Should I report this claim to insurance??

I got a 2007 Nissan Altima on Saturday, and sometime between Saturday afternoon and Monday afternoon, someone hit my car and fled the scene. The damage isn't that bad, and I didn't notice it until earlier today, so I'm not exactly sure when the accident happened. I also just signed up with a new insurance carrier (progressive) on Sunday. I'm debating whether or not to report this to insurance. The estimates I'm getting are between $650 and $1100 to fix the damage, and I have an insurance deductible of $250. I'm wondering if I should report this or pay out of pocket. If I do report it, will my rates go up and will my new insurance carrier even cover it since I don't know when the accident happened and I've only been with them for 48 hours. What do you think??

Ben S

I am an adjuster and your rates may go up, but not before your next renewal period. $600-700 is a lot of extra money out of pocket. Besides, if your rates do go up, just shop around as you can switch insurance companies at any time.

Most insurance companies only require that you ATTEMPT to get a police report and if you do that, you should be ok there.

Sue

You said that the accident happened between Sat afternoon & Mon afternoon but you didn't buy your insurance until Sunday (I am assuming online because most agents are not opened on Sun). So, there is a small window there that the accident could have occurred before you got coverage - Progressive will jump on that so quick your head will spin. If you report this to them, since it is so close to your inception date, they will investigate, investigate, investigate, especially since you do not know exactly when it happened, & because you had the car for almost a day before you got insurance. If you got the insurance before you got the car, then I wouldn't forsee a big problem, but, with that lapse & no witnesses, & no police report. We have had people get insurance with us & then have an accident right in front of our agency - something like that is fine & there would be no question of coverage but in your case, I think it would be best if you pay it out of pocket (it doesn't take very much damage to get a $1,000 estimate these days). Progressive may delay this a month or more to complete their investigation & may or may not pay in the end. Also, Progressive uses a comparative rating model which ALL claims count against you (comprehensive claims, not at fault claims, all of them) & affect your rate, this wouldn't affect it very much, but it would affect it - even if they don't pay, just the fact that you reported it...

Peanut Butter

If the accident wasn't your fault, why would your rates go up?

I'd say, if your rates will increase and you have the money, fix the car out of pocket.

Buzzy

Talk to the agent.

Fl1959

Your rates will go up. Just because it's your car. That's an awful lot of money for something that isn't that bad.

whaticantbeme

if you can afford to fix it yourself I think you should do that. Yes your rates could go up and it wouldn't look good making a claim only a few days after the incident. Insurance companies usually require a police incident report and since you don't even know when or where this happened it might be hard to get one. Good luck

John H

If you decide to file the claim, you can expect to pay at $40-$60 extra each month for about 3 years. Your insurance should cover the damages since the accident occured after joining them. Just look at the entire situation and see what is best for you.

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