Do I have insurance pay for small damages

by Guest » Sun Sep 04, 2011 10:52 am
Guest

I backed up in a parking lot and slightly damaged the luggage carrier that was attached to the trailer hitch. I gave the owner my insurance information and he said he may just get the carrier welded.

I contacted my insurance company and opened a claim to establish the facts while it was fresh in my mind.

A month later the other party called us and specified that the cost for welding would be $100 or I could pay $200 for a replacement and he already had the vehicle checked out for other damages.

My question is, should I pay out of pocket or just let insurance handle it since they have knowledge of the accident already? If I paid out of pocket, is there standard release forms to have signed?

Total Comments: 4

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 03:08 pm Post Subject:

Its up to you how you want to handle it. It's a little odd that you reported the claim to your carrier and the other party then called you a month later. What has your carrier been doing? Usually they would at least call you and the other person. They would ask the other person to let them know what the estimate for repairs were.

Its up to you if you want to pay for it or have your carrier pay for it. If its been reported to your carrier then it might already be labeled as an at fault accident so it might not change anything if you pay it or they do.

If you want the other person to sign a release you can find them on a site named claimspages (dot com).

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 07:38 pm Post Subject:

The carrier did call us however the other party I think was on vacation for a while. Thanks for the reply. Do the insurance agents know how much the policy would change? I get answers that the "underwriting department" would have the answer. Can I contact the underwriter or do they not interface with a customer? The insurance company is USAA.

Posted: Sun Sep 04, 2011 07:42 pm Post Subject:

If it's USAA they are pretty good about coding an accident at fault or not. But I'll tell you, I slid on some ice and damaged my truck to the tune of $5500. My rates dropped by about $20/year (and they were not high, at $80/month for a 200 F150 FX4).

They won't be able to tell you if your rates will increase until a few months before the policy renews. Personally, I'd pay the $100 and take a chance that my rates would not go up. To me it would be worth paying $100 and rolling those dice.

Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 03:56 am Post Subject:

Really, You should pay that $100 and get the same cover in rates which are offered previously.

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