*sigh*

here's the story... I'm driving along on the left lane of a two-lane major street in my neighbourhood... i'm going the speed limit, then all of a sudden a guy in a camary pulls out of a side street, makes a wide right turn (on red) into the left lane... I hit the brakes and change into the right lane to avoid an accident, then the other driver decides to swing BACK into the right lane just as I'm going by... so in a split second decision, I want to avoid an accident so i turn onto the curb/snow-bank instead... resulting in damage to my bumper and under-car engine cover

cops show up, and write up an "incident" report on the scene, stating that the other driver made a wide right turn

this being my first accident *knock on wood*, i was shocked and asked the cops why the other party wasn't being charged right away. the cop says that since there was no real accident, he can't charge anyone, and that since i avoided hitting him, i basically have no choice but to make a claim through insurance or pay for the damage myself... but that in his statement, he will say that the other party was to blame

my question is: should I make a claim? this being an incident, and with the police report putting the blame on the other driver, will his insurance company cover the damages? or will my own insurance company have to cover it and thus result in MY premiums going up? I would've claimed insurance right away, but my thinking is, with only a police "incident" report, it may not hold as much water as an actual "accident" report.

i'm still really upset over this...

<rant> honestly, i just don't understand how auto insurance companies can continue doing "ethical" business... i mean everyone pays for insurance year after year so that they can have peace of mind and coverage in the event that they need a claim... but when you DO make a claim, the insurance company jacks up your premium so that you end up paying for the damage yourself anyway... not only that, the irony is, HAD I ACTUALLY HIT THE GUY i wouldn't be seeing any charges at all since the police would have charged him at the scene </rant>

anyway the question remains, and now my poor Z is sitting in my garage, covered in snow, with a cracked bumper, caked in salt... *sob*

thanks in advance...

 

btw, my deductible is $500...

 

Of course make insurance pay. Why shouldn't they, if it wasn't your fault?

 

Because in Toronto, peoples insurence have skyrocketed in the past couple of years even if they had not made any claims or had any tickets...It is insane for those who have made claims. really not fair. The avaeage persons insurance in Toronto went up 35% this past year alone. The insurance companies are blaiming payouts from 9-11.

 

Best thing to do is take it to your dealer, find out how much is gonna cost then go from there.

 

Sorry to hear about that, sounds like a good excuse to buy a body kit! Definitely get an estimate first. I'm not certain but I'd think a new bumper, painted probably wouldn't cost much more than your deductible...

Good luck.

 

Is insurance should cover I would'nt contact my insurance company on this, unless it absolutely becomes necessary!

 

Strife,

I have no idea how it works in Canada, but in the U.S., you could sue the driver of the other car to make him cover the cost of the repairs. Your insurance company could also choose to do that for you (it's called subrogation when they do that) after they've fronted the costs. Just because a cop - part of the CRIMINAL justice system - doesn't give someone a ticket doesn't mean they can't be held liable in a CIVIL court action.

As I said, maybe it's different in Canada. Got any lawyer friends up there?

 

Thing is do you have the other guys information. And btw its better to hit the person then not, it makes insurance much much easier to deal with.

 

Thanks for everyone's input...

In terms of why I don't want to go through insurance if possible, bobbyz is right... with the way insurance currently works in Toronto, the instant I make a claim against my OWN insurance company, I'll be paying for whatever money they pay out 3-4 times over for the next 6 years... I guess the main risk here is whether my insurance company sees in my favor or not... if they do, and they claim through the other party, then my premium will only go up... but there are no gurantees

In terms of how much the repair will cost, i took it to the dealer this morning and got quoted $1,200 CDN to repair (new bumper, prep, paint) my front bumper and replace the two engine covers that were damaged... with my deductible being 500, should I go for this? (btw if i do end up getting insurance money, i'll get a new body kit - the only bright spot in this whole ordeal)

As for sueing the guy, i thought about that too... unfortunately the only witness drove off when I waved him down to help me out (a lot of irresponsible people in Toronto... ) ... do you think i still have a case with just police testimony?

*sigh*... i still can't believe this is happening to me... i did nothing to cause this and now i have to pay for the damages myself... i keep thinking: if only i had actually hit the guy, then i wouldn't be paying a single penny... how ironic

Thanks for everyones input

 

I was in a hit and run (very minor accident, grazed me). Since I made a police report, and had hit and run on my policy (didnt know I did), I only had to pay half my deductible.

You may want to call your insurance co. up and talk with them.

 

Its only gonna cost you 1200 CDN to repair the car totally? Hell I would do that in a heart beat rather than going to the insurance company. Your right, their gonna take it out of your @ss over the next 5 years in rate hikes and such.

Btw how is it irresponsible for a person to drive off, you know if you went to court that guy would have to give up his free time to possibly help you out. You never said do you have this guys (the guy who caused it) info?

 

Sorry to hear about your situation.

In California, your rates will not necessarily go up.

Basically, if you have a certain number of years without tickets or claims, your insurance rating goes up. A few years ago I had the best rating possible from my carrier.

Then, 2 years and 11 months ago, I was in a minor fender-bender where it was determined I was at fault. Because of my good driver rating, my rates did not increase, but if I had a ticket or another claim in the next 3 years it would cause an increase.

Well, 2 years and 11 months later I crashed @ Laguna Seca. So now my rates are going up about 30-35%. It will also take something like 6 years before I am down to where I would have been otherwise. The only thing is, in my case the damage was significant, so it makes sense to have insurance pay for it.

If you aren't sure, you may want to check with your isurance provider to see if your situation is similar. Maybe your rates won't go up unless you have another accident in a certain time period.

Also, you should definitely get some estimates on the repair cost to see if it makes sense for insurance to get involved. With a $500 deductible it may make sense to just pay for everything yourself.

-D'oh!

 

Guys,
In Toronto (actually, all of Ontario) Insurence is no fault. So, unless the other person is charged, your insurence company pays out. If the other person is charged, then your insurence company can collect. Striff,
Take your car to Car Magic on woodbine and steels area. They are amazing and I bet they would be cheaper then the dealer. My brothers BMW was scraped in a parking lot and took his car there...no way you would ever be able to see that there was any damage. They deal lots with high end cars.
Good luck and let us know.

 

In NY if you didn't contact the other drivers car with your car his insurance isn't going to give you anything. Furthermore had you hit him it would become your fault even though he pulled out in front of you because insurance companies take the position that you should be in control of your vehicle at all times. It sounds crazy and it is but even if the guy pulled out and stopped dead in front of you for no reason they are going to put you at fault. As far as what the cops write on the report the insurance companies take that into account somewhat but they are still the deciding factor. You should also check to see if the police report for the accident gets reported to your insurance company because they may already be counting the accident against you anyway and in that case i would make a claim anyway. The best thing to do would of been to drive away without the police knowing since no others were involved and just pay to fix it yourself as opposed to paying the insurance company for years to come.

 

ya the insurance is gonna rape you, and you will pay for it for much longer. wait to make a claim thats in excess of way more than $1200. Just get a Nismo bumper and new stock car parts from your dealer. It sucks, but people suck. Insurance is like a legal mob. They offer you "protection" but if you ever need it, most of the time (not all) you end up worse off if you need them for help.