ne max

iTrader: (4)

I got rear-ended today on the highway - stupid cabbie stopped HARD in front of me and i did the same and stopped on time, but the person behind me wasn't looking and braked too late. From the impact i thought there would be body damage, but only part of the bumper was scraped and slighly compressed at the surface! The person who hit me had no damage but we exchanged info, and i'm wondering if i should bother getting the bumper repainted / replaced in case the deductible ends up being more than the cost of repair? I'm a little annoyed because the accident wasn't my fault, and other than this small but visible damage, i've managed to keep the car in near perfect shape. Suggestions?

97GLE

It was the other guys fault? Then what deductible?

I'd definelty get it fixed... thats what insurance is for.

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

Get it checked out. There very well could be (and I would expect) atleast the foam to be compressed. Structural damage is always possible as well.
-Cyrus

Craig Mack

Cyrus,

Go to bed! It's 1am and we have school tommorow it's monday ....I am gettin off right now, and unless you want to puke in the morning I suggest you get off and get some sleep my man.

Vyrus

iTrader: (4)

I don't start school until the 26th. Go to bed youngin'.
-Cyrus

ne max

iTrader: (4)

... i think i'm just afraid that the insurance company will say that it was nobody's fault or something because i had to stop really hard because of the cabbie. i've never had to deal with insurance before because i've never been in an accident until now

Green 2kSE

Nope, they can't say that. In fact, rear end accidents are the easiest to settle with the "hostile" insurance company. They are much more worried about the many bs "whiplash" lawsuits.

Dave Holmes

Yeah, get it checked. The bumper cover is pliable and will bounce back after a collision. The foam underneath will not. Being a uni-body car, a lot of other things can "shift" out of whack. Being rear-ended, you shouldn't have anything to worry about with your insurance company. They'll just fight it out with the other guy's to get their money back. Best thing to do in these cases is to call the police and get an accident report made out. This covers you incase you have to go to court if the other guy denies ever hitting you. In some states, if not probably all, it is a misdemeanor to leave the scene of an accident (in Louisiana only if the damage is over $500. But on todays cars, that can almost be caused by a shopping cart!). Good luck with it.

Dave

littledog

Get the car checked out in a bodyshop.
And get yourself checked out by a doctor.

Frank Fontaine

If I were you I'd keep insurance out of it. It's been a while since I got a new car policy, but with homeowners the question is vague, any claims in the past 5 years? This fault business isn't a factor imho, but I'm not a shady insurance adjustor. I believe that as long as you were involved in something, you deserve higher rates from their perspective. The important thing is that you weren't hurt.

My advice is two things have to happen for a claim to be submitted--the damage is at least 4x your deductible (back off that number if you have 500-1000 deductible) AND you can't really practically afford the $$$ it would take to make the repairs. In other words, if the damage is $1000 and your deductible is $200, unless you really can't come up with the $800, I wouldn't claim it. They'll easily get the $800 back in a matter of 2 years in premiums. If your car were totalled, most people aren't gonna come up with 10 grand in cash to replace it. You wouldn't have any choice but to claim it. Good luck.

97GLE

Not to flame, but I believe that is poor advice. I've been rear ended, my rates didn't go up. I even discussed this with my agent and he said the only time they would even consider raising your rates is when you have a significant claim to them. They wont even check for tickets if you haven't made a claim that cost's them money.

Why have insurance if your gonna keep spending more money out of pocket? If your insurance company would raise your rates for this you need to take your business elsewhere.

Virus

iTrader: (1)

Your rates will not go up. It's not your fault and there's no way that you would be held liable even if you stopped suddenly. It's the guy behind you's fault for not keeping a safe driving distance. As others mentioned, get it checked out and at the very least get the bumper repainted. You'll kick yourself in the butt if it starts to peel off a year from now because of a few minor scratches. It happened to me!

ne max

iTrader: (4)

...thanks a lot for all the suggestions, i got the damage checked out by a body shop and they said the damage was only cosmetic (the guy said that none of the metal frame behind the bumper was dented) so the bumper only needs to be repainted - $330, but the guy did a really good job on my friend's car which had body and paint damage. The scratches are not bad but are visible, and i'm just worried that the paint might flake off in a few years so i think i'm going to go ahead and repaint the bumper.

schuss

you should definitely contact your insurance co, and give them the other driver's info and a statement of what happened. they will attempt to recover your deductible (pretty good chance of that, depending on how the police report was written up) from insurance co covering the guy behind you. when it's not your fault, nothing should come out of your pocket. although you may have to pay your deduc to the body shop at first, they will reimburse you once they settle with the other guy's company.

actually, underwriters are more likely to drop/cancel/reevaluate your policy if they find out about an accident where they weren't notified. a failure to report weighs more on an underwriting referral than a claim, and especially a claim that was subrogated (recovered from a third party). usually, filing a claim is not even cause for an underwriting referral, and the longer you wait, the more you risk being flagged as a "late report."

i'd call 'em tomorrow.

Green 2kSE

I wouldn't call your insurance on such a small claim, especially if the other driver's insurance is cooperating. If there's no police report, the accident will not get reported.

Frank Fontaine

That's really funny. Someone did the ol' hit and run to me. Damage maybe $500 to $600. My deductible is $500. So according to what you say I should have reported it. The agent told me the complete opposite. He told me the best you're gonna do is get $100 benefit, and your rates are almost certain to go up. It's not the hit and run, it's the fact that you made a claim. New applications ask if you have made a claim in the last 39 months, it doesn't ask was it your fault. I don't think what you say makes any sense. So if you get short of breath, you better notify your life insurance company, because if you don't, you'll be flagged.

I simply don't understand why people are so naive. We can obtain a credit report in less than 45 seconds today. Why the &(*^&*(^ would an insurance co. be unaware of speeding tickets and accidents and claims that a policyholder has made? Are they in the business to make money or help risky people who seem to get into accidents that aren't their fault?

ne max

iTrader: (4)

So i got a phone call from the other guy's insurance company. Now it seems that his story's changed in that he says that there was a car behind him that hit him in the back and pushed him into my car. He told his insurance that the guy who hit him pulled over at first but then took off. His story is BS because i saw everything that was going on behind me through the rearview mirror and i saw him not paying attention, looking away towards the left and that's why he hit me! Also, he never mentioned that "phantom 3rd car" when we exchanged info, nor did me or the other 2 people in my car see the "3rd car" pulled over at any time. The insurance rep said that if that is what really happened, then there is a chance i won't see any money from them because there was no police report made he also thought the story sounded fishy, but maybe he said that just to calm me down after hearing all this. i wish i knew to make a police report, but i thought the damage was minor and the case was clear cut. i'm waiting to hear from the insurance co. next week, but i'm really ticked about how this going!

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

just to let you know.

if someone hits the rear of your car, it's always their fault and covered by their insurance.

if you cut them off and grab the ebrake and they hit you, it's their fault, because they would not be paying attention. honest to god.

you pay nothing on this. get your parents or someone with more insurance knowledge involved.

Green 2kSE

I hope you are not relying on this when you cut people off. All it takes is another witness of your action (a third party) and you will be found at fault.

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

cuz i cut people off all the time in my car that doesnt stand out at all.

Max_5gen

iTrader: (2)

To thebigsadler: Have you been hit doing that or better yet - sued and won the case? Anyway - original message was about completely different case IMHO.
To ne max: Even if the guy behind you hit you as a result of being hit himself it doesn't change anything in your case - you didn't hit car in front of you. It changes a lot in his case with his insurance company but that doesn't affect you at all. What really makes this case unclear is the lack of police report otherwise you'd have clean case without any complications. What makes it better for you is that the guy already told his insurance company that accident really did happen and you didn't hit anybody in front of you. There's info on the Net how exactly insurance looks at those accidents I just can't find the link on my computer, sorry. Find someone with auto insurance experience before you start talking with insurance company.

Mike.

thebigsadler

iTrader: (4)

it was a poor attempt at sarcasm obviously because people took it seriously.

i hardly ever EVER cut people off.

Larcenist

iTrader: (2)

To the person who got rear ended dont' worry too much you're not at fault because the guy hit you from behind. You shouldnt pay anything and the other guys insurance should pay for it all. It doesnt matter if he got hit or not you're still covered and you won't get screwed because he himself told his insurance company that he did hit you in the rear. Any case involving a car gettting hit in the rear is almost always not the fault of the person who got rear ended. People should be keeping a safe driving distance away from you so that even if u do stop suddenly they have enough time to brake (i beleive 2 car distance away). So don't stres over this matter, just talk to your insurance and if they are indeed bs'ing about you having to pay something ask to speak to a higher person at the insurance... until you get what you need.

Im not sure if i read this right, but to who ever said that insurance company do raise ur rates because you make a claim that you're not at fault is somewhat wrong. If you get in an accident and its not your fault it doesnt count against you. It might however if you get in like 5 accidents in one month all not your fault b/c the insurance company is paying more than they expected for you. But if its like one accident in 3 years then they wont raise your rate. Same goes with your car being vandalized. It wont raise your rate b/c its covered under uninsured motorist. But if you do it too often then it will.

ne max

iTrader: (4)

I just got the bumper repainted and it looks like new I know that i should get paid for the damage, though the other guy's insurance company said i might not. I'll just fight it out with them if they give me a hard time about it. Thanks a lot for the info and support guys

Larcenist

iTrader: (2)

who paid for paint job?

ne max

iTrader: (4)

i paid up front but will get insurance to pay for it. i needed to get it painted now because i'll have no chance to get it done after classes start. they will pay, or