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Need advice--any experience with insurance or no--minor accident repair?


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Ugghh! Yesterday I backed up into both the front and back doors of a friend's car that was parked on the road. (How did I not see it???) Fortunately my friend was very gracious, etc. The damage was minor, but major or minor, I think whole panels get replaced.

 

I was driving to pick up a Christmas present I found on Craigslist, so I could save some money. It will end up being the most expensive toy ever!! :(

 

Anyway, here are my questions:

 

Is it acceptable to wait to call insurance to see how much the repair will cost, and if if is a lot, then report it? Or will my insurance company (Travelers) give me problems with that?

 

In your experience is there some ballpark amount where it is better in the long run to pay out of pocket and not file the insurance claim so they don't raise my rates?

 

I'm so embarrassed about this that I don't want to ask my (somewhat critical) dad, who has been my main support in such issues since my husband died four years ago. Plus he just helped me a lot through some other situations.

 

Thank you for any input/experience you might offer.

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I think much depends on your insurance company. Our middle daughter was a new driver and she rear ended a car. Huge damage to her truck, significant damage to the other car. She got a ticket. The insurance company gave her a first time forgiveness- no raised rates.

I'd probably see what the repair cost is before I decide. Repairs that look minor can still cost a lot of money, but if you carry a high deductible(say, $500), a $700 repair is only going to save you $200 if you let insurance cover it.

 

So sorry about the accident, and I hope the repair cost is low.

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Could you have a search online to see how much replacement panels are? You might find replacement doors at a breakers yard or on ebay and then just need to get them fitted. But if they are the wrong colour and need to be resprayed it good get pricey.

 

I have been on the other side of this. My close friend drove into my previous car in February last year. It was parked on her drive and she reversed into it at speed and pushed it into her garage. In the end it got written off. I was really calm with her and tried not to make it a big deal but I am glad there was the insurance company dealing with the money side of it. As time went on as it was infuriating with all the inconvenience it caused while it was being assessed and she never acknowledged that which annoyed me.

 

Obviously your friend's car may be in the garage for a period of time while its getting fixed even if that is only a day.

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Our insurance company requires 24 hour notification that an accident has occurred, or they reduce the amount they will pay. Panels are expensive. Parts, paint, labor.... Our insurance company does not raise rates on the first accident.

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