Rear ended - should I report it? (1 Viewer)

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Driving to the beach this past Saturday I got rear ended in bumper-to-bumper traffic. The rear bumper still has some cosmetic damage from the last time this truck was rear-ended.

I’m just considering not even doing anything about it because it’s my understanding that even though the accident was clearly not my fault it still has an impact on my rates/policy/record. I think the insurance companies philosophy is, although this driver doesn’t cause the accident he’s a magnet for them and therefore a higher risk to insure.


I guess I’m wondering - if I got into 10 accidents and none of them were my fault, does that hurt me on my end?

ETA- after some googling it seems insurance companies “can’t” raise your rates for accidents that arent your fault.


Allegedly

 

[TLEF316]

As someone who works for an insurance company, I'll tell you that we're getting KILLED on auto. They're going to raise your rates (likely by double digits) whether you put in a claim or not. So you might as well get your car fixed.

My coverage is with Travelers (who I used to work for. I live in NJ) and they just sent a notice that they filed for a 17% rate increase with the state (whether it gets approved or not is TBD). Other carriers will likely do the same if they haven't already.

 

[-OZ-]

ETA- after some googling it seems insurance companies “can’t” raise your rates for accidents that arent your fault.


Allegedly

Yeah. I filed when our odyssey got hit last year. Clearly not my fault, the other driver admitted as such and the claim went through without issue. Magically the rate on the odyssey increased more than our other vehicles. We since have sold the odyssey, bought a new Grand Highlander, and our rates are almost the same vs the 13 year old mini van, we didn’t change coverage deductibles or anything else. I assumed the vehicle valued around $50k would cost more than the 2011 odyssey. But nope.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

I guess I’m wondering - if I got into 10 accidents and none of them were my fault, does that hurt me on my end?

Honestly, it should. If you've gotten into 10 accidents, there is something very risky about your driving that makes you a bad insurance risk. It might not be your fault -- maybe you live in a city entirely populated with the worst drivers in America -- but that doesn't matter to me if I'm your insurer.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I guess I’m wondering - if I got into 10 accidents and none of them were my fault, does that hurt me on my end?

Honestly, it should. If you've gotten into 10 accidents, there is something very risky about your driving that makes you a bad insurance risk. It might not be your fault -- maybe you live in a city entirely populated with the worst drivers in America -- but that doesn't matter to me if I'm your insurer.

I agree and it just seems like common sense.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I’d probably ignore it. If it’s not bad i wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle

 

[Grahamburn]

I wouldn't tell anyone unless it wasn't consensual.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I’d probably ignore it. If it’s not bad i wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle

It’s not a hassle. I literaly don’t have to do anything other than make a phone call to her insurance agent.

She’s gonna throw me some (~$500) or she’s going to go through her insurance.

 

[massraider]

As someone who works for an insurance company, I'll tell you that we're getting KILLED on auto

Reasons?
Has anything changed to make that so?

 

[The Z Machine]

Take the $500 in cash and put it on Germany to win the Euros

 

[Ilov80s]

I’d probably ignore it. If it’s not bad i wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle

It’s not a hassle. I literaly don’t have to do anything other than make a phone call to her insurance agent.

She’s gonna throw me some (~$500) or she’s going to go through her insurance.

I guess part of it depends on what your deductible is and how much you estimate the damage to be

 

[Scoresman]

I dont know if this applies to autos but I've been advised not to make house claims for minor stuff because sometimes the carriers will just drop your coverage.

Insurance is the biggest scam going right now.

 

[NutterButter]

As someone who works for an insurance company, I'll tell you that we're getting KILLED on auto. They're going to raise your rates (likely by double digits) whether you put in a claim or not. So you might as well get your car fixed.

My coverage is with Travelers (who I used to work for. I live in NJ) and they just sent a notice that they filed for a 17% rate increase with the state (whether it gets approved or not is TBD). Other carriers will likely do the same if they haven't already.

Got travelers myself. I was wondering when my rates would go up since they haven't yet and all I keep hearing about is other people's rates getting raised a ton. 17% isn't that bad actually since my rate hasn't noticeably gone up in years.

 

[TLEF316]

As someone who works for an insurance company, I'll tell you that we're getting KILLED on auto

Reasons?
Has anything changed to make that so?

So I come at this mostly from the commercial side of things (I handle large fleets with significant liability deductibles) rather than personal lines, but the issues are basically the same.

Auto was always a challenging line to keep profitable (even 15 years ago when I started my career) but there are really 2 main issues.....

1) Vehicles are a LOT more sophisticated right now and as a result, they're much more expensive to fix. Previously, a "fender bender" just meant you paid to replace a bumper and do a paint job. Now, cars have sensors and electronics EVERYWHERE and that stuff is more expensive. And the general construction of cars has obviously shifted to more plastics (As opposed the metal tanks we all had growing up) so a simple accident usually forces you replace/repair much more of the car body than 20 years ago.

2) We got a little reprieve during COVID because we had 18 months with a lot fewer cars on the road and courts that weren't in-session. So there were fewer accidents and fewer payouts from civil suits. Eventually things opened up again and they've been clearing the judicial back-log over the past 2-3 years.

There's still probably fewer cars on the road (with a lot more remote work) but it hasn't really helped the auto practice. Its given us some nice lift in certain Workers Comp Sectors (which is mostly what I do) but auto is still a **** show. There isn't a company out there that doesn't need AT LEAST 12-15 points on their commercial auto book in order to turn an underwriting profit. On the commercial side, we have other lines to make up the difference (we'll suck it up and write a crappy auto policy in order to get our hands on a large GL, WC or property program that we'll make money on) but personal lines is even more challenging. They are dealing with the double whammy of auto and homeowners (which is becoming harder to make $$ on due to severe weather/climate change)

So while I hate the fact that my premium is gonna jump like 15% in December, I get it. And the reality is I'd rather stick with a carrier that I have a relationship with and that I know will pay claims (as opposed to jumping to some dumpy carrier to save a few hundred bucks)

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Im sure they are gonna raise rates again....

https://www.wsj.com/finance/insurance-companies-profits-stock-ebae7fd1

Maybe I should buy some Travelers stock.

 

[TLEF316]

Im sure they are gonna raise rates again....

https://www.wsj.com/finance/insurance-companies-profits-stock-ebae7fd1

Maybe I should buy some Travelers stock.

I get that its easy to blame the big bad insurance company, but I think its important to put any profit numbers in context.

Travelers as a whole (obviously a MASSIVE company) had a combined ratio of 97% for 2023....meaning they only only made 3% underwriting profit (your premiums divided by losses they paid out + their expenses) before investment income. Is that REALLY that unreasonable?

On the personal lines side in particular (which is the basis for this thread), they actually posted an underwriting LOSS of $817 million. Combined ratio of almost 105%. And that was in a relatively GOOD catastrophe year (not a lot of of big storms or other mass damage events)

Obviously investment income is a big part of how insurers make money long term,(so its not fair to totally take it out of the conversation. After all...they're investing the money you paid them) but that can be kinda volatile.

Travelers' Q4 Net Income Skyrockets as Personal Lines Reverses Underwriting Loss

Net income at The Travelers Cos. for the last quarter of 2023 about doubled compared to the same time last year to $1.6 billion on lower catastrophe

www.insurancejournal.com

 

[Dan Lambskin]

I’d probably ignore it. If it’s not bad i wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle

It’s not a hassle. I literaly don’t have to do anything other than make a phone call to her insurance agent.

She’s gonna throw me some (~$500) or she’s going to go through her insurance.

I guess part of it depends on what your deductible is and how much you estimate the damage to be

Right then you have to find a collision shop that’s probably booked 3 months out and they’ll need your car for 3-5 days so you’ll have to get a rental

The claim part is easy, dealing with the rest is where the hassle comes in

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I’d probably ignore it. If it’s not bad i wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle

It’s not a hassle. I literaly don’t have to do anything other than make a phone call to her insurance agent.

She’s gonna throw me some (~$500) or she’s going to go through her insurance.

I guess part of it depends on what your deductible is and how much you estimate the damage to be

Right then you have to find a collision shop that’s probably booked 3 months out and they’ll need your car for 3-5 days so you’ll have to get a rental

The claim part is easy, dealing with the rest is where the hassle comes in

3-5 days!!!!?!

Every time I’ve ever had a car fixed it’s taken weeks or months. Usually works out like this

-Take car to shop
-Adjuster sees the car and writes a half assed scope that has many things missing
-Body shop goes by the scope or writes an supplement.
-I go to pick up the vehicle and there’s always something not right.
-30 days has passed, I have to return the rental or pay out of pocket
-Insurance and body shop blame each other but ultimately the additional repairs that were purposefully left out or removed get approved.

But now the body shape has to start from scratch with the prep and paint. It’s so incredibly inefficient.

Rinse and repeat every single time. From now on I will meet with the adjuster and nothing is getting touched until the scope is settled on.

Its beyond ridiculous that I have to do so much work for the insurance companies.

 

[-OZ-]

FWIW, my son just called our go to shop to get his AC checked out. They told him it will be 4 weeks (summer in Alabama of all things) before they can get to it. We’ve never had problems with routine things like oil changes and tire rotations, those are done same day if we just drop it off.

Insurance is the biggest scam going right now.

This is why I’m willing to pay a bit more for the company that has treated us well over the years. We might shop around but knowing USAA will not try to deny claims is big. Yeah they raised the rate on the van earlier but we’ve usually been treated well.

 

[-OZ-]

I’d probably ignore it. If it’s not bad i wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle

It’s not a hassle. I literaly don’t have to do anything other than make a phone call to her insurance agent.

She’s gonna throw me some (~$500) or she’s going to go through her insurance.

I guess part of it depends on what your deductible is and how much you estimate the damage to be

Right then you have to find a collision shop that’s probably booked 3 months out and they’ll need your car for 3-5 days so you’ll have to get a rental

The claim part is easy, dealing with the rest is where the hassle comes in

3-5 days!!!!?!

Every time I’ve ever had a car fixed it’s taken weeks or months. Usually works out like this

-Take car to shop
-Adjuster sees the car and writes a half assed scope that has many things missing
-Body shop goes by the scope or writes an supplement.
-I go to pick up the vehicle and there’s always something not right.
-30 days has passed, I have to return the rental or pay out of pocket
-Insurance and body shop blame each other but ultimately the additional repairs that were purposefully left out or removed get approved.

But now the body shape has to start from scratch with the prep and paint. It’s so incredibly inefficient.

Rinse and repeat every single time. From now on I will meet with the adjuster and nothing is getting touched until the scope is settled on.

Its beyond ridiculous that I have to do so much work for the insurance companies.

Just over a year ago, I filed and took the van to a local place. They had an opening 30 days out. We dropped it off then, they fixed more than we expected but there was no charge to us and USAA had it paid (they handled the other company). No issues at all with this repair or claim. Repair took 3 days.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I’d probably ignore it. If it’s not bad i wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle

It’s not a hassle. I literaly don’t have to do anything other than make a phone call to her insurance agent.

She’s gonna throw me some (~$500) or she’s going to go through her insurance.

I guess part of it depends on what your deductible is and how much you estimate the damage to be

Right then you have to find a collision shop that’s probably booked 3 months out and they’ll need your car for 3-5 days so you’ll have to get a rental

The claim part is easy, dealing with the rest is where the hassle comes in

3-5 days!!!!?!

Every time I’ve ever had a car fixed it’s taken weeks or months. Usually works out like this

-Take car to shop
-Adjuster sees the car and writes a half assed scope that has many things missing
-Body shop goes by the scope or writes an supplement.
-I go to pick up the vehicle and there’s always something not right.
-30 days has passed, I have to return the rental or pay out of pocket
-Insurance and body shop blame each other but ultimately the additional repairs that were purposefully left out or removed get approved.

But now the body shape has to start from scratch with the prep and paint. It’s so incredibly inefficient.

Rinse and repeat every single time. From now on I will meet with the adjuster and nothing is getting touched until the scope is settled on.

Its beyond ridiculous that I have to do so much work for the insurance companies.

Just over a year ago, I filed and took the van to a local place. They had an opening 30 days out. We dropped it off then, they fixed more than we expected but there was no charge to us and USAA had it paid (they handled the other company). No issues at all with this repair or claim. Repair took 3 days.

That would be amazing. I have a phenomenal mechanic but haven’t been lucky with body shops.

A few months ago my daughters car got hit on the highway. It went exactly as I described in my previous post….

These are just some of the things that were wrong or missing:

-Shawty/bubbly paint (lol- shoddy)
-Tire needed to be replaced but instead of getting the exact tire they got me a used one and put it on the opposite side of the car like I wouldn’t notice. (I just bought her 4 new tires prior to the accident)
- didn’t replace the front chassis which was a $1200 repair.
-Low tire pressure
-Didn’t put the pinstripe on that side of the car
-Didn’t replace the door handle

 

[Terminalxylem]

-Shawty/bubbly paint (lol- shoddy)

if she gonna return to da club, can’t be riding in a rinky-dink.

 

[Keerock]

My combined homeowners/auto went up ~20% when it renewed in April

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

My combined homeowners/auto went up ~20% when it renewed in April

You have to shop it around every couple of years. It’s similar to how Verizon and other companies give all the breaks and benefits to new customers and screw the 20-year-old customers.

You gotta make sure you’re comparing apples to apples with the coverage but last time we did it a few years ago we saved ourselves several thousand dollars.

It’s time to do it again.

 

[massraider]

-Shawty/bubbly paint (lol- shoddy)

Now I'm wondering what a shawty paint job might look like.

Like purple sparkle gloss with gold trim, maybe

 

[johnnycakes]

Don't overlook the CarFax factor... if you file a claim, it's going to get a ding on CarFax. I don't think it does if you just pay for the repair out-of-pocket.

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Don't overlook the CarFax factor... if you file a claim, it's going to get a ding on CarFax. I don't think it does if you just pay for the repair out-of-pocket.

This is good advice, but this car is a 2010 Ford edge. It’s been paid off for a decade.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

I’d probably ignore it. If it’s not bad i wouldn’t want to deal with the hassle

It’s not a hassle. I literaly don’t have to do anything other than make a phone call to her insurance agent.

She’s gonna throw me some (~$500) or she’s going to go through her insurance.

You're forgetting about your past and future medical costs, pain and suffering, lost wages and lost future earnings, as well as your spouse's loss of consortium damages - all directly caused by this driver's negligence. You are most likely severely and permanently injured and don't even know it!

 

[belljr]

Depends, how hot was the guy?

 

[belljr]

My insurance does not raise rates for accidents. That aren't my fault. Heck, it hasn't raised my rates for an accident that was my fault

 

[NutterButter]

My insurance does not raise rates for accidents. That aren't my fault. Heck, it hasn't raised my rates for an accident that was my fault

How many accidents have u been in?

 

[fruity pebbles]

2010…….i’d probably try and get it done without insurance and pocket the cash and not get it fixed if it’s just cosmetic. Most have atleast a $500 deductible so it’ll be cheaper for the person to just give that to you.

 

[belljr]

My insurance does not raise rates for accidents. That aren't my fault. Heck, it hasn't raised my rates for an accident that was my fault

How many accidents have u been in?

1 my fault
3 not my fault. Well I guess technically 2. One guy slammed into my car as I was parked in a parking lot lol

 

[WVU Alum]

I have been in 3 and my rates were not adjusted. None my fault.
Guy tried to beat a light on a left turn and was looking at oncoming traffic. Cut the turn too sharp and hit me head-on.
Was rear-ended at a red light by a lady doing 45. She never touched the brakes.
Was T-boned by a guy while pulling out of a side road, he wanted to turn in to the narrow road I was on so was letting me out. High school kid slammed into him doing 55+ and drove him into me.

 

[Terminalxylem]

-Shawty/bubbly paint (lol- shoddy)

Now I'm wondering what a shawty paint job might look like.

Like purple sparkle gloss with gold trim, maybe

Metallic skeet, skeet skeet

 

[Terminalxylem]

My combined homeowners/auto went up ~20% when it renewed in April

My insurer (State Farm) contacted me a couple weeks ago. Said their underwriter developed a “new tool” to update homeowners policies, which accounted for market changes since the pandemic. It consisted of a 20 minute phone survey.

Well, I took it, bracing for a big rate hike…but it didn’t change a bit.

Before I got the good news, I was considering dropping homeowners altogether. If it weren’t illegal, I’d do the same with auto. Both are a waste of money imo.

 

[Keerock]

My combined homeowners/auto went up ~20% when it renewed in April

You have to shop it around every couple of years. It’s similar to how Verizon and other companies give all the breaks and benefits to new customers and screw the 20-year-old customers.

You gotta make sure you’re comparing apples to apples with the coverage but last time we did it a few years ago we saved ourselves several thousand dollars.

It’s time to do it again.

I did. In fact, my new job offers "discounted" rates through Farmer's. It was 2.5x my current

 

[titusbramble]

How car insurance in the US may be different to how it works in the UK, but report it. Two reasons:

1) At least here, many policies require you to report any incident as a condition of the policy. It would not be good news if you got into a more serious incident where you do need to claim and you have pre existing damage on the car and they start asking questions
2) You've been hit in the rear. Fault is always on the other guy for not keeping a safe distance. Having a non-fault claim should not affect future premiums

 

[3C's]

Just checked my policy renewals (Aug 1):

Homeowners: New=2,144.00; previous=1,387.00 for a whopping 54.5% increase.
Auto: New=1,843.40; previous=1,277.70 for a 44.3% increase

Might be time to play the shop around game.

 

[Gatorade]

Several years ago my wife was in 3 accidents. None her fault. State Farm cancelled her insurance.

 

[Klimtology]

I recently backed into a quarter panel and gave $600 instead of going thru insurance.

Did I do the right thing?

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

I recently backed into a quarter panel and gave $600 instead of going thru insurance.

Did I do the right thing?

As long as you had them sign something saying this is the agreement.

I’ve done that at least once that I can remember. Minor accident, my fault - lady got three quotes and I chose the cheapest.

That’s how it works in Maryland - ymmv in your state.

 

[The Z Machine]

Just checked my policy renewals (Aug 1):

Homeowners: New=2,144.00; previous=1,387.00 for a whopping 54.5% increase.
Auto: New=1,843.40; previous=1,277.70 for a 44.3% increase

Might be time to play the shop around game.

Unfortunately, you have to shop around every few years to limit the rate increases.

 

[MTskibum]

Neither my wife nor I have ever had a car insurance claim, neither for other drivers or ourselves and we have never had a home owners insurance claim.

I have paid car/auto insurance companies the equivalent 70,000 in today's dollars for absolutely nothing in return.

What a scam. Fock them.

 

[Raging weasel]

In Michigan it doesn't matter who is at fault. If it's your vehicle you go through your insurance company and pay the deductible. You can go to court to get the other party to reimburse you but that's another whole can of worms.

 

[Joe Schmo]

In Michigan it doesn't matter who is at fault. If it's your vehicle you go through your insurance company and pay the deductible. You can go to court to get the other party to reimburse you but that's another whole can of worms.

Does your insurance company then fight with the other company on your behalf if it's determined by your company that you were not at fault? Can you be reimbursed on the deductible if so?

 

[STEADYMOBBIN 22]

Since I haven’t heard back from this lady I called her insurance. Should probably get my back checked out just to be safe.

Now I’ll have to find a body shop, get a rental, round and round.

 

[Raging weasel]

In Michigan it doesn't matter who is at fault. If it's your vehicle you go through your insurance company and pay the deductible. You can go to court to get the other party to reimburse you but that's another whole can of worms.

Does your insurance company then fight with the other company on your behalf if it's determined by your company that you were not at fault? Can you be reimbursed on the deductible if so?

No, have to either get your own lawyer or go to small claims court to get reimbursed.

 

[Mitchie]

In Michigan it doesn't matter who is at fault. If it's your vehicle you go through your insurance company and pay the deductible. You can go to court to get the other party to reimburse you but that's another whole can of worms.

So someone hits me and causes $900 in damages and I have a $1000 deductible, in that case I'd be SOL?

 

[Raging weasel]

In Michigan it doesn't matter who is at fault. If it's your vehicle you go through your insurance company and pay the deductible. You can go to court to get the other party to reimburse you but that's another whole can of worms.

So someone hits me and causes $900 in damages and I have a $1000 deductible, in that case I'd be SOL?

Yes, unless you sue them to get your money back. It sucks