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My wife was turning left at an intersection; one of those intersections where two lanes turn. The sun got in her eyes and she bumped into a truck in the lane next to her.
I met her and the other guy while they were waiting for police to show up (the other guy wanted to call the police to report the accident.) The damage is extremely minimal, I unfortunately didn't look at the damage on the guy's truck but I imagine it to be even more minimal than my wife's car: Ford Ranger vs Mazda 3.
We both agreed to deal with the costs on our own to keep insurance out of it all and keep costs at a minimum. The other guy never actually said or otherwise implied he wanted us to pay for the damage. How do I "cover my ass" in this situation? We don't plan to get it repaired or report the accident at all to insurance. If we report it, we are out $1500 for our deductible, unless the damage is less than that, which in that case our insurance still goes up because my wife is now a higher risk driver having had a crash. My wife also admitted fault
What should we do? I'm afraid of the other guy making a claim and trying to get insurance money out of the deal. But if we report, we are automatically out a pretty good sum of money.
You just need to own up to this. She was at fault.
I doubt he's trying to "get insurance money" out of the deal. Your wife was at fault and he's entitled to his problem being corrected despite what you think or how much money you'll be out of or how your insurance will go up.
It's almost comical how afraid people are of "calling the Insurance company".
One at fault accident does not make you high risk nor does it mean your insurance is going to automatically go up.
He takes his vehicle to a body shop for an estimate. You cut check for estimate. Done.
Once you decide to do things illegally as you've likely decided to already do (depending on state), it's best just to get it resolved as quickly as possible to avoid any possible complications. If he comes back oh, oh my neck has the whiplash you're basically f-ed. It's why you don't do things illegally and/or in violation with the contract you have with your insurance company. Since you've decided to do that, you call him up and say look we need an estimate from the body shop for your vehicle, fax/email me the receipt or have them call me with the total and let's get this taken care. $1,500 is pretty light for body damage to be honest.
My wife was turning left at an intersection; one of those intersections where two lanes turn. The sun got in her eyes and she bumped into a truck in the lane next to her.
I met her and the other guy while they were waiting for police to show up (the other guy wanted to call the police to report the accident.) The damage is extremely minimal, I unfortunately didn't look at the damage on the guy's truck but I imagine it to be even more minimal than my wife's car: Ford Ranger vs Mazda 3.
We both agreed to deal with the costs on our own to keep insurance out of it all and keep costs at a minimum. The other guy never actually said or otherwise implied he wanted us to pay for the damage. How do I "cover my ass" in this situation? We don't plan to get it repaired or report the accident at all to insurance. If we report it, we are out $1500 for our deductible, unless the damage is less than that, which in that case our insurance still goes up because my wife is now a higher risk driver having had a crash. My wife also admitted fault
What should we do? I'm afraid of the other guy making a claim and trying to get insurance money out of the deal. But if we report, we are automatically out a pretty good sum of money.
Did you give him your insurance info? Without it, he really can't make a claim unless he turns it into his own insurance company and gives them your wife's info.
I guess I would call him and just be polite and ask him if he's gotten an estimate and just be very cooperative. If the amount is not ridiculous ask him if he prefers cash or a check.
As far as the liability damage goes, I do not think there is a deductible on that so if he does file a claim it won't cost you any money up front.
What should we do? I'm afraid of the other guy making a claim and trying to get insurance money out of the deal. But if we report, we are automatically out a pretty good sum of money.
He is entitled to make a claim if he chooses to.
He should have been smart enough to take your wife's insurance information.
And get a better deal on insurance going forward :-)
I only carry liability because I drive old cars that aren't worth insuring for more than that. The last time I was in an accident, I hit one of my tenant's cars while trying to parallel park (getting old lol). I didn't have to pay anything out of pocket, and Geico took really good care of her and got her car fixed. My premium didn't even go up.
You three did the wrong thing. Should have reported the accident to the police for a traffic report. I've been in a minor accident involving sun in my eyes. We called the cops and I owned up to my mistake. Because the damage was very minimal (scratches) and I was completely honest with the police there was no citation given. Because the officer spoke with both of us and visually inspected the damage at the scene, neither of us would have a case for greater damages if one got greedy. If the other driver got your vehicle make, model, and license plate then they can find your insurance and file a claim for either the actual amount owed for damages or they can try to scam the system for injuries and greater damages than what they received. No cops nor photos were taken at the scene so it would become your word against their word unless there is a video at the intersection that caught the accident.
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