Should he turn in to car insurance

[Stacy9402]

My brother (28) rear ended someone while sitting in a drive thru. He said he had his foot on the brake but the car moved forward somehow?? He was I am sure playing with his phone or the radio. Anyways he says he nudged the lady in front of him. The only damage was a very small speck of a scratch from his license license plate holder. The lady agreed. She gave him her name, number and insurance name. He gave her his name, number and insurance contact info (name, policy number & ins. phone number). But now is thinking maybe he shouldn't report it cause he doesn't want his insurance to go up or to be dropped from his insurance.

Past history for him has been in the last year:
early part of last year - rear ended someone at a stoplight - no damage - it was a report only cause the other person that he hit never called insurance.

alittle later - rock flew up and hit windshield so he went thru insurance to get windshield fixed.

fall - someone rear ended him while he was waiting to turn in somewheres he then hit the person in front of him. other cars brakes failed. he had to have bumper replaced and he had a sore neck for a while. insurance was filed both had USAA

December - ticket for failure to obey highway sign

present - rear ended someone no damage

He has USAA. He has had nothing on his record until this year.

I have told him that it was up to him but I thought you have to report the accident to your insurance but I have heard of people not doing it and paying out of pocket but he doesn't know what the other lady is going to do. Also he doesn't even know the make of her car just that is was red. So what would he even say if he called I hit a red car here and this is her name and number that she wrote down.

SO what do you think? Should he or should he not file.

 

[Abbie]

Since he has her name and number, have him call her and ask that she get an estimate for repair. Once she gets that, he can decide if it's worth just paying it out of pocket or submitting it to insurance. Of course if she decides to pursue it through the insurance companies I think he's out of luck and will have to go that route whether he prefers to or not.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I think there is a 48 hour limit on reporting accidents and after that the insurance company can wash their hands of liability, which means if she chooses to file it's all on your brother. This might matter if he has anything to lose, or might not if he doesn't. I do know that I have USAA and they are sticklers for rules. If it was me I would report it, he might lose USAA or might have to pay higher rates & deductibles but NOT reporting it could mean a civil lawsuit and he's on his own AND he would still be dropped from insurance. Personally, I wouldn't take the chance. I'd throw myself on their mercy and ask if they have any deductions for taking a defensive driver class in the state, then be more careful.

 

[golfgal]

I think there is a 48 hour limit on reporting accidents and after that the insurance company can wash their hands of liability, which means if she chooses to file it's all on your brother. This might matter if he has anything to lose, or might not if he doesn't. I do know that I have USAA and they are sticklers for rules. If it was me I would report it, he might lose USAA or might have to pay higher rates & deductibles but NOT reporting it could mean a civil lawsuit and he's on his own AND he would still be dropped from insurance. Personally, I wouldn't take the chance. I'd throw myself on their mercy and ask if they have any deductions for taking a defensive driver class in the state, then be more careful.

Maybe in your state but I have never heard of a 48 hour limit before.

OP, it depends on what the other driver wants to do. If there really isn't any damage to her car and she isn't going to get it fixed, there is no reason to turn it into the insurance company. If she starts claiming "injuries" and massive damage amounts, he will need to get his insurance involved. He didn't happen to take any pictures of the accident or get a police report did he? His biggest concern is her altering the story of what happened.

 

[cm8]

Since he has her name and number, have him call her and ask that she get an estimate for repair. Once she gets that, he can decide if it's worth just paying it out of pocket or submitting it to insurance. Of course if she decides to pursue it through the insurance companies I think he's out of luck and will have to go that route whether he prefers to or not.

I agree, I would also place a call to USAA to ask them about their reporting procedures. At one point I know for a fact that it was mandatory but now I am not so sure I know they will allow you to "inform" them with out filing a claim as well. I hope your brother took pictures of the car damage as well. Some people are not very honest when it comes to car damage

 

[DipsyDoodles]

Even if she reports it, when she takes it to be appraised there will not be enough damage for a claim. I don't think there is any reason for your brother to report it.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

Even if she reports it, when she takes it to be appraised there will not be enough damage for a claim. I don't think there is any reason for your brother to report it.

Would it be a good idea for OP's brother to check what the state rules are for reporting crashes?

 

[Stacy9402]

Thanks everyone.

I have told my brother just to call USAA to see what they say. if he does who knows.

No police report, no pictures, they each just wrote down their stuff and didn't even look at a license to verify that was correct. He said that the scratch could possibly have already been there cause it was that small you would have normally never have noticed it. Plus he said only his license plate holder touched her bumper and he doesn't have any of her red paint on his silver car with black license plate holder. He said it would only take a speck of paint to cover it. He said he knows it would be less than $50 possibly even lower to just fix yourself. Cause by his opinion you just need the touch up paint that the dealer sells..

thanks again everyone..