Filing a claim on Auto Insurance

[GoofItUp]

I had a very minor accident yesterday. I backed into a friend's car parked in my driveway. The driver side mirror is not completely detached and there are some very minor scratches on the door. There was no damage to my vehicle.

I called my insurance agent to find out what I needed to do. We have been with the same insurance company for 8 years and have had no claims - home or auto. I have probably had 2 or 3 tickets in that time, but none in the last 5 years or so. The insurance agent told me there is no deductible to have the friend's car fixed, but it will cause my rates to go up, so I might just want to pay out of pocket if the repairs aren't too high.

WHAT'S THE POINT OF HAVING INSURANCE THEN???

If they're going to charge me the same amount over the next few months for what I could just pay to fix the damage, why am I paying premiums to them? I'm really only insured against something catastrophic that I can't afford to cover. So, I might as well have the highest deductible possible and the least/cheapest coverage I can get. I'll use what I save in premiums to pay for the minor accident I have every 8 or 10 years and only use the insurance if I have a MAJOR accident.

I'm so upset by this. I woke up at 4:00 am thinking about this and haven't been able to go back to sleep. My auto insurance policy is up in just a few weeks and homeowners will be up in Dec. I'm going to be shopping around for something new. It just makes me crazy that TX requires you to have car insurance, but there's no laws to protect a good driver with a great record from this sort of thing.

 

[NYCDiane]

My insurance has a $500 deductible. If I had a minor accident and the damage would be less than $500 to fix, I would pay that and not report it to the insurance. What's the point of reporting it if your rates are going to go up?

The reason you have insurance is to protect you/other people. If you have an accident where someone gets hurt, the medical bills are covered. If you have an accident where your car is totalled, you're covered.

Yes, your situation is frutrating but that's just the way it is.

 

[maggieusa]

THis is the may insurance companies work I know when my dd was drving our truck and she was involed in a minnor accident and did not tell us we fouind out in a letter from them our insurance went up $100 dollars.

But oI my be chean the other had if the other person does not have insurance you vehile will be fixed and they go aftr the uninsured for you

Take it to a autobody shop and see what they will charge to fix it it may not be that much..

 

[here757]

I used to work for an insurance company.
The agent was actually doing you a favor.
They should have taken the report . a reported accident will increase your rate. if they pay out on the claim it will be even worse.

look at it this way.. IF the repair is $100 its payable once..
if the insurance company pays out the same $100.. ur rate might go up $50 per 6 months. that means you pay 300 0ver 3 years...

the reason you have insurance.. if you hit someone and they decide to sue..
they will pay out .. and they are to assume the cost of defending you in court.

 

[GoofItUp]

I think we're all making the same point - insurance is only for a MAJOR event. I'll definitely be changing my policy to reflect this. If I ever do have a major accident, I think I could cover a higher deductible and thus lower my monthly premiums. Something I'll be working on today!

 

[lastminutemom]

We have very high deductibles which substantially lowers our premiums. We are essentially self insured for minor things -- but you have to know that you can afford to cover those minor things before making such a move.

 

[lastminutemom]

opps

 

[wmharley]

I used to work for an insurance company.
The agent was actually doing you a favor.
They should have taken the report . a reported accident will increase your rate. if they pay out on the claim it will be even worse.

look at it this way.. IF the repair is $100 its payable once..
if the insurance company pays out the same $100.. ur rate might go up $50 per 6 months. that means you pay 300 0ver 3 years...

the reason you have insurance.. if you hit someone and they decide to sue..
they will pay out .. and they are to assume the cost of defending you in court.

my wife worked for an insurance company too (2) and for one of those, even if you got in an accident, it didn't necesarrily increase your rates.

i got in an at fault accident (i was cited) where my car was a total loss. My rates didn't go up, but 1 month later I got a speeding ticket. i HAD to take the driver's course to clean it off my record or else it would have been compounded with the accident and then the rates would go up. but the accident and citation for the 1st incident wasn't going to increase my rates.

Many insurance companies offer accident forgiveness with the first accident in X years..

 

[allison443]

I was going to mention the same thing as a prior poster..since you are looking for a new company, maybe find one that has an "accident forgiveness" policy? I know our company has this (Highpoint) and I see that Allstate advertises it as well.

 

[Dziactor]

If you hit another car that would fall under liability and there should be no deductible on that (depending on where you are I guess). That wouldn't be claimed under Comprehensive or collision as those protect your car. If your vehicle is damaged you would be subject to the deductible. I still dont know if its worth claiming, the insurance company could add an an fault accident to your policy.

 

[here757]

my wife worked for an insurance company too (2) and for one of those, even if you got in an accident, it didn't necesarrily increase your rates.

i got in an at fault accident (i was cited) where my car was a total loss. My rates didn't go up, but 1 month later I got a speeding ticket. i HAD to take the driver's course to clean it off my record or else it would have been compounded with the accident and then the rates would go up. but the accident and citation for the 1st incident wasn't going to increase my rates.

Many insurance companies offer accident forgiveness with the first accident in X years..

increase in rates depends on the company.
where there is an accident it impacts your policy two ways. if there are points associated with the accident you get charged for those. then based on the points your tier can go up.
the company i worked for it increased ur tier. but you were not charged for the accident. so basically the rates went up but the customer never knew why unless they asked.

 

[Tampa Mousekeeter]

We have very high deductibles which substantially lowers our premiums. We are essentially self insured for minor things -- but you have to know that you can afford to cover those minor things before making such a move.

I agree, you have been paying way too much for a no deductible policy all this time. We brought ours up to $1,000 deductible and it saved us tremendously....