Advise Needed Car Bumped into Friends Car

[Schumacher713]

I would pay for it out of pocket.

[BeautifullyComplex]

Your $500 deductible does not apply to a liability claim. If you had damaged your car in this accident, then you would pay the first $500 towards fixing your car & your company would pay the rest.

For liability claims (which is what the claim for damage to your friends car would be) some companies do not surcharge your policy unless the damage to the other vehicle is more than $1000.

I would have your friend get an estimate, so you would have some idea of the amount of damage before making a decision.

[Oildog]

If your friend wants to repair it, have the shop do two estimates. One if insurance covers it, another if you pay cash. Then make a decision. We cant tell how much rates will increase if you file a claim.

[trbstang]

Originally Posted by marykate1

20% Yikes! I hope mine does not go that high since I hit the car while backing from my driveway. The front bumper is damaged a little but the car is Mercedes (SUV) so that might be expensive to repair.

It may have just been a flat charge that worked out to be 20% in my case. $400 comes to mind. My monthly premiums went up from like $165 to about $200 for 2 cars. I was not carrying collision on my car but we had full coverage on the other one. All of this for about $2,000 in damage to the other vehicles.

[huma281]

If your rates will go up and the damage is less than $1,000, just pay for it out of pocket. It'll cost you more up front, but less in the long run. If you're hurting for cash, then let the insurance take care of it and pay the premium bump.

I had something similar happen to me, but with a stranger at a restaurant. I took their insurance info and let their insurance handle it. If it was someone I knew, I would've given them the option. I feel kind bad if their insurance went up for a small $500 repair. I didn't want to go through the hassles of them denying damaging my vehicle and try to weasel their way out of paying for their mistake.

[MDinTelfair]

If the damage is more than $1000, if estimated by the insurance agent's adjuster, expect your rates to go up 5-10% for the next few years. Mercedes labor costs are not cheap.

Will rates go up?

Example:

My friend had a F150 that was rear ended and it really only bent the bumper. My friend being a nice guy called the person and said the bumper on ebay is only $350. The other party said to go through insurance. After the adjuster was done looking at the truck, they wrote him a check for ~$1270 on the spot to get the bumper replaced, an alignment, and a few scratches & dents where the bumper had pushed into the fender. My friend had no intention of fixing these. He kept his mouth closed and said he did not say one word to the adjuster. Needless to say he still has a dent on that bumper, and he uses the truck for hunting trips, so it has tons of other dents on it.

So that $350 will costs these folks 3 years of inflated premiums that will be more than the $1270.