Bumper accident report to insurance or not?

[Anonymous]

DC rear ended a car last night with minor bumper dents and misalignment. Police came but no report issued because it is minor. Do we still file insurance? The other car drove off after getting our insurance information but didn’t give us his insurance information. His said his bumper looks a bit weird. Not sure whether he will file claims.

[Anonymous]

Your DH is screwed anyway. The other guy will file a claim and you will be at fault. Might as well file a claim for your bumper.

[Anonymous]

The Police came but the other party didn’t give their insurance? You’re required to exchange in an accident, this part seems odd to me. Having said that, as long as the other party is ok with it and you can afford the repairs out of pocket I wouldn’t call the insurance company.

[Anonymous]

I hope DC took pictures. Why didn't he get the other information? Depending on price I'd pay if its clear DC did it.

[Anonymous]

You don’t File or report unless he does unless more than $2,000 damage your vehicle.

Your rates jump as soon as you report it. The other guy may not report if. So wait to see if he does

[Anonymous]

You should’ve said you’ll pay cash. Unfortunately, cars are very expensive to fix, and what costs is what you can’t see behind the bumper. I had a girl rear end me, and the bolt from her license place cover made a hole in my bumper. I needed a whole new bumper. Of course she thought “it didn’t look bad”. Took a week to fix plus rental car. I think it was around $2k. I would not want my insurance knowing about that, but ymmv.

[Anonymous]

Notify your carrier. This is different from backing into a big rock or something because there is a third party involved and it was a rear end collision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should’ve said you’ll pay cash. Unfortunately, cars are very expensive to fix, and what costs is what you can’t see behind the bumper. I had a girl rear end me, and the bolt from her license place cover made a hole in my bumper. I needed a whole new bumper. Of course she thought “it didn’t look bad”. Took a week to fix plus rental car. I think it was around $2k. I would not want my insurance knowing about that, but ymmv.

Similar thing happened to my wife. Her car has sensors on the bumper. Small accident caused thousands in damage. We wouldn’t have reported it if they had agreed to pay. Instead they kept telling us it didn’t need to be fixed because it was all cosmetic.

[Anonymous]

Rear ended = easy money. The driver who rear ended you is automatically at fault. Report a claim to their insurance and you would get a 500 check even with just some minor scratches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rear ended = easy money. The driver who rear ended you is automatically at fault. Report a claim to their insurance and you would get a 500 check even with just some minor scratches.

Not always true.

Decades ago, my SUV hit a car that was backing up on an interstate ramp because the 90 year old driver thought that she had gotten off at the wrong exit.

Her insurance company was great. Paid for my damages and then called and asked if I wanted more money because the repair damage was not based on OEM prices.

[Anonymous]

Not everyone wants to report my daughter a very minor bumper accident and other driver did not want the car fax saying an accident with another vehicle.

My Cadillac has two reported accidents with other vehicles. Neither my fault. Once it was parked and hit other child hit something. Two accident makes my car worth hardly anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not everyone wants to report my daughter a very minor bumper accident and other driver did not want the car fax saying an accident with another vehicle.

My Cadillac has two reported accidents with other vehicles. Neither my fault. Once it was parked and hit other child hit something. Two accident makes my car worth hardly anything.

This is why you lease, not buy, expensive luxury cars. Gets banged up and resale value tanks? Not your problem, its the leasing company's problem.

I would not pay anyone in such a case unless they sign an ironclad agreement (drafted by a lawyer) that no further claims will be made. They could take your money and then file a claim...then you are out both ways..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rear ended = easy money. The driver who rear ended you is automatically at fault. Report a claim to their insurance and you would get a 500 check even with just some minor scratches.

Not always true.

Decades ago, my SUV hit a car that was backing up on an interstate ramp because the 90 year old driver thought that she had gotten off at the wrong exit.

Her insurance company was great. Paid for my damages and then called and asked if I wanted more money because the repair damage was not based on OEM prices.

You don't know what the common use of "rear end" is. Someone backing up on a highway who gets hit is not getting "rear ended".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rear ended = easy money. The driver who rear ended you is automatically at fault. Report a claim to their insurance and you would get a 500 check even with just some minor scratches.

Not always true.

Decades ago, my SUV hit a car that was backing up on an interstate ramp because the 90 year old driver thought that she had gotten off at the wrong exit.

Her insurance company was great. Paid for my damages and then called and asked if I wanted more money because the repair damage was not based on OEM prices.

How were you able to prove that the person backed into you? Did you have a dash cam?