reporting minor accident

W

wherzwaldo

1,000+ Posts
Was in a minor accident today, other driver was at fault but not enough damage to really bother reporting to my insurance (small dent and paint scrape). Other driver also has insurance and we traded info. Should I still file an incident report with the police department?
 
If you really aren't going to file a claim against the other driver's insurance, I don't see why you need to file the accident form. I think they count it as an accident against your record for insurance purposes (despite what they will tell you).
However, if you got an estimate at a body shop, I think you might be surprised at how much it would cost to fix. It ain't cheap these days.
 
Report it even if you don't make a claim. You may be surprised to find out later that the other party made a claim against you! People often change their stories between the scene of the accident & when they make a recorded statement. Call it 'selective amnesia'.
wtf.gif
 
Be sure to make a claim for "diminished value" on top of the cost of the repairs. I just went through that process. The insurance company hates to pay it but if you beat on them enough you should get an additional cash settlement on top of the cost of the repairs. Don't forget to get them to provide a rental car while your car is being repaired.
 
Good gracious. Do you (not necessarily the OP) REALLY want to make a big deal out of something that isn't a big deal and would be a part of your accident history? FIND OUT if it is a big deal before you claim it is one. It might be. But if it isn't then don't let the insurance ******** in on the notion that they can consider you accident prone.

"Greatly diminish" the value? Not likely if the owner doesn't consider it "great". My personal experience is that is doesn't make a bit of difference if you have minor dings here and there.

The police won't even give you a report at this point and they don't give a flying **** if no one was injured or no public property was damaged 4 days ago. They will be positively pissed while they are politely explaining that yours is a private issue at this point.
 
Well, I had pretty much decided against filing anything with the police anyway. I don't really care if the guy gets a ticket or not, and I REALLY don't want to be inundated with the ambulance chaser phone calls I'd inevitably get for the next two weeks (that happened when a guy totaled my car four years ago). I just didn't know if it was necessary to do so if I decided to make an insurance claim.

Still debating the insurance part though. Just wondering... since it's my word against his, how would they determine fault if his story is different than mine? There were plenty of other cars around but no one stopped to be a witness.
 
It is basically a swearing match between you and the other driver. Always was. The fact that you told your side to the police is pretty much irrelevant to any issue other than whther or not you were injured in the acciden and didn't conjure it up afterwards. You aren't worse off for not calling the police at the time and you won't benefit from calling them now unless you just enjoy being belittled by police officers who have to "do their jobs".

I don't have any prejudice against the police. Traffic incidents aren't the kind of thing that makes them feel like heroes. Would you?

Insurance deals with this stuff all the time. It is not likely to be a problem unless the other driver lies. The police will not be able to say anything other than "driver 1 reported - driver 2 reported". They didn't see the accident either and they will not help you with the offer of an opinion. Ever. That is not their job and it shouldn't be.

I sometimes go back and read my own posst and realize I can be abrasive. That is not my intent.
 
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