Car Insurance - covering claim by myself or leave it to insurance company ?

[ganvik73]

Some time ago I had a small accident on the parking lot, where I was at fault (slightly damaged my and other driver car). I call my insurance (Belairdirect), went to register the accident in the police. Now, the other person didn't call his insurance, so basically I feel like I shouldn't call to my insurance in the first place, as I could cover the small damage to my car from my pocket (I think it should be around $800).
I call my insurance again, asking to stop processing the claim (as I didn't yet go to the garage to estimate the damage), hoping that it won't get reflected on my premium. But the agent said that they cannot do that and the only thing they could do for me is to leave the note (saying that customer paid for claim himself) to the department which handles the renewal of insurance. Does anyone was in the same situation ? Should I still pay from my pocket hoping that insurance premium won't get affected much ? BTW, I am secondary driver to the car, and has only 1.5 years experience (30-35 years old age group).

I don't expect the precise answer to my question, as each case is unique, but would appreciate if someone can provide feedback on my situation. Thanks.

[romsan04]

Some time ago I had a small accident on the parking lot, where I was at fault (slightly damaged my and other driver car). I call my insurance (Belairdirect), went to register the accident in the police. Now, the other person didn't call his insurance, so basically I feel like I shouldn't call to my insurance in the first place, as I could cover the small damage to my car from my pocket (I think it should be around $800).
I call my insurance again, asking to stop processing the claim (as I didn't yet go to the garage to estimate the damage), hoping that it won't get reflected on my premium. But the agent said that they cannot do that and the only thing they could do for me is to leave the note (saying that customer paid for claim himself) to the department which handles the renewal of insurance. Does anyone was in the same situation ? Should I still pay from my pocket hoping that insurance premium won't get affected much ? BTW, I am secondary driver to the car, and has only 1.5 years experience (30-35 years old age group).

I don't expect the precise answer to my question, as each case is unique, but would appreciate if someone can provide feedback on my situation. Thanks.

Expect your insurance premium to go up, even if your claim was $0.
So I wouldnt bother and go ahead and let them pay for it.

[thelefteyeguy]

Expect your insurance premium to go up, even if your claim was $0.
So I wouldnt bother and go ahead and let them pay for it.

Edit...once you pay a visit to the collision center...it's on record if the insurance company does a background check....dont even know why you went to report it cause it was less than 1k


btw...how do you know it's your "fault"? did you admit it to the insurance adjuster?

[ganvik73]

The other car was parked and its driver wasn't present at this moment - but I had witnesses who saw the accident and who happened to know me. They wrote both cars license plate and provided their personal information in case insurance will request it ...

[ganvik73]

Regarding your second question .. I didn't have to admit to my insurance adjuster, it just sounded like i was at fault - as I mentioned before, the other car was not moving.