I would get an estimate first and I would shop that around b/c shops vary wildly from my experience. And, in my humble opinion, as I have a teenager (he's 19) but I worry about this as well. With what I have to pay for insurance in the first place with him added to our insurance, I am 1,000,000% certain that our insurance would jump so much that I'm sure I could buy a Ferrari or something by the time it's all said and done after we turned in that accident.
Here's a question I have. What type of car (year, make and model) is it? I only ask because even if you're the least bit handy, I would highly consider ripping and replacing the door yourself if it's just the door that's damaged. One of my neighbor's, across the street from, his teenage son mangled the passenger door on his car and he drove like that for a few weeks. One day I went to cut my grass and his son and a couple of his buddies were outside in the driveway replacing the door. And, I have to say, the replaced it with one from the junkyard (I would assume) but it matches perfectly and they did it in an afternoon.
I understand your concerns, but it's important to approach the situation honestly and responsibly. Here are some steps you can take:
- Assess the damage: Take the car to a collision repair shop for an evaluation of the damage and an estimate of the repair costs. This will help you determine whether the cost exceeds your deductible.
- Review your insurance policy: Familiarize yourself with the details of your insurance policy, including your deductible and coverage limits. This will help you understand what expenses may be covered.
- Contact your insurance company: Notify your insurance company about the accident and provide them with accurate and truthful information. It's generally recommended to be honest and transparent about the circumstances surrounding the incident. Inform them that your daughter was driving and describe the accident as it occurred.
- Follow the claims process: Your insurance company will guide you through the claims process. They may ask for additional information, such as photographs of the damage or a copy of the repair estimate from the collision repair shop. Cooperate with them and provide the necessary documentation promptly.
- Pay the deductible and handle the repairs: If the damage exceeds your deductible and is covered by your policy, you will be responsible for paying the deductible, and the insurance company should cover the remaining costs of the repair. Coordinate with the repair shop and your insurance company to get your vehicle fixed.
While it may be tempting to consider not disclosing the involvement of your daughter in the accident, it's important to provide accurate information to your insurance company. Misrepresenting the facts or attempting to attribute the accident to someone else could be considered insurance fraud, which is illegal and may lead to serious consequences.
Being honest and transparent with your insurance company will help ensure a smooth claims process and avoid any potential issues in the future.
I'm not sure why you highlighted my comment and then wrote what you wrote therefor I am not sure what you read into what I wrote but I want to be crystal clear. I, in no way shape or form support fraud or lying to anyone's insurance company. I never recommended fraud nor even implied the OP should lie so I think it's important that I clear up what I wrote and what I stated :
1.) I was saying that if the OP were to turn that into the insurance company and I want to stress here that I fully assumed he would turn it in properly under his daughter's name as the one who had the accident, that his rates will most likely go up so high that whatever the repair is going to be, I'm willing to bet it would cost far more in increased insurance rates in the end thus not worth turning in. Additionally, what I didn't say is that if his daughter were to have a speeding ticket or another accident on top of that within say 6, 12 or 18 months, she could possibly get dropped from that insurance company. This happened to my co-worker, his son had 2 accidents and a speeding ticket in an 18 month period of time and his son was dropped from his insurance.
2.) I made the exact same point you made in your point #1. Get an estimate and see what it costs because it's probably not worth turning in, especially if perhaps the repair would cost more than the car is even worth which is why I was curious about the year, make and model.
3.) Lastly, I made the point that if it's just a car door that was damaged, he could probably replace it himself like my neighbor's son did.
** I thought about this again this morning. At my company, our claims department deals with A LOT of fraudulent claims unfortunately. And, aside from just flat out being the wrong and crappiest thing to ever do, it does cost companies a lot of money not to mention all the time, work and effort involved with processing and verifying those claims . But my point is that I couldn't possibly be more against someone filing a false claim or filing a claim falsely in this instance. I understand that some people think they're harming a faceless corporation but, ultimately, it's simply the wrong thing to do and you're teaching your child that lying and stealing is okay in this particular situation and the fact of the matter is, it's just not.
