Minor Accident, but have Questions...

[Solanthos]

Well, got into a minor fender bender... so minor that the only things damaged were a bit of paint on the back bumper of an Escort and a broken signal light cover on my car... however they insisted on calling the police and getting an accident report. Details would take too long and everything, but the accident may or may not be my fault.

Anyway... I had a question about all this. Should I go ahead and report it to my insurance company or wait for their insurance to contact mine? The total damage done to my car was probably $10... seriously... the collision happened at a whopping 5 MPH.

I live in Texas if that helps anything.

Thanks!

[cwc2k1]

Report??? HELL NO! Now someone correct me if I'm wrong but you don't HAVE to report an accident right? Isn't it up to you if you want to report or just fix urself?? If this is right, I'd fix it myself. From what I hear insurance companies will tell you your rates won't go up if you make a claim and then 6 months after you do your rates take a hike.

[Kaioshin1982]

theres no point of reporting, from what i understand, IF the other person is a complete moron and reports this accident, then the insurance company will contact u. But until then you have no reason to contact the insurance company.

[DAEDALUS]

Are you guys certain? Often insurance companies state you need to report an accident within a given amount of time, usually 2-3 days. If so, it's probably stated on the forms you sign when you get the insurance. Is it not possible for them to deny a claim because a driver failed to adhere to the agreement? Maybe that would be illegal (every state's laws are different), but all factors need to be considered.

[Kaioshin1982]

well i mean im not TOO sure, but i had an accident which was my fault since i rear ended a cab (cab stopped short) and the police came and everything and even the police told me that, since the cab had little to nothing damage, he wont be reporting it to the insurance company so why should i? IF he does then u can tell the insurance company. Most of the small accidents, people rather not report it since both side's rate will go up.

[Solanthos]

I know these people will be reporting the accident - they insisted on having a cop come and write a report. They have minor paint damage but it would still cost probably $100 to have the corner repainted or whatever. They were pretty rediculous considering the little amount of damage done... but the cop came out and all that jazz, wrote an accident report, etc.

So, is it against the law to not file a claim in this case or no?

[NY94J30]

Most (if not all) insurance policies require you report all damage to your car, not just that caused by auto accidents.

Why wouldn't you read your policy, rather than soliciting ideas from people online as to what your poicy requires?

[cwc2k1]

I can think of two incidents that I was in, first one I cut a sharp corner and rubbed the back bumper of an old probe (didn't call police, didnt report to insurance) and another where this guy rear ended my dad. Both cases were small $100 fixes and the police were only called with the one where my dad was rear ended. The officer told him that they did not have to file a claim and that over a small accident if both parties want to they can work it out themselves, without involving the insurance company OR the police. I found it rather odd that he told us that we don't need to file at least a police report though, I figured that sort of thing would be mandatory everywhere.