I was in a minor accident, what do I do?

February 20, 2009 12:52 PM

Do I need to report an accident to my insurance company within a certain time period to stay covered?

I got into a small accident (my very first... whoopie :( ) that was completely my fault. I scratched the side of a parked tow truck with my passenger side mirror and messed up the lettering for the tow truck company (there's a long black streak over it). I exchanged info and he asked for a letter that took responsibility for the damage, to which I obliged.

We didn't file a police report or call insurance and he said he'd give me a call after he got an estimate for the damages. Then I could figure out if I wanted to pay out of pocket or through insurance.

He seemed like a nice guy but I don't want to get screwed. It's been about a day and my friend thinks if I don't report the accident to my insurance company soon, they could refuse to help me out if I eventually do.

So I'm starting to worry (I hope I'm just paranoid) about some kind of elaborate con where the tow truck's owner waits for a while and then calls me back and tells me I owe him 20k, or some ridiculous figure, only to find out that I'm out of luck because my insurance company doesn't give a hoot after some period of time.

So is there actually a time limit? What should I do? I'm living in California if that's relevant.

posted by SammyIva to travel & transportation (16 comments total)

I don't think your insurance can refuse to help. If there is a time limit, it's likely measured in months or years and not days. Your policy likely requires you to inform your insurance company as soon as you know about the accident, but waiting a couple of days shouldn't kill you.

You'd really have to refer to the language of your policy, to get a clear answer. There is no standard or California law that sets a time limit on informing your insurance company.
posted by jabberjaw at 12:56 PM on February 20

The lack of a police report may be your biggest problem. I suspect that, without that report, your insurance company will not pay a claim on this anyway.

I don't know what the law is in CA, but here in MI any accident with damage over a certain $ amount (I believe it is $100), must be reported to the police.
posted by HuronBob at 1:02 PM on February 20

On more than one occasion, we have had damaged cars. We notify our insurance company even if we elect not to file a claim. That way, if we do have to file a claim, they're aware of it. They don't raise our rates if we don't file a claim -- it's not like they can say "oh, well, they didn't file a claim but got in an accident, let's raise their rates!" -- so it didn't cause any harm. Insurance company employees follow the rules, for better or for worse.

Personally, I'd call them, tell them the damage was extremely minor and cosmetic, and that you'll most likely pay out-of-pocket to avoid a rates increase, but wanted to make them aware of it in case it got blown out of proportion with an inflated estimate or something and you need to file a claim or get their assistance.

also in California
posted by davejay at 1:15 PM on February 20

FYI, you don't need a police report in California to file a claim with your insurance.
posted by jabberjaw at 1:15 PM on February 20

Oh, and don't lie. If it's your fault, it's your fault. If there isn't a police report, say so (they'll likely ask if a report was filed or a ticket issued.)

Going forward, by the way, don't admit fault in writing or otherwise. Your insurance card tells you this, and it's good advice: sometimes a person can be quick to admit fault in the shock of the moment, and even if it is your fault an admission of guilt on paper can give the other party confidence to inflate their claims. This likely won't happen here, but it's good future advice.
posted by davejay at 1:16 PM on February 20

1) Never admit fault at the scene.
2) Never accept on-the-spot payments.
3) Never offer on-the-spot payments.
4) Always file a police report.
5) Always contact your insurance agent.

You want everything done by the book and on the records or you are asking for trouble (like this) long term. I would make exceptions for very trivial things, like a low speed bump while parallel parking, but otherwise I want everything above board.
posted by chairface at 1:20 PM on February 20 [5 favorites]

I accidentally rear-ended someone last year. We exchanged numbers but did not involve the police. As soon as I got home, I called my insurance company and filed a claim. It turned out that we'd had crash insurance on the car and so the insurance company paid to fix most of the damage on the car and I paid a $500 deductible. The guy whose car I hit didn't have as much damage as I did but my insurance still covered his as well. The only downside was that my monthly insurance payment went up by $20.

Still, we didn't involve the police in this and it all worked out fine. Luckily (in my accident) there were no injuries! Whew!
posted by starpoint at 1:37 PM on February 20

Pretty much what chairface said, except perhaps the police report. Small fender-benders are not the police's problem, and they'll tell you that - at the same time, a record of what happened isnt a bad idea. Situational call.

Report it to your insurance company promptly. They are heartless sharks, but they will absolutely fight tooth and nail for you (ie them) and would rather chew off their own arm than pay out a dime in settlement. Sometimes that's a good thing. You pay them a boatload of money - make the bastards work for it.
posted by elendil71 at 1:55 PM on February 20

if it's just a long black streak from a plastic mirror that didn't scratch the paint there's a small chance you can clean it right off. Don't want to get your hopes up but I have cleaned numerous black mirror scratches off of my car.

I'd be reluctant to go through insurance because there is always a chance they can raise your rates that will over the next 3 years cause you to pay double or triple the cost of fixing his paint job. If the price he gives you sounds too high get your own estimate and see if you can beat his price and offer to do it through "your guy".
posted by any major dude at 2:16 PM on February 20

The law in California states that if there is >$750 in property damage or there is injury or death, you must report the accident to the DMV within 10 days. The DMV will notify the police and your insurance carrier.

That said, that you hit a tow company vehicle (may) mean one or more of the following:
The company will want to avoid reporting the damage to keep their record and insurance clean.
The company will surely have access to cheap vehicle repair work and will want to bill you at the posted shop rates so they can pocket the difference.
Many insurance companies let the 1st accident slide, so you may not face a rate hike for reporting it.
That it is your first accident and you're worried about things may be used by the tow company to intimidate you into making imprudent decisions.
If you don't give outline the extent of damages to someone, the tow company could come back and try to get compensation for things that weren't caused by your accident. Tow trucks get dented and dinged all the time.

He may seem like a nice guy, but he's already not Doing The Right Thing by asking for a letter from you admitting fault.
posted by StickyC at 2:37 PM on February 20

You don't have to "report an accident to your insurance company" and then worry about rates going up. Call your agent and explain what's going on. The agent can take you through the entire process including getting an estimate, and talking to the other guy, and then you can decide whether it is more worthwhile to pay out of pocket or to have the insurance cover it and take the hit on the raised rate. If another car is involved, a police accident report may or may not be required, but it doesn't affect your insurance, your license or anything else to go down to the police station and fill one out. As elendil71 said, the police don't care, and if they don't need to issue a ticket to anyone, there's no impact on you (so to speak).

Anyway, talk to your agent; this is not the same as reporting it to the insurance company. The insurance company only cares if it costs them money.
posted by nax at 3:14 PM on February 20

Nthing the no need for a police report in California. I got into an accident, and the other guy wanted to flag down the police, so I stopped a police car, and the cop asked "Did anyone get hurt?" "No." "Then just exchange insurance and be on your way." But do make sure you report it to the DMV - I had no idea I was supposed to do that and they ended up suspending my license. Without telling me. Also, my insurance company ended up paying a ridiculous amount to the guy (stupid guy lying about his medical expenses) and my rates didn't go up.
posted by dithmer at 4:23 PM on February 20

Anyway, talk to your agent; this is not the same as reporting it to the insurance company. The insurance company only cares if it costs them money.

This is not true with all insurance companies, for example USAA, Geico, and others - because they don't have agents per se. So when you talk to your "agent" (phone representative really) at one of these places, you are talking to the insurance company.
posted by bigmusic at 5:59 PM on February 20

Anyway, talk to your agent; this is not the same as reporting it to the insurance company. The insurance company only cares if it costs them money.

Yeah - I wouldn't be so sure about this one. Especially, as bigmusic notes, where you talk to a phone representative.

A friend called about an incident in a parking lot (her door was open - and being a big door from a 2 door car, it went into the next space so someone trying to park there drove into it) to see what the ramifications of making a claim for the work would be (deductible, adjusted premiums etc.).

Although she didn't make a claim as it didn't make sense fiscally, the incident is on her record and is factored into the equation determining her risk status and hence premiums for the next three years. At that point, her involvement in this incident will be forgiven.

again - this is just from calling and having a conversation about policy details regarding minor claims - not from filing a claim.

This is in Canada - so the rules are probably different - but in general, be careful what you reveal to insurance companies - formally or informally.
posted by sloe at 9:59 AM on February 21

Thanks for those clarifications, good to know. I've always had insurance through a major carrier, with my agent in a neighborhood office, so I'll amend my advice. If you deal with an agent, or if you can deal with an agent, try talking to them first.

That said, if you don't have an agent, or have one of the problems with my advice listed above, is there a state/provincial consumer insurance board you can call?
posted by nax at 11:26 AM on February 21

I don't think your insurance can refuse to help. If there is a time limit, it's likely measured in months or years and not days. Your policy likely requires you to inform your insurance company as soon as you know about the accident, but waiting a couple of days shouldn't kill you.

Jaw-droppingly naive. Do not listen to this person. No experience in life will cure a sense of entitlement and smug 'got-it-handledness' like attempting to collect on an insurance claim where you broke every cardinal rule drummed mercilessly into every driver's ed student ever: you admitted fault in writing, failed to file a police report, and took your sweet time informing the insurance company. Unbelievable.
posted by Hovercraft Eel at 3:37 PM on February 21