I will have to pay for the deductible, which is not that much, say $40-50 per year for the next say 5 years. (Because that’s what an Emergency Fund is for! Thank the gods I committed myself to replenishing it.)
What would you do?
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I might not understand how insurance works, but I’m under the impression that, if it was not your fault, your rates don’t go up even if you submit a claim?
For future reference, I would call the cops after the accident, to get a police report of the incident. The one time I’ve made an insurance claim (after a guy backed into me in a parking garage), the insurance company seemed to use the police report which included both our statements (the guy honorably admitted fault).
First, you need to figure out if the accident was your fault or not. I don’t know the entire details of your accident but what happened to the Audi that hit you or you hit? Did they pull over to get your information or did they just keep driving?
The way to properly assess the pros and cons of filing a claim is the following:
1)You need to explain your accident more in detail about what happened with your car and the other car before, during, and after the accident. What did everyone do? It’s great that you have a witness. That definitely helps you.
2)If it was a hit and run or the person didn’t have insurance or if it was some kid who stole a car, etc. And if it is this case, then you need to check your auto policy to see what your coverage is for “uninsured motorists” because that’s what the claim would potentially be filed under. (the insurance adjuster would do this) Then you can most likely file a claim and explain your side of the story to the insurance adjuster to let them know that it wasn’t your fault. If you had the other party’s license plate number, then it would REALLY help. But in this case since you didn’t get it, you can still file a claim (80% chance it’s not going to be your fault) and basically let them know that you were driving normally like a regular law abiding citizen where your car was hit out of nowhere. (Which it happened unless you’re not telling us something). If you have a claim filed under uninsured motorists, then your insurance won’t go up. It’s not something that is your fault. Same thing with filing a claim under “comprehensive” coverage. (Damage to your car due to theft, vandalism, you parked your car somewhere and you came back and someone smashed your windshield in, etc.)
3)If the accident story does sound like it’s probably your fault, then I wouldn’t file a claim. Just live with the dents and if it bothers you so much, just start shopping around for body shop estimates. You can also ask your insurance company and give them a “pretend scenario” to ask how much your insurance would potentially go up if you were to file a “blah blah blah type of accident/claim”. If you file a claim and the accident was also your fault, you will most likely have a point or two showing up on your driving record as well. You need to weigh how long it will take for this to come off your driving record and how long before your auto insurance premium goes back down to normal. Weigh those factors against the estimated cost of repairing your car and then make the decision. I haven’t seen your car, but if I were you, I’d just keep the car with the dents. If the dents are really really bad and you don’t want any rust, then I would get a bunch of estimates for “cash repairs” and just bite the bullet.
Hope this helps.
-Roger
I have $500 deductable on my car and motorcycle. My rule of thumb for my car is under $1500, I pay out of pocket for accidents.
Over that amount, then I will use my insurance policy. This number has worked out well for me, because little things (such as cracked windsheild replacement) will cost me another $200 or $300 on top of my deductable, why risk having that amount rise on my coverage for the next few years.
Oh and for my motorcycle, I bought liability and theft insurance. About $190 a year, if I upped it to full coverage, they wanted close to 2k a year. Since the biggest risk to my bike is theft (accident free after 8 years) that’s all the coverage I got on it.
Sorry to hear about your accident. Don’t worry about driving a dented car, it gives it character
I recommend getting 2 estimates for the damage as your next move. One a the factory authorized dealer and one at any ole shop. At least you will know what the total damage is before you decide on filing with the insurance.
Good luck
re: police reports on accidents
Usually if both cars are drivable, and no one has to be rushed to the hospital, the police (at least in mont. co. MD) does not create a report.
If you file another claim, your insurance company could decide to drop your policy altogether. My friend got into 3 minor accidents in the course of a year. Technically, none of the accidents were his fault. Even so, State Farm dropped him like a hot potato when it came time to renew. So, you need to factor that risk into the equation as well.
Hey mapgirl. You might want to change your feedburner URL to point from http://brcmapgirl.blogspot.com to your new site.
Rockin and rollin,
-h
I used to use the WP admin tools to create posts but a friend of mine turned me on to this:
http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/
It will check your blog, get the formatting and then let you blog in an editor. It works amazingly well. I think it’s easier to add photos (with drop shadows and a link to the full size photo) in this Live writer than it is in MS Word.
I think you’d find it makes blogging, adding pics etc much easier. The one drawback is that it doesn’t let you categorize the post. You have to go in to the WP admin tools to assign it a category after the fact. (It could be that I haven’t figured it out yet)
Hazzard
Thanks Hazzard! I’ll definitely try to check that out.