3 Reasons Not To File A Claim For That Fender-Bender
If you're in a serious car accident, you'll need to rely on your insurance to cover the cost of damages. Those bills will probably be much higher than your deductible on the policy. But there are times when you don't need to involve your car insurance company at all – mainly when you know you can cover the cost yourself, no one was hurt and the damage is much less than your deductible.
When you might not need to file a claim after a minor accident
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1. The damage cost is close to your deductible
If you're in an accident with someone else, the liability portion of your insurance policy will cover any damage you cause to the other vehicles. The collision portion (if you have it) covers damage to your own car.
But you'll need to pay a deductible before the coverage kicks in on the collision portion. If the damage to your car costs less than your deductible or just slightly more, you should probably handle the repairs out of pocket. That’s because filing a claim may cause your insurance premium to increase.
However, before going the pay-it-yourself route, you should confirm whether the estimate of the damage is accurate.
Repairing the damage from even a minor fender bender can be pricier than many car owners expect. If you trust your local auto body shop, get a written repair estimate and discuss whether anything can cause the cost to increase.
If the final bill is high and you decide you want to file a claim, make sure to do so as promptly as possible. Most insurance companies require policyholders to report accidents within a certain time frame. Check your policy for more information.
2. Only you or you and one other driver are involved in a minor accident
If you end up accidentally causing minor damage to your own car and no one else is involved, you probably won’t want to file a claim if the repair costs less or approximately the same as your deductible (see above).
You might also consider the same if you're in an accident with one other driver if it's clear who was at fault, no one is injured and the damage appears to be very minimal. However, there are several reasons to be cautious about going this route.
For one, the other driver may change their mind and contact the insurance companies. This may happen if they start experiencing pain hours or days after the collision, or if the damageto the car ends up being more costly than expected to fix. Even seemingly minor fender benders are often more expensive to repair than most drivers would expect.
If you do want to proceed without filing a claim, make sure to take photos of both cars and get in writing everything you both are agreeing to.
3. You've filed claims for other accidents
Filing too many claims can cause your rates to increase by 50% or more for the next few years, until the accident drops off your driving record.
The impact of making an insurance claim varies by the state, the insurer and how long it's been since you submitted a claim, if at all. But the hikes can be hefty.
The upshot is it's usually best to involve the insurance company unless you're positive the damage to your car is minimal or you were the only driver involved. You might also consider covering the repair costs yourself if you've filed a lot of claims in the past.
ValuePenguin researched rates in multiple states for a 30-year-old man who drives a 2014 Toyota Corolla and files a claim with his insurer. We found his rates would increase by more than 30% after an accident that involved injuries and car repairs.
But the hike was only slightly less — under 25% — with accidents that involved only property or vehicle damage. So if his annual premium was $1,000 before the accident, it could increase to $1,230 after an accident that involves car repairs.
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