My daughters car was hit in a parking lot

[Horse with no Name]

and luckily, the person left his name and number.
She called him and got his insurance info. He happens to go to her university and lives in the same dorm.
Just last week, she got her car out of the shop and had the front bumper replaced because a coyote ran in front of her.
It was around $600 to repair--which we paid out of pocket.
Anyway--I told her to ask the young man to ask his parents how they wanted to handle this. If they wanted to pay the damages out of pocket or have us file with their insurance. The Dad said just to file it.
So I called the insurance companies and went through the entire rigmarole. They told me where to have her take the car to have it adjusted, etc.
So, she calls back and apparently the Mom doesn't want it to be filed because their rates will go up (precisely why WE didn't file the other).
I have no problem doing it this way. I don't want any financial harm coming to anyone because the insurance company will increase their rates and the young man is under 25.
My question is--can this bell be unrung? When I called me, they gave me a claim number, the name of an adjuster, etc.
If we don't take the car to have an estimate or any work done, will his insurance company STILL hike his rates?
Anyone have any experience in this?

[sailor65]

1. If they do not pay a claim,

his rates won't go up.

[DURHAM D]

2. From my personal experience - this bell can not be unrung.

On the other hand, I live in North Carolina. In may be different in other states.

[Kittycat]

4. Same in IL - all you have to do is make the call, and it's done.

[MamaDem]

3. You need to file it...

I hate to be a downer here, but the saying "no good deed goes unpunished" is no truer than in insurance claims. If you have the claim information just let them know you already filed it and it's too late. They should not take too big of a hit unless he has a significant claims history, which if he does, then not filing reinforces this behavior.

I work in claims and I can think of several differnt reasons this could come back to bite you - the work that's done is not up to par, the family doesn't come through on payment - I've seen it all. If that happens and you go back to your ins company they may be less than willing to work with you.

You have insurance and pay premium every month, as does the other driver. I defintely think your heart is in the right place but as someone who has seen the inside of the claims business, you are better off filing the claim and letting it work itself out.

Hope this is helpful.

edit: typos

[sendero]

6. This sounds like..

... good advice that I would second.

[Horse with no Name]

7. Thanks so much for this advice

I feel bad, but that is why I gave them the option first.
Her car is old. It is a 93. It is still in good shape though.
The work we just had done--he replaced her front bumper, the signals, engine fan, and painted it all for $600.
He has done a lot of my odds and ends work for next to nothing and I know he would do a good job and not charge a whole lot for it.
So the quality isn't that much of an issue.
I just wanted to spare them if I could.
Who knew?
Again--thanks for the good advice.
I am guessing that is how we will handle it.:hi:

[polmaven]

13. I couldn't agree with you more.

I have been a claims adjuster for MANY years. - Since 1974, in fact....While the bell actually could be unrung, depending, of course, on the jurisdiction, there are just too many things that could go wrong. It's too bad that the rates would go up, but that is what it is all about.

[elizfeelinggreat]

14. I agree

I had a "nice kid" bang into my parked car. He left a note apologizing with his name and number. I called, he was very polite, exchanged emails, wrote me with his address and promised to pay as soon as I had an estimate. Please don't report to my insurance, etc, I promise I'll take care of it ASAP. (maybe he didn't have any?) Then after I took the time to go get a few estimates right away,(lowest was $600 to take apart and push out the dent without replacing anything), then he just disappeared. I guess his lease was up and he figured it was easier to disappear than pay. I knew it would be stressful and costly for me to try and pursue it, find him, etc, which is exactly how I felt. Also, I felt like a jerk for trusting him and being taken in.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

5. Agents have told me you can't unring the bell.

[Stinky The Clown]

8. That bell can not be unrung

[annarbor]

9. You can still file a report with your local Police Department

The police won't come out because it's a private property crash (without injury, otherwise they would). If you have any info from the other party, just take the info with you and make a claim with your local PD. Advise the desk officer that the other party is not available, but that you have the info that's needed to make the report. If the other party bails on you, you can still file a claim against their insurance company.

This is actually very common. It's also common for folks to bail on you if they think you didn't file a police report, so do one if you still can. The police department will NOT contact the insurance company...this is not how the process works.

Ann Arbor

[Horse with no Name]

10. I have no intentions on filing a police report

I'm simply not that attached to stuff.
The kid left his name and number. To me, that speaks volumes about his character.
I think it will work out okay.

[seabeyond]

11. they are saying cant be unrung, but i like you course better. call insurance back tomorrow

and TELL not ask, but tell them you want to unring that damn bell, lol, wink. and see if it can be done. cause the guy did right adn if you can help them out i think it is the niftiest thing, even if it puts you at an inconvience for a minute or two trying to unring the bell.

[Horse with no Name]

22. Well you will be glad to know the bell was unrung

My daughter and the young man went together to a reputable car repair shop.
They both watched the estimate process.
It happened to be reasonable. She will end up needing a rental for a day because of Spring Break plans.
He wrote her a check for these things, they went to the bank and cashed it.
She has the money in her pocket and what I consider a fair estimate.
I called my insurance company first and told them that I was able to observe the damages and they weren't that severe so they could effectively close the case and then did the same with his insurance.
His agent assured me that there would be no repercussions from this. It would be a closed case.
Everyone walked away happy and felt that all was fair.
The bell was, indeed, unrung.

[RB TexLa]

12. When someone causes damage to someone else's property and the claim is not filed

with insurance it's a form of fraud. Yes their rates will go up, they have proven they are a bigger risk. People who do not cause damage to others property are a lower risk and should pay the lower rates not people who have at fault accidents.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

17. Oh fer chrissakes ... there's always one in the bunch.

[Jeep789]

15. In CA, you are required by law to report it to the DMV if the

damage is over a certain amount (I believe it is $600). The insurance company gets the info from the DMV and raises the rates anyway.

[mwooldri]

16. Depends on the state and $$$ of damage.

In NC if it's like below $1800 worth of damage and costs to repair then your insurance rate doesn't go up. That's $1800 that the insurance has to pay out.

If the damage is like only $600 then I doubt that the guys' rates are going to go up, if it were in NC.

[Maru Kitteh]

18. You sound like a nice person, I say do what you think is best.

If stuff isn't that important to you, then make the call and see if you can unring the bell. I don't think your honest intentions could hurt anything. You know where the kid is, and his parents. I think it'll work out.

[Statistical]

19. In most states no.

The accident has been reported.

That is all that matters.

The driving record of the person causing the accident will be updated and the computers recalculate the insurance risk and new premium adjusted.

It does matter how much or if the insurance company pays.

[lynne]

20. They gave you a claim number. It's in the system and will NOT go away -

- even if nothing is paid toward the claim, the incident will still be on his record and will show up each time he tries to get insurance. As to if it will increase his rate, it depends on the insurance carrier and/or state.

[REP]

21. Rate increase usually dependent on # of claims, amount of payment

If it's the first claim on the insurance and the repair is within a certain parameter (varies from company to company and probably state to state), their rates may stay the same. If it's the first claim but the repairs are very expensive, it will probably increase their rates somewhat. If it's the third or worse claim, their rates will increase no matter what.

Depending upon the age of your car and its value, going the insurance route may be in your best interests. There can be damage that is not apparent until the work is begun (been there, done that).

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

23. The bell can't be unrung

[CreekDog]

24. Same thing happened to me a while back

in the 90's. some guy hit me coming out of a parking lot. i wanted to see if we could just handle it on the side and the damage was so light, we could have legally done so.

however, he told me to get 3 estimates (sorry :wtf: ) and then his dad called my mom (i was on her insurance then) and then never called her back.

so i quickly pivoted and said, this was my favor to them, if they won't take it, we go the insurance company route and we did, they fixed it end of story.

also, if giving him a break means breaking the law (by not reporting accident causing damage over a certain threshold), then you are ill advised to break that law to do them a favor.