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I was recently in a car accident that was the other drivers fault. The driver tried to get me not to call the police and not to go through insurance. I did both. Why on Earth would anyone in a car accident not do both? My car is messed up enough that it is not drivable and the car repair shop my insurance recommended is going to have my car for a month. Why would this driver think I would not go through insurance when I need a rental? Who would want to fight with another driver to get the rental and repair bills paid. Doing those two things is only to the advantage of the person at fault. |
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Also, your contract with your insurance company requires you to report accidents.
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| Why would I you go through your insurance? It will just make your rates go up. His insurance should pay. |
| and according to the police, you should contact them if the accident results in damages over a certain amount of $. |
| If he is cutting me a nice check, I wouldn’t do it. |
Have you been in an accident? You report to your insurance company who will go after their insurance company. It doesn't affect my rates. In my case, the other driver got a ticket for the accident and admitted fault. |
"Cutting" you a check? You're a fool. You have no idea if they will pay. You have no idea if their check is good. |
Umm that was sarcasm. Relax… |
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I was talked in to not calling my insurance many years ago when I had my first accident. A woman backed in to me while I was sitting in my parked car. She was so nice and I agreed to not get insurance involved because she assured me she would take care of it. She admitted she had been in several accidents and her son wouldn't let her drive any more if I reported it. After the fact, she was horrible. I had gotten her to sign something saying she backed in to my non moving car. She called me a few days latter, yelling that she didn't think it was her fault and that she would only agree to pay if I took my car to a shop an hour away etc etc.
I hung up on her and called my insurance company and they took care of it. It was two days after the accident, but they still managed it and my rates did not change. They also paid for a rental. |
| Because insurance companies will raise rates. I had someone hit me years ago. it was pretty minor but huge dent, light damaged, etc. and we had the same insurance. I got a few estimates, I picked the cheapest as that is someone a family member used before and she went and paid for it directly, care was fixed, done. Best for both of us of us not to report it. We didn't need a rental though. |
| I’ve done for dings in a parking lot where someone offered me $100 on the spot but I probably wouldn’t have reported that anyway. For something where I couldn’t drive my car away there is no way I’m not calling insurance. |
This. If it is super minor with no injuries and the at-fault person offers me cash then & there---then sure. Otherwise, it gets reported. |
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I was rear ended in a snow storm once in my old POS beater of a car. It was fine and his car was in worse shape than mine. He didn’t want me to call the cops, offered me to have my car repaired at his “cousins” shop, and when I turned that down, he offered me cash. All of this made me want to call the police even more. He was PISSED when I called them.
Turns out he was uninsured. Don’t trust anyone, OP. |
Calling your insurance company is not an admission of guilt. If it’s determined to be the other driver’s fault, your insurance company goes after his insurance company to pay up. Your rates wouldn’t increase under those circumstances. |
Even very minor cosmetic damage that doesn’t affect drivability can cost $1000 or more to repair. I’d rather have my car not look beaten up than pocket a $100 bill. |