nm67304

So bummed today... I just bought an Acura TL SH AWD last weekend only to get into an accident today. Hit a 2006 Mercury Mariner SUV in the back bumper(must have been going only 5 mph at point of impact) The lady/car was hesitant to merge and she suddenly stopped and I did not enough time for to stop prior to hitting her bumper) I saw little or no damage to the SUV. Outside grill as well as passenger side lighting fixture cracked.

I told the lady it was definitely my fault as i hit her from behind (even though she drove like an amateur and stopped suddenly at the merge). After looking at the damage to her car, asked her if we can just settle this outside of calling police and filing insurance claims. She insisted ging through insurance and called cops (ARGHH!!)

I have a clean driving record and never been in an accident where it was my fault (been in 2 total accidents in my life and i was rear ended in both instances). I called lady today and she told me she already filed a claim with her insurance company. (I have a feeling this damn lady wants to cash out on reporting bogus damage to her car). I asked her if it were possible for her to drop her claim and allow me to pay for the damage. She said that she would need a car rental and if i would be willing to pay for this as well. WTF>?!?!?!

Neways, waht do you think I should do? Since she filed claim already, am I already screwed? Is it even worth trying to pay in cash for both damages. I am jsut trying to keep my record clean and my rates low.

Thoughts?

vinnier6

iTrader: (1)

why do you think your soo screwed...one accident isnt going to kill your insurance rates...

Aman

Well you can't really blame her. You did rear-end her, and if there is any damage, then I'd want to get it fixed as well. Of course, most people would be more forgiving, but for all you know she's in the flowery delivery business and needs a car to get around. I know I'd be charging for a rental if I 100% needed my car.

Best thing to do is talk to your advisor and try to work something out with him/her.

Mr Marco

I've had a similar situation in a work vehicle, only in my case it was several cars/claims. Even though there was little to no damage, and the parties in front of the little old lady I hit LEFT the scene, they changed their minds and came back to cash in. And to top it off, the nice little old lady got a fucking lawyer and sued me, my employer, and the insurance co for $250k. We settled for $50k. And yes, I was subsequently fired. Soooo…look at it from another perspective, it may be only $5k and nothing more.

crxb

next she'll say her neck hurts

Litt

having your ins. company involved protects you from her having her say her neck hurts.

PsychDoc

STOP TALKING!!!!

Obey the "1st Rule of Holes:" - When in one stop digging!

Never, ever try to do what you did. You put yourself at enormous risk. The other party can claim injury subsequently (they often do), they can say it was a hit and run and that you refused to exchange information, etc, etc.

Go thru your insurance. That's why you have it. They will protect your interests because yours and theirs are the same.

In many cases your rates won't rise at all on a first accident. In a worst case scenario they may go up 20%-33% for 3 years.

Pete2010

Wow - i came in here to say the exact same thing. If you have insurance. Use it! That's what you pay all that money for every month. Calling the cops to file a report can protect you from the scenarios above.

Also - even if you pay out of pocket, you could still need to pay 3 or 4k depending on the damage. That could probably end up being more than the increase in insurance.

KeithL

I can't blame her, I would file claim too, too many stories of people trying to settle on their own that get screwed. That being said depending on your company and how long you have been with them you may not see any increase at all. I had a $5K accident a few years ago totally my fault, hit the back of a SUV and my rates never moved, I am allowed 1 accident every 5 years without a rate increase.

BEAR-AvHistory

You made a mistake...if the cops came & saw no damage to the SUV it would be in thier report.

Hard for her to break her neck with no damage to the SUV.

NwTSXmt

Insurance use it

normallywho

I'm confused, did she file a claim with her insurance provider or yours?

Because if she's filing with her own provider then she's accepting responsibility and you're off the hook...

PsychDoc

WRONG!

All they'll do is pay the damages and then subrogate against his carrier. His carrier will doubtless pay her carrier 100% of the charges and he'll be deemed 100% at fault.

normallywho

In the sense that, when my neighbor hit my parked car last winter and I called my insurance they told me not to make a claim with them or I would be accepting responsibility and that I should let the other party's insurance handle it.

I agree, what you say makes sense and this is how I thought it worked until this incident last winter. Maybe the person I talked with didn't say that I would be accepting responsibility, but I do believe she said it would be on MY insurance and there was no indication that they would recoup costs from the other carrier like I was expecting. So, just working off what the carrier told me, wrong or right...