Anyone been in a fender/bender or accident?

I was just involved in one, my car came away unscathed, and the other car had very minor damage, damage you can probably fix yourself. But that's beside the point.

What I'm more afraid of is that he'll call the insurance company and file a claim, I told him I would take care of the bill and hope he doesn't call the insurance company. I have a spotless record and it was raining and I just couldn't stop in time, and my wheels locked as I hit the brakes, causing me to slide in one direction. The damage done probably wouldn't go over $200, if that, but I know for sure the insurance company will raise my premium because I'm 21...even though it was raining and I've had a spotless record, NOT EVEN A TICKET...well, except for a minor "not wearing your seat belt $25" ticket. But that doesn't go on record.

State-Farm has this stupid policy that gives you a "Get out of jail" free card. Basically it'll forgive you for your first accident...if it's your first one in...NINE YEARS. I've gone accident free in almost 3.5 years now, but since I am a college student the policy is under my mother's name. She has never had an accident for the 20 some odd years she's been driving.

So has anyone been in a situation like this? I know some insurance companies don't raise premiums if cost to repair is below the deductible. But I want to get some insight on this...and pray the guy will forget about it(since he's on vacation next week) and not call insurance and just let me foot the bill.

I got in an accident when I was 19. I looked away for a second then rammed into the back of a big Ford F150. It was an older truck, so it didn't get a single scratch. The front end of my little ranger got absolutely crushed though.

The guys I hit didn't seem to care all that much, I was freaked out though. I think my insurance rate went up a bit. I haven't been in an accident since.

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Originally Posted by Matty Pie!

I got in an accident when I was 19. I looked away for a second then rammed into the back of a big Ford F150. It was an older truck, so it didn't get a single scratch. The front end of my little ranger got absolutely crushed though.

The guys I hit didn't seem to care all that much, I was freaked out though. I think my insurance rate went up a bit. I haven't been in an accident since.

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Did your rates drop back to normal? Or is it still in that process?

Sadly, in most cases insurance rates will get higher for you, until you're about 25, even if the accident isn't your fault. Insurance companies view drivers under 25 as "risky" so they almost assume you'll get into many accidents until you suddenly turn 25 and in their eyes, become a more responsible driver.

Luckily, no one got hurt, that is the most important thing. Money can be important, but at least no one needs to worry about long term physical injury.

I've been fortunate enough not to get in any accident myself, but several friends of mine have had similar situations, and as a result, their insurance was much higher.

Still, perhaps they'll give you a break.

Hope to hear good news.

Take care all.

Come to Miami. There's some few million people. If you get in a crash, most likely it won't be with me since I'm a fairly decent driver, and nobody else has insurance.

I've only been in one accident, and it wasn't my fault. But the lady was such a screaming whore that she got the cop to say that we should settle it in court. Of course, all her insurance papers were false and I never saw her face again.

I tore her car up though, and my Chevy only took a couple scratches (And it was a work truck with scratches and dents from driving around in the fields anyway).

But I'll be honest, I'd rather pay out $1000.00 from my pocket than waste time maneuvering in the courts with lawsuits and insurance companies and all that. Far as I'm concerned, anybody who sues for minor fender benders can burn in hell.
And after hearing your description, if it's really only $200.00 worth of damage, I severely doubt that this dude has the time or the patience to give enough or any of the crap necessary to sue you over it.

As for your rates: What your insurance company doesn't know doesn't hurt you. If you already alerted the company to your accident, then your rates will go up. Insurance companies are evil incarnate. If they can find a way, they'll raise your rates if a man in Yugoslavia walks over a hill.

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Originally Posted by Dingo Jellybean

Did your rates drop back to normal? Or is it still in that process?

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I was on my mother's plan at the time. I have my own plan now. I think my rates are still a little higher than normal.

I never report to the insurance company unless the other party does so, which I'm hoping he did not.

I got into an accident 2 years ago, same rainy conditions at night. I hit a fire hydrant(I knock that thing good!), my front bumper was totaled, it cost me $600 to fix...but I never reported it. It's a good I didn't report it though, I know I would've paid more than the $600 it cost to repair it.

I usually drive very safe, but because often my hours are late at night, it's easier to become accident prone. But insurance companies don't see that. I wish I could switch places with some of the CEOs and have them see how it feels.

It probably would be nice to move to Florida. That way if a similar accident happened, I can just speed away, those old folks wouldn't even know what hit them. :)

I've been involved in two car accidents with my dad. Both were pretty bad. Whiplash and a few scratches.

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Originally Posted by Yamaneko

I've been involved in two car accidents with my dad. Both were pretty bad. Whiplash and a few scratches.

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Now that's low. :) I hate to get involved with my mother in an accident. But at least we can rely on each other not to tell the insurance company, that's the only good news from a family accident. The other bad news is that you both have to foot the bill.

one reason i can't afford to drive is that for first time drivers (in UK) the insurence is £1000 on a crappy car! it goes down the older you get but to afford a car i need about £2500!! not happening
never been in a crash but my friend has. she got £1000 claim!

I think he meant him and his Dad were in the same car :)

I've wrecked quite a few times but I think they only called the insurance company once. The insurance was in my Dad's name aat the time and his rates went up a little.

failing to report an accident will mean automatic cancelation of your policy. if they guy even briefly mentions it to somebody who works in the insurance office, you're kinda screwed.

I've had 3 accidents. all have been pretty bad with lotsa damage to both vehicles. I wasn't hurt because I'm a toughie, but in one another lady was hurt because she was a softie.

My insurance is so expensive that I'm waiting until my record clears next summer to drive again. my bike does fine.

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Originally Posted by DeBlayde

failing to report an accident will mean automatic cancelation of your policy. if they guy even briefly mentions it to somebody who works in the insurance office, you're kinda screwed.

I've had 3 accidents. all have been pretty bad with lotsa damage to both vehicles. I wasn't hurt because I'm a toughie, but in one another lady was hurt because she was a softie.

My insurance is so expensive that I'm waiting until my record clears next summer to drive again. my bike does fine.

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I've known many people who've done that and never had a policy cancelled. There's no law in the US that says an accident must be reported. Besides, if a policy is cancelled, it doesn't mean a premium is raised with someone else...so you would just lose customers that way. If every person in the US didn't report a claim had a policy cancelled, probably 1/4th of all drivers wouldn't have insurance.

I've had five, but they were all in high school. I was in one other when I wasn't the driver. Thankfully they were not injury accidents.

I was a gender bender by accident once.http://spacemansp.homestead.com/files/reggoomba.gif

I was never in an "accident". I remember in my old honda civic before I trashed it, I would purposely drive around hitting cars and mailboxes. Oh, the fun days of being a kiddie. :spin:

One of my last driving sessions ended with me wrapping my fender around a tree. It was f'n scary, and I lost the nerve to drive, ever since.

Of course it's not a law, Dingo. How on God's Green Earth would you even go about enforcing that? "don't get into an accident. big Brother is watching you!" *snicker*

It is, however, policy for just about every insurance company in the US. the major ones anyways.

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Originally Posted by Dingo Jellybean

There's no law in the US that says an accident must be reported.

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In California at least, there is a law that requires you to report the accident.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/sr/sr1.htm

Other states may have similar laws...but I am not sure.

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Originally Posted by Samuraid

In California at least, there is a law that requires you to report the accident.

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/forms/sr/sr1.htm

Other states may have similar laws...but I am not sure.

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Well, it says if there's damage past $750. Since there's no damage to my car, and very little damage to his car, I don't feel a need to report it and hope he feels the same way.

I'm not sure what to be afraid more of, the wrath of my mother or working extra hours to pay that premium hike. There goes my car stereo.

One thing you could do would be to switch insurance companies. We used to go through State Farm and they screwed us royally and repeatedly. We were paying a different amount every month and it was way too high. Now we use Unitrin, and our insurance is $160 a month. That's for two vehicles: a 2003 Mazda Protege and my hubby's Jeep (don't remember what year). Plus, we're both 21. It was only $75 a month until I got my newer vehicle.

My husband was in a fender bender a few months ago, which is what raised our insurance from $150 to $160. Not a huge deal, except it wasn't his fault. At all. Of course, the other driver was a COP and there were no other witnesses, so.....there you have it.

I would tell you not to worry about your premium going up too high, if at all, but we are dealing with State Farm here, and, well....I'd say they're almost as evil as Sprint PCS. But that's another story.

:spin:

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Originally Posted by MoonsEcho

One thing you could do would be to switch insurance companies. We used to go through State Farm and they screwed us royally and repeatedly. We were paying a different amount every month and it was way too high. Now we use Unitrin, and our insurance is $160 a month. That's for two vehicles: a 2003 Mazda Protege and my hubby's Jeep (don't remember what year). Plus, we're both 21. It was only $75 a month until I got my newer vehicle.

My husband was in a fender bender a few months ago, which is what raised our insurance from $150 to $160. Not a huge deal, except it wasn't his fault. At all. Of course, the other driver was a COP and there were no other witnesses, so.....there you have it.

I would tell you not to worry about your premium going up too high, if at all, but we are dealing with State Farm here, and, well....I'd say they're almost as evil as Sprint PCS. But that's another story.

:spin:

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates State Farm. Under my mother's policy, she pays a total of $3000/year. That's for 3 people, even though my brother doesn't drive, but that's because my mom added him to the policy, even though he won't get a car for months. That total is also with the good student discount...so how screwed is that? I'm a good student and my brother doesn't drive, yet it's $250-$300/month. Without my "good student" discount, the premium would be $500/mo or something. I like the "good driver" discount more, because good students don't equal good drivers. I asked my mother to switch to someone like Geico or Henry's, but eh...she thinks good things are worth the price. I counter with "You think insurance is a good thing?"

When my brother was driving, with my mother inside, he got in an accident that wasn't his fault. So State Farm dropped our policy(which was the cheap, old policy) and it took my mother legal battles to get her old policy back. Now I'm afraid she'll lose that old policy and forced to pay a higher one, but if they do...I hope she switches to some local insurance agency.

I always felt that you shouldn't pay insurance until you get into an accident. All the years my mother and father paid insurance and never have this once needed it. I hate insurance that's forced upon you.

As for Sprint, I don't like them because they don't allow SIM cards. I usually like to unlock my phone and switch carriers(like from AT&T to T-Mobile). This way if you travel overseas, you can use local SIM cards instead of being forced to use Sprint's high long distance rates.

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I'm glad I'm not the only one who hates State Farm. Under my mother's policy, she pays a total of $3000/year. That's for 3 people, even though my brother doesn't drive, but that's because my mom added him to the policy, even though he won't get a car for months. That total is also with the good student discount...so how screwed is that? I'm a good student and my brother doesn't drive, yet it's $250-$300/month. Without my "good student" discount, the premium would be $500/mo or something. I like the "good driver" discount more, because good students don't equal good drivers. I asked my mother to switch to someone like Geico or Henry's, but eh...she thinks good things are worth the price. I counter with "You think insurance is a good thing?"

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Jeez that's high. Can't you have yourself taken off her policy and get your own? Or is the car under her name? If you could convince her to go with someone else, that'd be best, but...eh, I know how tough that can be. .-.

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As for Sprint, I don't like them because they don't allow SIM cards. I usually like to unlock my phone and switch carriers(like from AT&T to T-Mobile). This way if you travel overseas, you can use local SIM cards instead of being forced to use Sprint's high long distance rates.

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Meh, I don't like them because they did the exact same as State Farm. Charged us unbelievably high rates of different amounts every month. I also hated how they didn't include a list of what numbers you called and how long you talked. When we asked for one, they said there was a charge for this, and I found that outrageous. Every other phone company I've been with has always sent this along with the bill. Thank God that my husband's deployment allowed us to void our contract with them, or else we'd have been paying a $150 cancellation fee. .-.

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Originally Posted by Spaceman Spiff

I was a gender bender by accident once.http://spacemansp.homestead.com/files/reggoomba.gif

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Same here. =/

And nope, I've never once been in an automobile accident.

Funny. My history teacher was in one just this morning. Only it wasn't her fault, her bonnet fell off and the idiot that did it ran away.

OOC:	My history teach. rawks. :)

The only accidents I've ever caused were bumping a few parked cars when I first learned to drive my stick shift, which doesn't have power steering and is evil. I never caused an damage though.

I've been rear-ended twice though. Once I was in a really bad mood so I just told the guy "Well, at least I know my bumper works," and just said goodbye. Everyone thought I was a dummy.

The next time was on my way to the first class on the first day of a new semester. Everyone in front of me came to a screeching halt, and so did I. The guy behind me didn't quite make it though. He was about my age, and he was really nice. His car was fine, but my bumper was twice as smashed now. I didn't think it was that bad, even after I noticed the trunk was wobbling.

I had it checked out and it turned out that measely damage had totalled my POS car. So they just gave me a couple grand and made me go through a ton of crap to re-register it as a salvaged wrek. I got a nice rental car free for a month though! :D

When I got to class I was like 20 minutes late, and a Deaf teacher will always ask you why you're late (In Deaf culture it's considered an exchange of information, which their culture greatly values due to years of oppression against their language, not an excuse.), so I had fun trying to describe what happened with my at-the-time very basic signing skills.

But I've never caused an accident or been pulled over for any reason! Which is weird 'cause I drive like a dummy.