Small fender bender....pay out of pocket or report it to my insurance company?

bzqqsq

Report it to insurance. A bumper can cost btw $1500-$2000 to replace.

mevlana

Tell the insurance company before she says she also has medical bills from whiplash or some such..Also bumper repairs can be very expensive.

mei-lin

If it were me, I would report it to my insurance company. It may be a bumper today, but she may claim she is injured later and then where will you be? In TN you have 1 yr from the date of the accident to claim injuries. Not a gamble I would take.

oklatom

As others have said, if she is claiming a hole and needing a whole new bumper, it can get very expensive. Since it appears she is going to lie about it, and left before the police arrived so you would have a condition report, I'd report it.

Tell your insurance the whole story, so they can investigate it carefully. I'd bet you the bumper will show preexisting damage that she figured she would get fixed at your expense. If it goes like I suspect it will, your insurance will mention to her insurance the consequences of a fraudulent claim, and either you will have a very small amount to pay or it will go away completely.

I wish you luck.

MONI

the insurance comp. will handle it bether than you. take in acount that the company have something you have not, An ADVOCATE.

Big C

You screwed up by letting her go if you knew she was lying. Call your insurance company first and see what they say to do. Also call the police and tell them what happened and what are your options.

J.R.

The new bumper shouldn't be more than about $600, but if the principal of the thing is that important to you, pull a CarFax on her vehicle. You may be able to prove that she had been rear-ended before, and lessen your liability for the repair. If CarFax doesn't show anything, and you want to spend some more money, a private investigator may be able to find an accident report on her vehicle that CarFax missed.

If the new bumper is close to the amount of your deductible, I would just pay for it, as long as she is not claiming any injuries.

janice h

You hit her from behind and you know the rules. It is your fault. When you called the police she had to go that should send all kinds of red flags up. Did you give her your insurance info or just your phone number. If you gave her the insurance info you need to call your insurer immediately and tell them exactly what happened. They know how to detect fraud. If you only gave phone number I would still call my insurance because they know how to detect fraud. They are much better equipped for this than you are.

Donald W

If you don't report it to your insurance company you open yourself up to blackmail from the other driver. Funny how, after a short time that little 6x8" hole has caused her permanent back injuries, emotional trauma, etc.

just me

Just because you report the accident to your insurance company does NOT mean you are putting in a claim. Was she there when the police arrived? Was an accident report filled out? Was the damage seen by the police? Or another wittiness? Any citations issued? All this could be in your favor proving she is lying about the damage. If the police were called, and arrived after she left, isn't that basically leaving the scene of an accident? Did you just exchange telephone numbers, or was insurance information also exchanged?
Unfortunately there are too many "if" factors involved to responsibly answer this question.
All I can say is just notifying the insurance company does not put a claim in. And if you decide not to involve your insurance company and handle it yourself, just make sure you get in writing something that says you have paid and covered ALL responsibilities as a result of the accident. Damage to her vehicle as well as any medical claims. At least that way you are covered so she can't keep going after you. After all, when an insurance company covers a claim, you sign a waiver saying you have been compensated for any and all damage to the vehicle and medical compensation.

laydenirvine

take her to court

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