No fault insurance claim question (rear ended)

I got rear ended in my Element last night by a prius while making a turn onto I30 coming out of class. Damage is minor, as in not affecting anything mechanical, but it bent in and scraped the plastic bumper and the plastic fenders. I am conflicted weather I want to claim it or not.

The damage is possibly around $500, just a guess, maybe more. I don't see how it could be fixed without replacing the rear fender (cover) and bumper, since it's raw unfinished plastic. Who knows what the metal under it looks like. After the hail storms and 180000 miles this car has become my DD beater, so I doubt it would hurt me much if I left it as is, but I'd like to at least be compensated for the hit on the (already low) resale value. Not trying to be greedy or anything.

Talking to my insurance last night, it's my understanding that if I claim with them, the other guy's insurance would pay but I would still have a no fault accident on record and my rates would go up. This scenario is not worth it for me. Googling I read that since it's a no contested 100% his fault situation, I should call his insurance and they will handle it and nothing will go on my record. Problem is I can't find any legitimate source to back it up. Most google results are yahoo asks and IJustGotHit.com ads. Not exactly trustworthy information.



To sum up, if I call his insurance and claim it, will a no fault accident go on my record? I have zero tickets or accidents and my insurance is dirt cheap. I'd like to keep it that way. But my bumper looks like shit so I'd also like some cash, lol. Should i claim it and try to get it fixed, what kind of gamble am I looking at.

This is the first accident i've had to deal with in 15 years of driving, lol. I'm lucky it was so minor and a clear cut his fault, but i've never had to deal with any of this before.

Even if it's not your fault, your rates go up? Who is your carrier?

We just went thru this when my wife was hit....did you file a police report? Any witnesses?

photo of said minor damage.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...psf2bacd98.jpg

I'm not greedy, i'm not broke, and I could pull it out and buff it up or something, but the plastic is scraped pretty good so it'll be obvious when I trade this thing in. I felt more sorry for the other guy. His car was PRISTINE condition and his fender was fucked. It was a prius though, so...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by sammm

Even if it's not your fault, your rates go up? Who is your carrier?

We just went thru this when my wife was hit....did you file a police report? Any witnesses?

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Geico, no, and no. Again this is all my understanding and not trusting sheisty insurance companies.

It was less than a 10mph hit, we swapped info and left. Was in a turn only street to the access road, I went to turn, realized the headlights I saw were in my that lane so I stopped so a truck could pass, prius behind me was still on the gas...err juice.

At this point I think your only hope is for the Prius driver to claim fault.

^I didn't think police would respond any longer unless there is an injury or disabled car? Last wreck I was in (brother driving) he called and the police told him to just deal with it. That was like 15 years ago though and I was a youngin.

FWIW (and not much I know) the driver admitted he was too close and wasn't paying attention, he was calling his insurance to report it that night. I believe him because he seemed like a by the book guy, had a brand new, pristine car that i'm sure that type of guy wants to keep pristine. Again word of mouth with no witnesses, but I have some reason to believe he already claimed it and claimed fault.

*For curiosity's sake, will the police even respond to a minor fender bender < 5 - 10 mph on a public street? This happened in mesquite.
*Do I attempt to file a claim, tell them he admitted fault? Without a police report will they be more likely to fight my insurance and end up with a (no fault) claim on my record?
*Do I just do nothing and wait for his insurance to call me and offer money(doesn't seem very likely).

In the event an inspector looks at both cars, it's obvious that he rearended me. Unless he lies about the location(cut him off merging on highway or something) I can't see how it would not be deemed 100% his fault. Unless they determine I was reversing or some kooky shit like that.


Edit to add: I guess I don't really have much to lose trying to claim this. If they don't pay, this car is a beater, i'll pull & buff it or something. Only thing is i'm trying to make sure it doesn't backfire and end up hiking my insurance rate.

PS I only have liability on the Element.

Police will always respond if called, but it may take a while. They are required to write a report if you request one, but it may only state what they observed and were told. You should file a claim with his insurance. If he decides to screw you, he can file a claim on yours, or just deny the fault when he is interviewed by his insurance. At that point, it is up to the investigators to decide.

Filing a claim with your insurance can raise your rates if you have a higher number of claims than their threshold in a given amount of time, fault or not. If you are accident-prone, they will charge you more eventually.

Years back in Houston I had a lady run a red light plugged me in the drivers side door. Houston Police felt it was her fault and issued here a citation.

She later claimed she didn't run the light but I did.... Since we both had the same insurance company Insurance settled as a no fault wreck and my rates went up.

She also sued me but that is another story.

Speaking for several of my friends who have been shafted in just such circumstances... File a claim with your insurance. Let them fix your car and have them go after the other insurance company. This is why you pay them and they can afford much better lawyers than you can.

Even if you file on the other guys insurance it will still show up the next time your policy comes up for renewal.

I reported it to my insurance (geico) which requires that even if you don't file with them. Then I called and filed a claim with his (USAA). He reported the accident but has not given a statement, so USAA is waiting to contact him and establish liability. I have an appointment to get the damage assessed thursday.

Thanks for the tips. I almost hate to file, as i'm not greedy and my car is old, but he's going to report it anyway so I figured it was a good idea to get my statement in just incase he decides to fudge the details (even if it is my word against his). The road this happened on is such that it's obvious it's his fault and should be as clean cut as they come.

Thanks again guys. Had no clue what to do in these situations. Lessons learned, get a police report.

USAA is a solid company. They won't jerk you around unless something is amiss. I was paid for a claim like yours many years ago even though the insured tried to lie to their interviewer. They found my story more believable and matching the damage (no police report, parking lot), so they declared their driver at-fault and fixed my bumper.

^That's what I was thinking. Given the area I was relieved to see it was USAA instead of a yellow insurance shack attached to el pollo ranchero.

Thanks again for the advise, this is my first time dealing with this stuff.