my car insurance will go up

by SHIV » Sun Mar 22, 2009 02:32 am
Posts: 3
Joined: 22 Mar 2009

hi im 19 and i just recently bought a 05 nissan altima and week later got into a little accident my hood bumper and grill and fender was damaged the other parties back bumper how will this effect my insurance i have been insured for about 3 years now...should i claim it or should i fix the car my self

Total Comments: 19

Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 02:38 am Post Subject: insurance

Well..if you have the money, I suggest to fix the car yourself. I'm sure, at the age of 19, your Insurance premium is ALREADY high. It would probably will go highwer if you put in the claim.

Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 02:49 am Post Subject:

i pay like 183 a month right now so if i put the claim in as im under my parents insurance .. how much do you think it will go up

Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 02:52 am Post Subject: insurance

Is that amount for CollisionCoverage/Full Coverage? Thsi policy is under your parents? Why is the payment so high? I'm not sure how much it WILL go up, but,..believe me, it will.

Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2009 03:01 am Post Subject:

so im better off then just taking the car to a bodyshop and getting them to fix the car

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 05:18 am Post Subject:

Okay, I was wondering about the liability issue. Shiv, from your description it seems that you have bumped into the other driver's car. So, were you cited as the at-fault driver? have you exchanged insurance information with the other party?

Now, if you have money you can always avoid putting the claim through your insurer and get the damages fixed by yourself. But, the other driver may decide to file the claim with your policy. And, a liability claim filed against you would certainly affect your premium rate.

I think more information in this regard is required in order to determine the consequences.

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:21 am Post Subject: insurance

VERY TRUE!! I din't really consider the fact that the OTHER could put a claim aqainst the OP. If this happens, the Insurance premium would/could go up, as well. OP..can you NOT get your OWN Insurance policy, instead of having your name on your parents' policy?

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:40 am Post Subject:

OP, fixing your own car out of your own pocket will not help you, as I'm just SURE the other vehicle also needs repairs that YOU (or your policy) owe for, and who knows perhaps there is an injury claim as well..

You need to contact your carrier NOW and report this claim...to delay ''could'' jeopardize their handling of the claim..your contract with your carrier says (along these lines ) ''You will PROMPTLY report ALL accidents''...get on it brother before the other party files it with them...your rates are going to go up...yes they will...but from the discription of your damage (if those parts require replacement) it will run close to 2k...the other car may be a little less maybe not...not counting any injurys..so I guess the question is do you have atleast 5k laying around you can use to pay for all of this? Your premium isn't going to go up 5k...

Heed the advise of an old adjuster, (unless you are a rich 19 yr old) and get this claim filed NOW!

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 03:15 am Post Subject:

Lori has provided some great advice! I was involved in a minor fender bender when I was 16 and rear-ended a vehicle at a yield sign (they started to go and stopped and I didn't). There was almost visibly no damage to either vehicle and I agreed to pay for their repairs out of pocket.

To make a long story short, the repairs ended up being almost $800 and I paid it. Several weeks later, I got a call from my insurance company stating that they needed to speak with me in reference to a claim. The other driver decided to go ahead and file a claim, not for insurance to the vehicle, but for personal injuries sustained in the accident.

My premium went up...I was out $800...and my deductible only would have been $250. A very expensive lesson!

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 03:39 am Post Subject: insurance

OMG, CHRIS!!! Yep...that sounds like it WAS an expensive lesson to learn!! :roll: I was just thinking if the OP DID turn in the claim, that his Insurance Premiums would go up. However..i guess it would MORE expensive the OTHER way (trying to pay out of your pocket). :(

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:37 am Post Subject:

and my deductible only would have been $250.

To fix YOUR car you mean...you would've paid nothing to fix the other party's car and body (injuries :roll: )...

Most people can't take a 5k out of pocket hit in order to prevent their ins from going up 25% for three years...another thing to think about (same with yours Chris)...is these people can 'come back' up to the state statute of limitation (up to 10-15years in some states, long time to 'worry' about that) on an injury...also most consumers don't carry around bodily injury releases so they could pay those and be done with that portion of the claim. And assured it's over...in todays sue happy world and hitting the 'insurance lottery' mentality. It's usually a good idea to leave this (settling claims) to the pros.

Add your comment

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.