Very minor fender bender accident advice needed.......

[lukenick1]

My teen son ever so slightly bumped another cars rear at the stop light. Both he and the driver of other car got out and she was very angry insisting on his insurance information even though there was no visible damage. She had a black vehicle which was very dirty from the winter roads. She said she wanted to make sure there were no scratches after she washes it. We asked her to contact us instead of going through her insurance because we'd rather not have to pay a surcharge for something very very minor. She texted my son today telling him to have me call her. I am afraid she is going to make up all this damage just to take advantage of us. We took pics of her bumper and you clearly see no visible damage to her car. I just want to know how we can protect ourselves in this type of situation. I'd hate to give her cash then have her turn around and call her insurance trying to collect more money. There is no damage to our vehicle either. I haven't been able to reach her yet she doesn't answer her phone the times I have tried to call.

 

[ronandannette]

My teen son ever so slightly bumped another cars rear at the stop light. Both he and the driver of other car got out and she was very angry insisting on his insurance information even though there was no visible damage. She had a black vehicle which was very dirty from the winter roads. She said she wanted to make sure there were no scratches after she washes it. We asked her to contact us instead of going through her insurance because we'd rather not have to pay a surcharge for something very very minor. She texted my son today telling him to have me call her. I am afraid she is going to make up all this damage just to take advantage of us. We took pics of her bumper and you clearly see no visible damage to her car. I just want to know how we can protect ourselves in this type of situation. I'd hate to give her cash then have her turn around and call her insurance trying to collect more money. There is no damage to our vehicle either. I haven't been able to reach her yet she doesn't answer her phone the times I have tried to call.

The way to protect yourselves is to report to your insurance company and INSIST she go through them. They are best at sniffing out potential fraud. You can still pay cash for the claim to avoid having your rates increase.

 

[lukenick1]

We have Geico.....will they allow us to pay cash to the claim? What if no police were called?

 

[wenrob]

The way to protect yourselves is to report to your insurance company and INSIST she go through them. They are best at sniffing out potential fraud. You can still pay cash for the claim to avoid having your rates increase.

This. Been there, done that with the same kind of situation. The lady wanted thousands. Thankfully my DD had her wits about her and took photos. Just give her your insurance info and let her file a claim. Who knows, the driver might not find it worth doing if you’re not going to just hand over cash.

 

[piccolopat]

I agree with the PP and suggest you advice your insurance company. My concern is not just an inflated claim for vehicle damage but what would happen if she suddenly claims to have an injury.

 

[Kellykins1218]

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with the lady wanting all of your son’s information especially since he was at fault. Even a very minor fender bender can cause damage. We were rear ended at a stop sign. It was just a hard bump & didn’t look like there was damage. Luckily, we also insisted on getting all of the other driver’s information because it turned out that the clips holding the bumper were all broken. You couldn’t tell by looking at. The mechanic found it when we took it in to get checked.

 

[CarolAnn856]

My teen son ever so slightly bumped another cars rear at the stop light. Both he and the driver of other car got out and she was very angry insisting on his insurance information even though there was no visible damage. She had a black vehicle which was very dirty from the winter roads. She said she wanted to make sure there were no scratches after she washes it. We asked her to contact us instead of going through her insurance because we'd rather not have to pay a surcharge for something very very minor. She texted my son today telling him to have me call her. I am afraid she is going to make up all this damage just to take advantage of us. We took pics of her bumper and you clearly see no visible damage to her car. I just want to know how we can protect ourselves in this type of situation. I'd hate to give her cash then have her turn around and call her insurance trying to collect more money. There is no damage to our vehicle either. I haven't been able to reach her yet she doesn't answer her phone the times I have tried to call.

So, your son hit her, she followed correct procedures and got your son's information, and yet you're mad at her? And then, when she does exactly as you claim you want, you decide she's likely trying to scam you? Wow.

 

[lukenick1]

NOt mad at all just looking to be prepared just Incase. People try to scam others daily.

 

[CarolAnn856]

NOt mad at all just looking to be prepared just Incase. People try to scam others daily.

If you're so concerned, and I agree it's a legitimate concern, then you go through insurance. It seems like you want it off-the-record yet guaranteed to be on the up-and-up. You can't really have it both ways.

 

[Disney Doll]

2 pieces of advice:

1. ALWAYS call the police no matter how minor the accident appears to be. A police accident report will be your best friend

2. Use your insurance company. Their goal is to make sure that they don’t overpay, so they send professionals out to assess the damage.

Trust me on this one. I’ve had someone cut a corner too short and clip my front fender. I’ve been broad-sided by a drunk driver. I’ve been rear-ended a couple of times. I’ve been broad-sided by an elderly man who asked me to use his garage so he could pay cash and when I brought the car in, the garage guy said “Again? Last week he hit a police car”. I’ve been back over by an 18 wheel flatbed on a highway exit ramp.

I know of what I speak.

 

[4kids4karen]

2 pieces of advice:

1. ALWAYS call the police no matter how minor the accident appears to be. A police accident report will be your best friend

2. Use your insurance company. Their goal is to make sure that they don’t overpay, so they send professionals out to assess the damage.

Trust me on this one. I’ve had someone cut a corner too short and clip my front fender. I’ve been broad-sided by a drunk driver. I’ve been rear-ended a couple of times. I’ve been broad-sided by an elderly man who asked me to use his garage so he could pay cash and when I brought the car in, the garage guy said “Again? Last week he hit a police car”. I’ve been back over by an 18 wheel flatbed on a highway exit ramp.

I know of what I speak.

Here in Florida, there is no need to call the police for something very minor. When they finally show up, annoyed, they will tell you to exchange your insurance information and leave. They use to have a form that each party would fill out their insurance information, and they gave each person a copy (carbon copy) but I haven't seen that happen in 15 years. Police do not determine fault in an accident, the insurance companies do. Police can issues citations if there were traffic laws broken, which could help the insurance make a decision. In this case, the teen was at fault (rear ended another vehicle).

I have backed out of Target and had another car back into me. When I first moved here we called the cops and he was really annoyed. LOL. They just say, you are both at fault, exchange your info and they leave. I am only referring to minor accidents where you do not need to call the police.

OP, use your insurance company. Many people try to scam others. This happen to my son in his work parking lot (he backed up his truck at 4AM in the dark/rain and bumped a parked motorcycle). My son also has a motorcycle, so he picked it up and checked it out, didn't see any damage, but he left a note. Weeks later the guy claimed he had to have repairs and was demanding $500 cash from my son. Oh, and the guy was claiming not to speak enough English so his wife was the one my son was communicating with and she was frustrating my son, so I told him to just report it to insurance and give them the insurance info. So he went through insurance and insurance told the man to take the motorcycle to xx shop to verify the repairs. Then they just said they didn't have time to take the motorcycle to the shop so they dropped it. So now it is a zero paid claim which doesn't count against my son. Two months later, my son was promoted to foreman. Guess who was assigned to his crew... and spoke English. I guess it's possible to learn English in two months. My son had issues with this guys work Ethic as well. Son is no longer with this company.

(I work in insurance.)

 

[Southernmiss]

Anyone else have the insurance 'fender/bender with helium ' commercial stuck in their head now?

 

[tasha99]

2 pieces of advice:

1. ALWAYS call the police no matter how minor the accident appears to be. A police accident report will be your best friend

2. Use your insurance company. Their goal is to make sure that they don’t overpay, so they send professionals out to assess the damage.

Trust me on this one. I’ve had someone cut a corner too short and clip my front fender. I’ve been broad-sided by a drunk driver. I’ve been rear-ended a couple of times. I’ve been broad-sided by an elderly man who asked me to use his garage so he could pay cash and when I brought the car in, the garage guy said “Again? Last week he hit a police car”. I’ve been back over by an 18 wheel flatbed on a highway exit ramp.

I know of what I speak.

Where I live, police won't come out for a minor fender bender.

 

[Klayfish]

If you're so concerned, and I agree it's a legitimate concern, then you go through insurance. It seems like you want it off-the-record yet guaranteed to be on the up-and-up. You can't really have it both ways.

Actually, yes, you can. There are countless accidents that are off the record and handled between the two parties and is on the up and up.

2 pieces of advice:

1. ALWAYS call the police no matter how minor the accident appears to be. A police accident report will be your best friend

As someone else noted, the police often don't want to be involved, or refuse to get involved, in little things like this. Frankly, from an insurance perspective, in a situation like this it's sort of irrelevant anyway. No harm, no foul if the police weren't called here.

OP, there's nothing wrong with handling out of pocket if you want to. As I mentioned above, it happens all the time. I'd suggest having the lady get an estimate for repairs and submit it to you. If you think it's overboard, turn it into insurance. If you're OK with it, have a written agreement drawn up and both sign it. However, don't be surprised if it's more than you expect. Car repairs aren't cheap. Even a bumper cover replacement can run $600-$800 or more. Obviously, I can't see the pictures, so I'm "blind" in looking at this but there is also the possibility that there's damage behind the bumper cover. Rear end hits often wind up worse than they actually look from the outside. If it truly was a very light tap, probably OK. However, what appears to be just a damaged bumper from the outside can sometimes wind up being a $5000 repair when all is said and done. See it all the time.

Yes, you can reimburse your insurance carrier if they pay out. That also happens somewhat frequently. However, it'll still show as an at fault claim on your policy...just with a zero payout.

 

[porschegrl]

Actually, yes, you can. There are countless accidents that are off the record and handled between the two parties and is on the up and up.

"Guaranteed" being the operative word in @CarolAnn856's post.

 

[dominiondad]

If you work out a payment, don't give her cash. Write a check and clearly note its to cover damages from accident.

 

[Klayfish]

"Guaranteed" being the operative word in @CarolAnn856's post.

Well sure, nothing in life is a 100% guarantee...except death and taxes. However, if you draw up an agreement that both parties sign, you'll be in pretty good shape.

Speaking of being on the up and up or not, it's probably a good thing that the police didn't come. If they had, the other driver would be getting at least a half dozen calls and letters from plaintiff lawyers. She could still go get one on her own, but at least they won't be beating down her door.

 

[mom2rtk]

Where I live, police won't come out for a minor fender bender.

Yep. Tried that here when I was rear ended. Unless someone was hurt, they want you to exchange insurance information and handle it yourselves. I was really surprised.

 

[mom2rtk]

Actually, yes, you can. There are countless accidents that are off the record and handled between the two parties and is on the up and up.



As someone else noted, the police often don't want to be involved, or refuse to get involved, in little things like this. Frankly, from an insurance perspective, in a situation like this it's sort of irrelevant anyway. No harm, no foul if the police weren't called here.

OP, there's nothing wrong with handling out of pocket if you want to. As I mentioned above, it happens all the time. I'd suggest having the lady get an estimate for repairs and submit it to you. If you think it's overboard, turn it into insurance. If you're OK with it, have a written agreement drawn up and both sign it. However, don't be surprised if it's more than you expect. Car repairs aren't cheap. Even a bumper cover replacement can run $600-$800 or more. Obviously, I can't see the pictures, so I'm "blind" in looking at this but there is also the possibility that there's damage behind the bumper cover. Rear end hits often wind up worse than they actually look from the outside. If it truly was a very light tap, probably OK. However, what appears to be just a damaged bumper from the outside can sometimes wind up being a $5000 repair when all is said and done. See it all the time.

Yes, you can reimburse your insurance carrier if they pay out. That also happens somewhat frequently. However, it'll still show as an at fault claim on your policy...just with a zero payout.

I had an older model Dodge Caravan and the first rear bumper was $850. Second one was $1K. For very minor bumper damage.

 

[cabanafrau]

Well sure, nothing in life is a 100% guarantee...except death and taxes. However, if you draw up an agreement that both parties sign, you'll be in pretty good shape.

Speaking of being on the up and up or not, it's probably a good thing that the police didn't come. If they had, the other driver would be getting at least a half dozen calls and letters from plaintiff lawyers. She could still go get one on her own, but at least they won't be beating down her door.

My daughter didn't get contacted by a single lawyer two months ago when someone hit her parked car and took off. Luckily one of the people who lived on the street saw it happen, stopped the woman, got her info and tracked my daughter down to let her know what happened. She wanted to pay it herself to avoid her insurance going up, thought my daughter was trying to rip her off when the estimates weren't under $300 like she expected and then tried to pressure my daughter into using a specific collision shop 45 minutes away -- or to simply have my daughter claim it on her own insurance. She was positive a crunched up fender would be $300 max.