by Jimmy5903 » Fri Apr 29, 2011 04:25 pm
My teenage daughter backed into another car while exiting a parking space in a parking lot. The other car was driving behind her through the lot. Their car was damaged, mine was not. The police were called, my daughter was clearly at fault, but no ticket was issued. The officer said he would not file the report unless the other driver called back and asked him to, in order to make an insurance claim.
The other driver has two repair quotes - one from a dealership is an insurance-claim quote for $2100, and one from an auto-body shop (that I'm familiar with and trust also) is $1100. (The difference is the dealership would replace their wheel and bumper cover due to superficial scratches.) The other driver is being very considerate and offering to go with the cheaper repair, and not make an insurance claim, in order to protect my daughter's driving record. They're letting me make the call: for $1100 this will get taken care of to their satisfaction. If I tell them to make the claim, I will still give them their $500 deductible, though legally I don't believe I'm required to. We live in Michigan, a no-fault state, and we both happen to have the same insurance carrier.
So my dilemma is whether $600 is worth the extra premiums I'll likely pay, and the ramifications to my daughter's driving record if the report gets filed. She's only had her license 6 months and has no prior violations of any kind. Is there anything else I need to consider to make this decision, and what would you suggest in this case?
The other driver has two repair quotes - one from a dealership is an insurance-claim quote for $2100, and one from an auto-body shop (that I'm familiar with and trust also) is $1100. (The difference is the dealership would replace their wheel and bumper cover due to superficial scratches.) The other driver is being very considerate and offering to go with the cheaper repair, and not make an insurance claim, in order to protect my daughter's driving record. They're letting me make the call: for $1100 this will get taken care of to their satisfaction. If I tell them to make the claim, I will still give them their $500 deductible, though legally I don't believe I'm required to. We live in Michigan, a no-fault state, and we both happen to have the same insurance carrier.
So my dilemma is whether $600 is worth the extra premiums I'll likely pay, and the ramifications to my daughter's driving record if the report gets filed. She's only had her license 6 months and has no prior violations of any kind. Is there anything else I need to consider to make this decision, and what would you suggest in this case?
Posted: Fri Apr 29, 2011 06:10 pm Post Subject:
First of all, have you discussed the situation with your insurer to see what the ramifications will be if any, should you decide to file a claim. If you have been claim free or have not filed claim in a long period of time, it's doubtful (but anything is possible-depending on what your policy consists of)that you will see much of premium increase if any.
Secondly, since this is your daughter's first incident, it's doubtful that there will be any ramifications because of this incident. Your insurer already took a gamble by insuring a teenage driver, and those statistics are already figured into insuring a teenage driver. They already understand they are at a higher risk. Your best bet is to talk it over with them. However, if you just don't want to file the claim and pay out of pocket (consider this isn't more serious than it is) and save face for something else down the road.
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