Two Cars Backed into Each Other, Both Share Blame, Should I File a Claim or Not?

[badkitty]

This morning, I was parked in a parking spot in front of 7-Eleven.

When I was backing out slowly(maybe 1mph?) I felt a bump and noticed that
another cars was right behind me. She was backing out of a spot opposite me.
Neither one of us saw each other. She and I both agreed that we both share
the blame. A cop was also at the 7-Eleven. When she came out, we asked her
if she could write a police report. She did. Five minutes later, each of use got
a copy of the form, which the cop printed on the printer in her patrol car.

The cop started chatting with us... she said since both of us agree that we both
share the blame, we can each file a claim. However, the insurance will probably
accept only 50% of the the claim.

The damage was limited to the rear bumpers of both cars. It's mostly just
scratches and a small patch of paint coming. off. Based on my recent
experience on another car, it's about $400 to repaint it.

Should I bother filing a claim? I'm worried that if I don't, the other driver
will file a claim against my insurance first. Then I'll have to explain to my
insurance company as to why I didn't file... I have a spotless record, so
I don't want to mess it up by filing a claim for a $450 incident. (which won't
matter if the other driver files it anyway, right?)

This is my first incident involving another car, so I'm not sure how I should
handle this. I would really appreciate any advice you guys can provide me.
Thank in advance!

 

[USF3983]

It depends. As far as I'm aware, it would be a 50/50. You both risk at-faults on your records. Sometimes people change their stories. Maybe exchange waivers of liability with each other. I'm not too familiar with it. My agent had one of our lapsed coverage clients exchange a waiver of liability for out-of-pocket cash for minor damages she was at-fault for.

 

[FullAuto]

You shouldn't file against your own insurance. You should file against the other person's insurance. They will file against yours if they choose. You can't stop them.

 

[USF3983]

It depends. You have to read your contract. You have to read the part about your duties as the insured when an accident occurs. Even if it's a small percent, I've read contracts that will deny you liability benefits if you have't filed a police report within a certain timeframe (in this case you did). If the other person files a claim against you and your company says you didn't perform your duties as the insured, then that person can just sue you out-of-pocket.

 

[carithomas5141]

Well I think if the other car also did not have a lot of damage then if possible contact to that car's owner and talk to her if she will be claiming the insurance. If no, then the problem is solved then and there only. If she is in a mood to claim try to convince her not to do so. If she disagrees you then you can also claim the insurance. It will be a safe solution to your problem.