Scraped a car in a parking lot - what's next?

[candy0730]

So slightly off topic.....I know people who have received payment from insurance companies for damage but never had their car repaired. Isn't that ok to do? I am under the impression that when accidents happen the insurance company is paying for the damage done so what does it matter if the guy may just wants the money and not have his car fixed?

 

[Jaaaacki]

You did the right thing by letting your insurance know and taking pictures.

I had something similar happen on a highway, traffic was stop and go and I tapped someone. We both got out and the other person did not want to call the police, he said he was fine and that there was no damage to his car. I did not have any damage to my bumper at all. We exchanged contact info anyways.

A few months later, he calls me to tell me he now is noticing damage and asked me for $700 to fix the damage. I called my insurance agent and referred him to them. He kept saying he didn't want my insurance to go up and acted like he was concerned for me. My insurance didn't go up at all and I would have been out the $700. I don't really know how much they paid to fix the 'damage' but I imagine it wasn't as much as he was asking for. Best to let the insurance deal with stuff like this to know it's on the up and up.

 

[thomas998]

My first thought is that he doesn't want to get his car fixed and probably would prefer to take the cash from you and pocket it.

Exactly, and if he decided he would be happy with a couple of hundred bucks I would have given it and been done with it. Putting it through the insurance could easily end up costing you more when they decide to raise your premium or knock you out of a no claim discount you might have been getting.

 

[Leajess99]

Not necessarily-I always try to avoid going through insurance whenever possible. I had clipped a bumper of an old car while I was driving a rented u-haul truck. I sure didn't want to go through insurance so I just pulled out two hundred dollars and the kid whos car it was was more than happy to take the money and forget it ever happened.
Last time someone damamged my car we took it for an estimate and they paid to have it fixed- they didn't want to go through insurance and I really don't give a crap as long as the car is fixed.

Many times for a very minor scratch going through insurance is more of a hassle. I did have a lady hit my car and I forced it through her insurance only because of the number of incidences already on her driving record and it was not a risk I was willing to take.

By not going through the insurance you also save on the premiums going up.

As for the guy the OP hit, he may just not want the hassle of the insurance. I would probably have taken a picture with my phone and if he contacted me than ask him for 3 estimates and if not too outrageous, paid him cash. Heck, he can still get money from the insurance without fixing the vehicle.

 

[Mickey527]

I had an accident a few months ago. I backed into someone who pulled into my blind spot just as I was about to switch into drive. I tapped his front bumper. I had no damage on my Sportage, he had a little scrape that could have been compounded on his front bumper.No dents, just a mild scrape about 1/2" long and wide.
When he got out of the car he immediatly said lets not go through insurance, just give me the cash. I told him I don't have cash and we can call the police and go through insurance. He took my insurance info and I took his and I took pictures of the cars with my camera phone. The guy said he can't wait for the police and left.
I filled out the police report and called my insurance just to let them know.
Two months later I got a letter from my insurance regarding the payout to the guy and a letter my insurance wanted me to sign stating that I was not going to file a claim for the accident.
they had paid the guy $3800.
I was livid and called the insurance. they never asked me for my photos, and never went to see the car. The guy sent an estimate from his mechanic with the price to fix the damage and they just paid it.
by the way, my insurance went up $50 a month...

 

[mrodgers]

So slightly off topic.....I know people who have received payment from insurance companies for damage but never had their car repaired. Isn't that ok to do? I am under the impression that when accidents happen the insurance company is paying for the damage done so what does it matter if the guy may just wants the money and not have his car fixed?

My take is, the insurance company is compensating you for the loss in value of having the damage. The value is the same whether you have $100 and a dent or have $0 and no dent.

If there is still a lien on the car, not sure how that works. Obviously the lien holder would want the value put back into the car in the way of repairs.

 

[IDoDis]

A few years ago a guy t-boned me in a parking lot. He apologized and we exchanged insurance info. I was driving my older car (that we only carry liability insurance on) that day because my DH was going on a field trip at school and needed the van.

I reported the incident to his insurance and my insurance companies and gave recorded statements over the phone. I also emailed the agents photos of each car. A week later the other driver's agent called me back and said the guy that hit me wasn't returning her calls after she left several messages.

Two weeks later I called back the other driver's agent. She said the guy never called her back to give a statement, even after she sent a letter and several phone calls. So, they said they weren't going to pay to have my car fixed since they weren't able to get his statement!

I called my insurance agent and was told that since I had liability only, they would not be able to pay for the repairs.

So that's how people can get out of paying -- just don't talk to the agent or return phone calls! I can't believe he got off scott free while I was stuck with the repair bill! His agent did say that they weren't going to renew is policy, but big deal! I ended having a friend's brother do the body work for a fraction of what I'd have paid a body shop, so that part worked out.

 

[mjbaby]

Thank you all for your input. I've calmed down considerably now a day later!

The guy involved works at the same place as me, although I do not know him (there are 4,000 people that work in my building so that's not unlikely, even through we're technically in the same department). Because it happened on our employer's property I am going to stick with going through insurance and he's welcome to do whatever he likes. I did notify our security department, too, so that they're aware that it happened and that I'd spoken to him.

I feel like my bases are covered. Our insurance may go up but, as I said, this is the first time ever in 20+ years of driving that I've called for any other reason than to give them money. I don't mind at all putting them to work for me for a change!

 

[ellone]

Many times for a very minor scratch going through insurance is more of a hassle. I did have a lady hit my car and I forced it through her insurance only because of the number of incidences already on her driving record and it was not a risk I was willing to take.

By not going through the insurance you also save on the premiums going up.

As for the guy the OP hit, he may just not want the hassle of the insurance. I would probably have taken a picture with my phone and if he contacted me than ask him for 3 estimates and if not too outrageous, paid him cash. Heck, he can still get money from the insurance without fixing the vehicle.

Problem is, if you give him cash, he can then still go through insurance and make a claim with them...what back up would you have to the cash you gave him.

Go through insurance and let them handle it.

 

[squirrel]

Problem is, if you give him cash, he can then still go through insurance and make a claim with them...what back up would you have to the cash you gave him.

Go through insurance and let them handle it.

Exactly.

I was at home having a shower one Saturday morning when my dad knocked on the door and said I needed to move my car. Aparently some tree cutters were hired by the city/power company and they were trimming the trees outside our house. By the time I got out there to move my car, they had already dropped a branch on my tree.

I talked with the guys that were trimming the trees and told them they damaged the trunk of my car. They took a look at it and gave me a card. I called up ICBC (that's everyone's insurance company up here) and they said to bring it in and they would start a file. They took photos and I filled out paperwork.

Not sure how long went by and then ICBC tried to tell me that the guy who was trimming the trees didn't do the damage. I told them that they most certainly did and they had the pictures of the damage. I also have my parents that were home when the damage was done. ICBC paid to have it fixed.

What really annoyed me was that it so could have been avoided if any one of the following happend: they sent out notices that they were coming to trim the trees. If they asked for the car to be moved before they started trimming the trees. If my dad would have just moved it when he noticed that they were trimming the trees.

 

[dawson5]

My son hit a gal this past spring on his way to school. We let our insurance agent know what was going on and asked how to go about paying for the damages instead of it going through our insurance. He told us that there wasn't much he could do, but did make a call to her agent and asked if they would be willing to let us do that. She was. We went to the bank and got a certified check made out to her and found a form on the internet that my hubby filled in the blanks. I thought the $600 was worth it, I think his insurance would raise more than that for two years (he's 18, new driver, etc.). Not sure how this would effect the OP.

We did see her about a week ago, she never got the vehicle fixed. We didn't think she would, it was an older car and not in the greatest of shape.

 

[tlbwriter]

If there is still a lien on the car, not sure how that works. Obviously the lien holder would want the value put back into the car in the way of repairs.

Sometimes the insurer makes a check payable to both the owner of the car and the lienholder, so the lienholder can force the owner to make the repair.

 

[dtr_angel]

Maybe they wanted to treat it as a hit and run and collect the money from insurance instead of getting it fixed?

My brother's car was backed into (probably by a large pick up truck) while he was at work once, did over $1000 worth of damage so the person had to have known they hit him... anyway, his insurance treated it as if the other person didn't have insurance, and he still had to pay his $500 deductible to get it fixed.

 

[Juliet25]

My brother's car was backed into (probably by a large pick up truck) while he was at work once, did over $1000 worth of damage so the person had to have known they hit him... anyway, his insurance treated it as if the other person didn't have insurance, and he still had to pay his $500 deductible to get it fixed.

Yes, what I meant was after the deductible. I've collected insurance money for hail damage--I took it to a site my insurance co set up, an adjuster assessed the damage, and I got a check for the repair estimate minus my deductible. It was my choice whether to pocket the cash or have the repairs done.

That's one way my insurance company pays out for repairs. Another option is to take it to an authorized repair shop and pay the deductible and the shop bills the ins co for the balance. Choosing option A would give one the option of not getting the repairs done, or getting them done at the shop of your choice.