So I had an argument with my friend on wether your insurance rises everytime you claim something. I have farmers, and a long story short I have a very noticeable dent on my back bumper and I really want to claim it and get it fixed. I know Im only saying this because my car is less then 2 months old but I cant stop thinking about it. So does anyone know first hand if my insurance would go up if I claimed it?

 

i dont think your insurance will go up if its not your fault. I forget exactly what coverage it falls under. But say if you got hit in a parking lot while you were parked and the person took off, you could claim it and it wouldnt count against you. Just make sure the damage is more than your deductible.

 

How did the dent happen? Collision? If so, it most likely wouldn't go up the first time ..... But, it would if a second accident happened.

For dents ... I just bite the bullet if I can't stand them. DED $500 Dent repair was $600 not that much more plus it keeps it off your insurance just in case you get into accident and need to claim a major cost. It's a risky game. But for dents most people like with them or have them repaired out of pocket.

If it's a door dent (small metal dent) it's a no brainer cause dent doctors are like $100-200 a dent. Bumper are a different story.

I feel your pain .... I just shelled out $600 for rear bumper repair where the wife backed into a pole... DOH.

On the other hand if something falls on your car like a tree and causes a dent
it insured under comp / comp deductable and it really doesn't count against until you get 4-5 of those types of claims and then they would rerate the policy because your not in a safe area or something like that. They have all sorts of games they CAN play to adjust for losses. If that ends up being the case you just go to another insurance company.

 

a claim will NOT increase your insurance premiums unless you have a chargeable (at-fault) accident.

 

I always though that it went up, learn something new every day.

 

Just keep in mind, even if it's not your fault, the insurance companies keep track of your claims. I learned the hard way that no fault and comprehensive claims stack up and you can find yourself what they call a "non-renew". State Farm didn't want my business so I took it elsewhere and the next insurance company that wrote me upped my rates after they ran my "credit report" for insurance and found out about the previous claims. You are better off paying for anything out of your own pocket and hope that your insurance company never knows anything about your dent. Save the claims for financially devastating losses like a totaled car. I know it sucks but they (insurance companies) hold all the cards and are in business to make money, not lose it.

 

I do collision repair and if someone hit my car,theres no reason to even let my insurance company know about it,i would go through insurance with the company that insures the other person,and depending on your deductible,it might be better if you just pay outta pocket to get the dent fixed and repainted

 

What Buzz0 said is so true, and Geico is the worst one with that. In the 80's my parents got hit with golf-ball sized hail on 2 cars, claimed, Geico didn't renew them. And other insurance companies jacked their rates.

I had Geico on my '97 Jetta. They had a nice mechanical breakdown coverage policy on new cars, basically like an extended warranty, for 7 years / 100,000 miles. I used it a few times as Volkswagens break a lot and cost a lot to repair. They never really raised my rates using it. Great, right? Wrong!

Then I got divorced, and had them quote me on the Jetta. Even though the car was no longer eligible for the mechanical breakdown coverage, they were going to charge me out the *** to cover the car. So much in fact, that it would have cost more to cover a 1997 Jetta with only comprehensive, than my brand new 2004 350Z with full coverage. Not only that, but to get another insurance company to cover the car at a reasonable rate, I had to document that the claims were all mechanical breakdown. It helped that my buddy is an agent.

The moral of the story, is never use Geico. Ever. Don't trust the lizard. He licks his own lizard ***** with his lizard tongue. And never file a claim if you don't have to. Everything counts against you. You're better off learning how to repair dents yourself and airbrush in your garage. And buying all the equipment to do so. It will cost you less in the long run. And insurance companies suck.

 

I stuck with state farm,only reason is that state farm is the only company that I know of that uses oem or used/reconditioned parts only,I'll take junkyard or reconditioned parts anyday over knockoff aftermarket junk,those parts never fit a car right

 

POST OF THE YEAR

 

No... don't bother.

The rear bumper cover is plastic. If there is a sizable dent in the cover, not only would you need a new one, but also a new chunk of styrofoam that is under it. Take your car to a body shop, have them give you an estimate. Call your insurance company and report the claim as vandalism. You will pay a deductible (whatever your deductible is on the coverage you selected). Depending on the labor rate of your body shop a new bumper cover, syfrofoam, paint, tear off and install is probably in the neighborhood of $1100. Your rates will not be affected since you were not at fault for being vandalized. Hit & run goes the same way.

 

if the claim is filed under your COLLISION part of the policy the rates go up.

if the claim is filed under the COMPREHENSIVE part of the policy the rates do NOT go up.

 

My bad.... I was thinking he had a dent in the rear fender...

 

If you were in the car, it will be filed under a collision loss. If you were not in the car, it will be considered comprehensive. Likely, in either case, the insurance may not go up, but over time and additional claims may cause it to go up.

Plus, if is going to cost close to your deductible, its not worth claiming anyway.

 

My Experience too ....

 

I agree - This is how I've seen the insurance business work.

 

Not correct.

A collision claim for a non-chargeable accident will NOT increase your premium.

However, it you establish an excessive claim history, regardless of who was responsible, your insurer will increase your rates, or refuse to renew.

"It is unlikely you would see a premium increase solely because you were in an accident in which another person was at fault.

However, you may receive a premium increase if that accident was one of several you have had throughout the year or in recent years. Even if you had several accidents and were found not at fault in each of them, the insurance company may assume there is something hazardous about your driving and thus charge you a higher premium."

http://info.insure.com/auto/faq/premium.htm


bill

 

Rear bumper, OEM, $650.00 painted and installed. Styrofoam underneath can be filled, no one sees it anyway. Would not even bother telling the insurance company, assume you have $500 deductible.