sonny_k9

I was involved in an accident today and thankfully the damage was minimal. So small for the other guy that it just smudged the paint on her bumper. I think I'm better off paying this out of my pocket and not going through my insurance (which will charge me the whole deductible anyway). THe lady wants my insurance information just for safety, she said she won't call them. I would have happily handed over that information before she made a comment that she was having a slight headache. This is when I witheld the insurance information because I thought something was fishy.

But if she insists am I obliged (by law) to give her that information or can i insist on paying out of my own pocket?

-sonny

Python2121

ooo this is quite the predicament.

i would tell her that you dont trust her, and that if she insists on not going through insurance then she has no need for the information. she has your phone #, thats good enough

MikeS 18

depends on the laws in your state on when an accident has to be reported. if it has to be reported, then you would have to tell the police your insurance. if it does not have to be reported, then you don't have to tell her squat. however, if she claims injury, which she apparently did not, then she may have a hard time claiming she needs to report it.

however, i'm not a lawyer, I just play one on this forum...

joeshmoe

It's pretty much the law in every state. Especially if she asks you for it and/or if your at fault.

18anatak

I say fuck her. what accident?

NSXNEXT

iTrader: (2)

You guys are funny. If the shoe was on the other foot, you'd sure as hell want the other guy's insurance info just in case he skipped or gave you a fake phone #. Too many scams out there today to be stupid.

Shawn S

russianDude

people should exchange insurance information even if its a minor accident. in fact, I'd call the cops even if its a minor scratch.
just because you exchange insurance info does not mean sh*t, its your word against someone else. thats why municipal workers should be summoned to do their job right on the spot.
ofcourse they might get upset cause its interrupting them from eating donuts

Scrib

You hit the person. Be a man and provide the info.

Withholding is pretty lame.

Just my $0.02.

zeroday

ferizzo

I would just call the cops on the spot.

Linner

in NJ you dont have to report an accident if the damage is less then 500$, ive witnessed this happen before and the cop just left the scene saying you dont have to if u dont want to bc the damage is so small

mbackus

Reporting an accident and providing insurance information are two separate requirements. It is good practice in any motor vehicle accident (no matter how minor) to exchange insurance information with the other parties involved. I'd much rather have my insurancve company on the hook (in the case that the other driver claimed personal injury) rather than not providing the information and ending up involved in a personal injury lawsuit unprotected. The headache claim would have set off the warning bells for me...at that point I would have insisted on calling the police and documenting exactly what took place as this looks like a setup for a lawsuit to me.

NiteQwill

I would have provided the info.

The headache claim can be anything you know? You could have aggrevated the individual because she has high blood pressure, diabetes, vice versa... With that type of prediction, she has grounds for a lawsuit. Like mbackus said, having your insurance on your side to prevent a personal lawsuit far outweighs others options.

kensteele

So the answer is you are NOT legally required to provide your insurance company information to any non-law enforcement people at the scene of an accident if you don't want to.

Bottom line, if you think something is fishy and the police are not around, don't give it out...regardless who is at fault. Give just your name and DL# only. That will indentify you, the rest can be discovered.

russianDude

That's true only if you are at fault. However, if some dumb ass scratches your car and will not want to wait for police or refuses to give out his insurance info (just name DL# is not enough! ). Then I'd call 911 imeadeatly. Otherwise you will take chances proving who's fault it is (provided you have no witnesses or on site police report). In the end it will be your word against his/her word. And unfortunatly a lot of people will do this kind of sh*t in cort. In fact, those people won't be even taken to cort, because insurance company will not be willing to pursue for equity worth of $200-300 (actually its already bellow anyones deductable). So your insurance company will tell you "sorry,we ain't paying and not willing to pursue it through other company".
So now you are stuck paying with your own money...

The golden rule is to call police imeadeatly anytime its clearly not your fault. Do a on site police report, and then getting money from the other insurance company.
So what if you have $100 in damage? What is this cop going to do to you? Be pissed at you? So what, you can always say "ooops, I thought its more than $500, I dont know how much things cost to repair thesedays". Let the cops do their work, and let your insurance do its function.

kensteele

I don't care who's fault it is. Whether somebody wants to wait or not is not a factor. Fault cannot be decided/determined by two ordinary citizens who were just involved in an accident. Even if you crash directly into the rear of a car parked at a stoplight, the victim who just got his neck snapped CANNOT get out of the car and demand that the driver who hit him provide insurance. He just can't. If I don't want to....guess what? I don't have to. Only the cops can force me to provide insurance details to the cops, not to the "victim".

Ordinarily this is not a problem and everything goes well during an accident; let the insurance companies fight it out. But sometimes there are stupid people involved in the accident and no way I'm going to tell them who my insurance company is so they can [do whatever] without the police having been there to create a report. NO WAY maybe you can understand that. You can give out your details if you want....and when your insurance company calls you and ask you why the victim is having all kinds of back problems from a 2mph fender bender, it will be between you and your insurance company.

Again, not trying to be a dick, but I am smart enough to know there are too many con games out there. How do I know it's not the law that forces you to provide insurance to an ordinary citizen? Picture this. You have a wreck. The old lady says "show me your insurance card right now!" You say "I don't have insurance." What do you think will happen next?

dallison

i would expect the other person to provide the info so i would give mine also. now that i have a camera phone i can take pics on the spot

bigman

Just make sure if you pay out of pocket that she signs soemthing stating that you paid for the cost of repair and are not liable for any other damages physical to her or the car.

russianDude

Yes, but if she has your license plate she can go to police and file a police report against your tag, and then go to ER claiming she is in pain, and they will find you anyway. so by not giving insurance info its only buying you more time.

anyway, me personally, I am calling cops imeadeatly even its its a $40 damage. if you have a police report showing that you are not at fault, you have all the chances getting this $40 from the other insurance company. Otherwise the person may promisse you to pay and admit his fault, but then latter on will be like "I dont know what you talking about, it was not me". and if you have no vitnesses you are screwed.