Fender bender & teen driver

[tinan]

I'm happy to hear that your daughter is ok. There are several things to think about with the ins. They are correct in saying that they don't know how it will affect your policy but understand that it will most likely go up and anywhere from 5-7 years is how long you will be paying those extended premiums from this accident. If in that 5-7 years there is another accident on that particular cars policy it will go up again.

Another thing more important to think of is what is your state law regarding new drivers and accidents. In our state if a new driver gets into an accident is convicted of having committed one moving violation during the first six months of having a driver's license, the person may be required to be accompanied by a parent or guardian whenever operating a motor vehicle during the six-month period commencing on the date on which the person is convicted of or pleads guilty to the moving violation or until the person turns 17.

I'm not telling you to or not to file the claim, but be absolutely sure you want to file the claim prior to filing. Because if you file and decide not to have them fix it, it is still a claim on that policy.

I used to work in an agent's office but not for that company.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Thank you for that advice. I'm still not sure yet. It's going to be tomorrow before they can get to it to give me an estimate. I'm sure it will be a lot.

In very nervous right now because my daughters friend hit another car and her insurance tripled. It's crazy!

They did tell me that it would stay on her record for 3 years. I guess I won't know what we will do until after tomorrow.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

The verdict is in. It's right at $4000. worth of damage. The front bumper and fog light need to be replaced. Under the car the shield is broken, the radiator support is bent, something with the condenser, all four hub caps are scratched. Even the back bumper was loose. He said she Cosby have been going over 10mph, she is saying it was less, but those cars are
NOT made to take off of a paved road. She bottomed out in it and hit that stump.

Needless to say we will be filing a claim.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

I would find an autobody tech that does side work and pay out of pocket. Usually techs will do the work on the side for less then an estimate from a shop.

 

[bumbershoot]

i had a kid put his basketball through my windshield -- took my car into the dealership to get it replaced under my comprehensive insurance plan -- but because i didnt report it the second it happend it was denied as a comp claim. I paid out of pocket -- and then got the letter from my insurance company that it was being trested as a single car at fault collision, and my insurance went from $98 a month to $225 a month -- for 7 years. SO i paid $1200 out of pocket -- then another$10,000 for a claim they didn't pay for that should have been covered by my comprehensive.

If you knew the kid it might have been something his parents' homeowners insurance could have paid. A kid ran into my car in our townhouse development and did quite a bit of damage. His dad's homeowners covered it entirely.



OP, you are going to end up paying more than 4k for the insurance hit. Pay oop.

 

[wdwmom0f3]

I'm getting one more quote this next week. Praying it's lower.

 

[scrapquitler]

Pay out of pocket for the repairs and don't contact the insurance company.
And be grateful no one was hurt.

Ds grazed a deer. It broke out his headlight. Being the typical boy, he and his buddies duct taped it in place. Ds will save the $$ to have it repaired. No hurry, no worries.

I would probably pay out of pocket as well.

As far as the deer hit, when we hit a deer a year and half ago (almost $5K in damage to our car, fatal for the deer), our insurance told us a deer hit doesn't count against you as a claim because it's not a collision. Our insurance didn't go up at all.

 

[buzz2400]

My son got into an accident right when he got his license. Insurance went skyrocket. In ct the increase all drivers, not just the driver in accident. We were paying about 1200 year. Went up to 4000 year. This increase stayed with us for five years. Also you can ask auto repair if they would go lower. I had high deductible and my ins agent said to ask and he did work with me. Be thankful daughter is ok.

 

[StitchBuddy]

OP, I feel your pain! Our DD then 16, backed into my car. Did damage to both cars. We paid out of pocket for both cars. It ended up being about $1800 for her car and $1500 for mine. But, it kept it off of our insurance. Now if she gets into an accident with another car, knock on wood that won't happen, but if it does, she won't have two accidents against her.

 

[wulfgeat]

I think I would file it. You know your situation better than anyone, but your premium wold need to go up about $1300 per year for it to be cheaper. I don't think it would be that bad here in Alabama.

If it goes up a lot you could take the deductible to $1,000 and see what that does. The estimate you have is $4,000. Not to worry you more, but there is always the potential to find more damage once they get into it.

This is a 2013 car. I would let the insurance company fix it and know that it is right. This is my $.02. No one on here really knows enough about your policy(cars, drivers, limits, etc), your finances and future plans to give you a real good answer on how you should handle it.

One thing to consider before you allow someone to do it on the "side". If there is any frame damage to the car (frequently it will be listed toward the bottom of the itemized section of the estimate as Frame Pull, Setup and Measure or something like that) make sure that person has the proper tools to do a pull and get it back in specs.

 

[dsanner106]

You would NOT have called....or WOULD have called? Your link suggests in most cases you have to notify your insurance company of incident, even if you do not turn in a claim

They would love for you to do this and instruct you to, but it is not the law. If you scratch your bumper and don't want to pay the deductible as it is more than the repair, by all means, repair it out of pocket, no need to call them.
Drew

 

[3boymthr]

We are pretty much almost in the same boat. Except it was a rock that was hit and it was in MY car. DS didn't think he did that much damage and neither did DH. Well, I priced out a new bumper and it was going to cost over $1,500 just for the bumper and it would need to be painted. In addition, he damaged the fog light. Well, called the insurance, pay for it now OOP or pay for it later in a surcharge. We decided to go thru the insurance and have DS pay the deductible. Good thing we did. He did WAY more damage than you would have thought just by looking at it. He also cracked the side panel where it attached to the car and damaged the radiator cover and this is the HUGE part - he bent the frame of the car. He said he wasn't going that fast but the force bent the frame in the front. They said they were able to unbend it and repair it. But no way would I want to pay out of pocket for that. Yes, we are paying a surcharge until he is off our insurance. But it was assessed at $300/ yr. The damage total was in excess of $5,000. So my recommendation, take it to the dealership or a really reputable body shop and get it looked at and then decide. I'm glad we did.