Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We don't know exactly how or why, but something happened to my wife's car this weekend--either someone hit her when she was parked or she hit a snowbank or something--the front bumper has a good size dent in it and is partially coming off. She says she doesn't recall hitting a snowbank but there is snow everywhere these days so I think anything is possible. The cost to get it fixed is just over $1,000. We have a $500 deductible. Should we have insurance pay for this? Or will this cause our rates to increase? Thanks.
Its hard to say what your insurance will or will not pay for. I have a 500 buck deductible and was told by my agent that even if I paid the 500 and filed for several hundred more that I would be penalized with a big rate increase. The car was broken into so we are totally not at fault. I thought paying the 500 would be enough of a penalty but not so.
In that case i would pay it myself. ANY claim (even if it's not your fault) still goes on your record. I got a rude awakening when i was switching companies and was slammed with sky right rates as i had to use their "high risk" insurance because i had a tow, which stays on your record for three years. I even had tow coverage and was still punished for just using the coverage I paid for!
Insurance companies love to find reasons to raise your rates ... a small claim like this may not do it this time, but if there's another claim later, it's grounds for a much bigger increase.
What make/model car? The coming off part is probably broke a clip or something. I've helped others improvise with zip ties before. The dented part ... is it still intact otherwise? If you have a some time and a couple hair dryers, it wouldn't hurt to try this first ...
If you don't want to DIY, consider letting the local high school auto body shop take a stab at it. If the damage is limited to the bumper, at least in principle they should not do any worse than to get it bolted back on and painted but not exactly the right shade of paint. Or, for this specific situation, consider MAACO. I would hesitate to have a cut rate shop do an overall paint job, but for a bumper they should do as well or better than the high school kids.
Rule of thumb; if your insurance company has to pay then you'll probably get a charge back which is a raise in insurance premium. If your company get's the other party's company to pay, nothing happens to yours.
In your case OP if you don't have proof of another vehicle doing damage to your vehicle and your company has to fork out money to you, expect some increase when your premiums come true.
This claim will also be in the national data base so any insurance company can see what you've claimed, so if you try to switch companies to save a buck or two, it ain't gonna happen.
If someone hits my car an it was parked because I had no insurance do the person who hit my car have to pay for damages
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.