Rear ended today

Which step do you have there?

 

This is what my Jeep looked like after being slid into at a stoplight on a snowy day. I had a regular 2" hitch in it. The dude hit me at 5-10 miles per hour and slightly angled to the right side. The front of his Rav4 looked like hell and I had a small dent in the right side of my bumper like this. I keep a hitch in my rigs at all times after that, even switched to one of the hitches with 3 balls and a hook on it to get a little more surface area.

The danger with that is bending the frame if you get hit hard enough, but you can minimize that risk by having a straight setup without any drop. The other problem is that it isn't legal to leave a ball in your hitch in all states.

 

2016 no less! Sorry to hear that.

 

At least now they can change just that one piece instead of the whole bumper, and a new trailer hitch, that's what I would go for..

 

I would not get it fixed under insurance. As soon as you do you'll have a real accident and need the forgiveness then haha.

Plus they'll jack your rates up eventually if you make a lot of claims. I number one would have never notified my insurance company if this but number two I would have asked them to pay cash for it.

 

What was the price on replacement parts?

 

He is not at fault it shouldn't affect his rates or policy at all. He isn't making a claim on his insurance he is making a claim on the guy that hit hims insurance.

 

I'm sorry what was the question here. "I'm not at fault and insurance should fix it at no cost" Why are we debating if he should fix it or not.

 

This is absolutely not true. The person that rear-ended this truck is the at-fault party. Their insurance will be the one to go up. Not the claimant (in this case, our friend with the Tacoma). It's smart to notify your insurance company in case you have problems with the liable company. They will do all the legwork, filing, calls, and subrogation (making the other company pay) if necessary.

The other party's insurance company is responsible. They will pay so why not get it fixed?

As far as taking the money, most insurance companies will issue payment directly to the claimant only. They will add the lienholder to their policyholder's check only because the lienholder & customer are co-owners and therefore have a vested interest in the repairs.

 

If you file a claim it will go on your Carfax, could hurt resale. I personally would fix out of pocket or get an aftermarket bumper.

 

Brings up a good point, depending on what the other person's deductible is, it could be cheaper to fix out of pocket. I would get an estimate done and contact the party at fault with the total to see if they would be interested in paying out of pocket

 

And if you are planning on keeping it a long time just pocket the cash and call it a day. Sure to be more dings and scuffs to come anyway.

 

The claim is filed by the person's insurance that hit him. The deed is done. Filing it on his own insurance is irrelevant in the scope of CarFax, etc. So, once again, you may as well get it repaired.

 

Respectfully, this is horrible advice.

First, the other person's deductible has nothing to do with OP's repairs. That only applies to the person at fault. Here is how a deductible works : If there is $2000 worth of damage, the insurance policy holder pays their deductible. In this case, we'll use $500 as that is the most common. So the customer pays the first $500, and the insurance company pays everything past that for their own repairs. The claimant's (aka "victim", or person deemed "not at fault") damages, injuries, etc are compensated in full with only deductions taken for wear and tear items such as tires, battery, etc.

Second, having the other party pay out of pocket is rarely a good idea. Even if they're family. The problems arise NOT from the original estimate of damages, but usually from an inevitable supplemental estimate. Most estimates are just that : an 'estimate'. An approximation of how much it might cost. Once the repairs begin, additional damage is found more often than not. So, when "you" call the person paying out of pocket - who has already written you one check - they feel like they are getting taken advantage of and are hesitant, to say the least, to make anymore payments.

All of this is assuming they even answer your calls when you're ready to get it repaired in the first place. Which happens A LOT. So your next course of action is filing through your own insurance, and likely paying your deductible which MIGHT be reimbursed at a much later date by your insurance company once they've settled with the liable insurance company or responsible party.

 

Just a risk they would have to take if they didn't want the accident to show up on the carfax. I would just file insurance, but everyone has different circumstances

 

Yep. Also if you end up claiming through your own insurance it will likely end up driving your premiums higher in the future.

 

It still impacts rates. It costs money to pursue a claim.

thats why you avoid getting insurance involved over fender benders with small damage. Insurance will aleays find a way to screw you.

 

If you make a lot of claims, even if it's not on your own policy, that still has the potential to raise your future rates. No one is ever locked into a rate forever. It can change. So they can re-evaluate you as a customer and change rates.

Money doesn't appear out of thin air. Accidents and claims cost your company money no matter who is at fault. If you make a lot of claims, your rates will reflect that.