Auto Accident

[Jerbond]

I have a client with SafeCo. His son backed into an illegally parked vehicle. Of course as a stationary object, this is an at fault accident, and he is responsible. No damage was done to the insureds vehicle. But the damge was assessed at $1,600 for the hit vehcle. The deductable is $1,000. Should my client call claims, explain what happened, record it, but offer to self-insure (Pay the $1,600 to the shop) and not take the hit on insurance? Or take the full hit as a loss on his record for the next 3 years? Please advise

 

[djs]

The deductible doesn't matter since its the other persons car. In this case, the deductible for them is $0.00.

Run a quote for the son with an accident to get a feel for how much his insurance will increase annually. Multiply this by 3 and see which comes out better.

Also, add to the $1600 the cost of a rental for the other person and potentially some additional damage.

You have to run the numbers, but my guess is it is better to file the claim.

Dan

 

[Jerbond]

I went ahead and filed. Thanks for the info, very good info!

 

[avaloninsurance]

There are positives and negatives either way. If you do file the claim the resulting increase in premium over the next 3 years could exceed the payout on the claim. However, if you do not file the claim, and the owner of the other vehicle comes back later saying there was other "hidden" damage you have no defense or protection if you don't file the claim. At least with filing the claim it will be the insurance companies problem and not your problem.