The Hoth

....we offered the young woman to settle without insurance company's involvement cus it is going to increase her premium like there is no tomorrow.

We received phone call from the other her insurance company. I guess the she filed a claim to her insurance company anyway. The damage on her car is pretty severe, we don't blame her doing that.

So the insurance company is trying to get us bringing our car to estimate the damages and will refer us to a nearby body shop and they will pay for the repair.

I guess we are all set, right?

Not sure if I have to notify our own insurance just to cover our back. Don't want her insurance to try to blame us on the crash and try to get money from our insurance company behind our back and we will be paying higher insurance premium again. Maybe I am worring too much, maybe not.

Any ideas?

boltonblue

Thomas make sure you notify with a police report and your insurance company.
your best bet is to go through your insurance company and keep your best options open.
Were the police called and was she cited?

Tadashi

You should probably notify your company, no matter who's at fault, if the other person files a claim as well. Then if the other company does try to contact your insurance, your company will already know your side of the story.

The Hoth

A cop was there, not sure if the youny woman was cited, not sure if the cop wrote a report at all. I wasn't there. To me, it was a clear cut case. Sveta was exiting the highway and still on the ramp. She slowed down for an intersection, the other person slammed on the brakes and slided into our car. I guess to be on the safe side, we kind of need to call the insurance just in case.

Thanks guys.

Lainey

You're probably worrying too much.
Report it to your insurance company, tell them the other party's insurance is paying, since it was a rear end collision. Make sure you have a police report on file.

AND you don't have to take you car to anyone the other guy's insurance recommends. You take it where you want. You do need to let their adjuster look at your car. Let the adjuster and the body shop you choose deal with the negotiations.

I don't see how they could ever go after your insurance for any $.

ajlafleche

You can also have your insurance adjuster do an estimate. If they pay, they recoup from her insurance. You don't have to pay a deductible and there are no points or surcharges on you. As Lainey said, you get to choose who works on your car.

LazyProfessor

Call your insurance company - thats what you are paying them for. You shouldn't see an increase in premium.

RedY2KS2k

I think most states require a police report if the damage is above a certain dollar threshold.

HARDtoTOP

In MA, if the damage is above $1500 or there is personal injury, there should be a police report. If not, it is no big deal, the insurance companies determine fault themselves anyway.

But, Thomas, you do need to report the accident to your agent within 5 days. If you go over that, nothing will probably happen, but the law says 5 days so it is better to just do it.

So, the lady hit Sveta from the rear? Sounds very clear cut to me. Just find a reputable shop to do your work and make sure they are NOT on the insurance company's "preferred list".

"Preferred list" means the shop is willing to take short cuts to save the insurance company money.

The Hoth

Called the insurance company. The agent kept on asking if we wanted to file a claim. I was like we just want to report it not to open a claim. The other side is paying anyway, so I wasn't sure to opening a claim will do us any good. Question: could we report it without opening a claim?

If the other side is paying, I don't want our insurance company to get involved, you know. First of all, we have dedectible, that means they won't pay much anyway. If by any mistake, they go ahead and add points to our record, it will take at least multiple phone calls to straighten things out.

I am so incline to keep our insurance company in the dark, since they won't do much for us anyway. It is like, there is nothing for us to gain by involving our insurance company, but everything to lose.

Am I over thinking this?