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airica79 · Sep 23, 2009, 01:13 AM

I was parked along a curb and was pulling out into the street. I hit a car that came up along side me. My front/side bumper hit the side of her car (passenger side) towards the back. Clearly this was my fault. She was driving without insurance and didn't want the police called. I offered to give her my insurance info so she could get her car fixed. She didn't want this either for fear my insurance would investigate the accident and discover that she was driving without insurance. So, I told her to get some quotes and call me. She called with 2 quotes, the lowest was around $700. So my question is, should I just give her the $700 or just call my insurance, pay the $500 deductible? OR I could offer her the $500? Any thoughts are appreciated :confused:

this8384 · Sep 23, 2009, 08:07 AM

Have her either a)pay for it and give you an invoice so you can reimburse her, or b)contact the place that will be doing the repair and pay them directly.

If you report it to your insurance, then your rates are going to go up.

Cedarln2265 · Sep 23, 2009, 08:09 AM

First you need to call your insurance agent and see if they will handle a claim without a police report.
Second: Always call the police when there is a vehicle accident because if you don't later medical claims may emerge from the accident not just the vehicle repair bills. This helps with future consequences. See if you can still make a report
It is not your problem when a driver doesn't have insurance even if you are at fault. Do not let anyone game you on this. If your state requires auto insurance, then they better have it when they drive. Good luck

Cedarln2265 · Sep 23, 2009, 12:45 PM

Check your insurance policy for what is known as a "first accident forgiveness" clause. I made sure that was in mine if I ever had a DUH moment :)
If you don't have one, ask your agent if you can get one and what it covers. This ensures that your rates don't go up.

JudyKayTee · Sep 23, 2009, 07:15 PM

I would not pay this out of my pocket. What if you do, don't report it to the Police, don't report it to your company, pay her - and then she claims an injury?

Keep in mind I'm a liability investigator so I never see one of these situations that goes well.

this8384 · Sep 24, 2009, 06:36 AM

I suppose I was just speaking from my personal experience. My dad was driving in traffic one day; a 15-year-old girl with no license was in front of him. The light turned yellow - and I mean yellow, not red - and she slammed on her brakes and locked them up. My dad slammed on his brakes but was driving a Suburban - not the easiest thing to stop.

He ended up hitting her, not causing any major damage but there were 2 dents in the back of her car where my dad's grille guard was.

Since she was only 15, she had no license but her brother was letting her drive his car around. So nobody called the police - she didn't get a ticket for operating without a license, my dad didn't get a ticket for following too closely.

But then again, there was no money exchanged either.

excon · Sep 24, 2009, 06:44 AM

Originally Posted by airica79

OR i could offer her the $500? Any thoughts are appreciated :confused:

Hello a:

Why should it cost you $200 MORE just to make HER happy?? The answer is, it shouldn't. Offer her what the accident WOULD have cost you IF you weren't doing her a favor.. Yes, you'll benefit too from doing her a favor - but that's neither here nor there...

Along WITH your check - or frankly even BEFORE you proffer a check, have her sign a waiver for ANY future demands she might make on you... I don't know how to write one of those, but it can't be too hard... Have her NOTARIZE her signature...

excon

PS> (edited) Upon further consideration, there's NO deductable when they pay a LIABILITY claim... So, the accident would cost you NOTHING if you were to claim it... So, I'd claim it. You COULD tell her that your insurance company doesn't care whether she had insurance or not... That IS true.

this8384 · Sep 24, 2009, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by excon

Hello a:

Why should it cost you $200 MORE just to make HER happy??? The answer is, it shouldn't. Offer her what the accident WOULD have cost you IF you weren't doing her a favor.. Yes, you'll benefit too from doing her a favor - but that's neither here nor there...

Along WITH your check - or frankly even BEFORE you proffer a check, have her sign a waiver for ANY future demands she might make on you... I dunno how to write one of those, but it can't be too hard... Have her NOTARIZE her signature...

excon

PS> (edited) Upon further consideration, there's NO deductable when they pay a LIABILITY claim... So, the accident would cost you NOTHING if you were to claim it... So, I'd claim it. You COULD tell her that your insurance company doesn't care whether she had insurance or not... That IS true.

That's a thought. The OP could also just pay the repair bill in cash so there's no way for it to come back to her; no proof that she admitted fault for the accident or that she was even involved in it, period.

AK lawyer · Sep 24, 2009, 08:07 AM

I'm wondering why she should pay anything. If the other party was so anxious not to report the accident, what's going to happen if she pays nothing?

On the other hand, the OP probably does have some sort of moral obligation. It seems to me that obligation probably would be limited to offering to notify the OP's insurer.

And I agree with excon:

Originally Posted by excon

... Upon further consideration, there's NO deductable when they pay a LIABILITY claim... So, the accident would cost you NOTHING if you were to claim it... So, I'd claim it. You COULD tell her that your insurance company doesn't care whether she had insurance or not... That IS true.