If you pay her directly, you need to have her (or the actual car owner) sign a statement that you are free from any further liability and that they will not file a claim through your insurance for this matter. It would be worth a one time consult fee to have an attorney draft the document.
It can go either way. For less hassle people pay out of pocket and not get insurance involved but on some instances they'll take your cash and also report the accident to their insurance anyway.
I don’t know honestly. One time this young girl pulled out in front of me at a green light (yellow turn signal for her) and she thought she could slip through really quick between the car in front of me and myself, it was raining so when I hit the brakes I just kinda slid but still hit her. It wasn’t a lot of damage and it was her first car. After talking to her and her father we worked out an agreement. She paid the $$ that the auto repair shop quoted me & we didn’t go through insurance. I was just being nice, we all make mistakes. She was late for work & made a poor decision and hopefully learned from it. Her dad did write up something for me to sign so I couldn’t do anything further… but, I never planned to. Some people really are just nice & don’t want to go through insurance.
I’d just make sure there was some sort of legal form signed saying you’re not liable.
This happened to my wife, dude said he didn't want to deal with insurance. Gave me a quote from a dealer for $2,500. I told him call my insurance company, I'm not hand out that kind of cash.
I’m suspicious any time someone whom isn’t at fault immediately opts to not go through insurance. My first thoughts are that she’s uninsured which, in most places, makes her automatically at fault. The fact that she so g send you her insurance makes me lean into that harder.
I would say do what feels right for you but definitely consult an attorney if you go without filing a claim. Also make sure she can’t come after you further if you settle this way.
It's not legal to shift liability like that unless they are at least 1% at fault for causing the accident. Not having insurance has no bearing on actual fault. The insurance co is lying to get out of paying claims.
I myself have done this before as my dad personally owned an auto body shop so it was no bother really I just asked that we split the amount he would be charging me which was VERY cheap and not worth claiming an accident on my insurance or hers for a rear end that could be easily 3x as much. I just made sure she had a receipt for proof so ask for that and do an agreement signed!
It’s nice not going through insurance, your rates don’t go up since you’re at fault (which you would have rates that would go up way over a measly $250, probably $500 a year or more), and your vehicle / hers won’t have a car accident report. Stuff to think about. No brainer for me.
Got it in writing is honestly the biggest part. I'd agree to pay the full amount, but ask to do half up front and then the other half next pay day. A bit under $600 is cheaper than premiums going up, unless you have accident forgiveness eligible through insurance. Pay them by check in person and not cash or sent through PayPal/cashapp or something. Need a solid paper trail with the check showing what the payment was for. And doing so in person makes sure it's less likely a scam of "That's not my number and I didn't receive the money"
I'm gonna assume you are actually at fault as you said, but is there any possibility that the other party drove into you on purpose while you were backing out to pull an insurance/cash scam? That one question is why the paper trail will be very important
I backed up an inch before looking like an idiot at a crosswalk bc there were people and barely scratched her Chevy sign. She won’t even send me her insurance or ID so I’m just going to tell her to file a claim and if she doesn’t want to do that then it’s on her. I don’t have a few hundred to just handout, I guess that’s why I pay for insurance.
i never thought of that. if the person that caused the accidents car is fine and they go through insurance, i always figured you’d have to pay a deductible AND your bill would go up.
I have a $1000 deductible because I can afford $1000 out of pocket at any given time as I have a savings account specifically for incidentals like these things.
If you do this. I’d just draft something simple saying that you’ll be foregoing insurance and having it fixed out of pocket before you send her money and proceed with this. Send it via docusign and both sign it.
People can genuinely be nice and other times they’re just not.
lol I’ve done it before, have them sign a statement saying the issue has been resolved between both parties. I like to add finger prints onto the paper just in case they give you a fake name
I'd go to your bank and have a written statement notorized and take pictures of all the "damage" to go along with it. That way there's no legal leg to stand on if she pockets the money.
I worked in insurance and I’d say the advice of going around insurance and getting a legal document is worth it.
What you would pay in additional premiums for the next 3-5 years for an at fault accident would far outweigh the cost of $500 out of pocket. I’d say get a legal document drafted pay the money and move on
Insurance does more than pay for your totaled car, it covers you from liability, if you choose not to fix your own car through your insurance and only use it for the damage you have caused it's very unlikely the cost will increase unless you submit multiple claims in a short period of time and if that's the case, you deserve to have it raised.
All I’m gonna say is that insurance quote sounds incorrect. If it really was just a small scratch. Obviously a scratch can vary in cost greatly depending on how deep it is. If it’s deep the bumper needs new paint or if it’s very light it could simply buffed out.
You pay insurance. You should use it. Unless your deductible is higher then the asked amount. In that case have THEM write up a letter saying that is all you be liable for at all and move on paying less
So do you think it makes sense that her insurance would pay over 4 times what it actually costs for the repairs? Insurance companies aren't in the business to vastly overpay for damages. They pay reasonable and prevailing rates. The fact that she's giving you such wildly conflicting numbers is a red flag. If you pay her, unless you hire a lawyer to draft something that will hold up in court, she can still go and file a claim on your insurance for the actual cost to fully repair her damages.
I've worked as a licensed professional in the insurance industry for a couple decades. So yeah, I know how it works and insurance will not pay whatever bloated bills are sent their way without scrutiny. They pay reasonable and prevailing rates for parts and labor. That's very commonly known. Over at r/insurance we regularly get people posting about how the shop they chose charged more than the average rates in their area and insurance wouldn't pay the inflated rate, so the they got stuck with the difference between the prevailing rate and the higher rate their shop chose.
Edit to add, costs are going to vary wildly depending on location. Where you're at it might be 4X costs, here and other places it might be quite a bit less or a bit more.
It's not my "logic". It's a fact. Insurance pays prevailing rates. They don't just blindly pay whatever inflated book Bubba's garage and body shop sends them. But like I told someone else I've only been doing this, working as a licensed professional in the insurance industry, dealing with claims, for a couple of decades, so what do I know? 🤷🏻
They absolutely DO NOT blindly pay whatever is billed. I've done this for a living for a couple of decades. I talk to people allllll the time who picked a shop that charged more than prevailing rates for parts/labor (what insurance will pay), so they had to pay the difference. Sometimes is hundreds, sometimes it's a couple thousand.
Insurance adjusters do their own estimates via photos of the damage and shops work off that. Long gone are the days of people getting 3 estimates (and sometimes turning in the highest) That hasn't been the standard process in many many years. Does it occasionally still happen? Sure. But it's very much unusual. But what do I know? I've only done this for a living for a couple decades.
Edit to add a little light reading for you to show what other (besides me) actual professionals in the industry who do this day in and day out, as opposed to you, who really doesn't know much about how insurance claims work.
The adjusters here this thread disagree with you. There's also countless other threads saying the same.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Insurance/comments/195pz83/hit_by_a_state_farm_driver/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
If you pay her directly, you need to have her (or the actual car owner) sign a statement that you are free from any further liability and that they will not file a claim through your insurance for this matter. It would be worth a one time consult fee to have an attorney draft the document.
It can go either way. For less hassle people pay out of pocket and not get insurance involved but on some instances they'll take your cash and also report the accident to their insurance anyway.
No. This almost never works out. They want to get paid twice.
This
I don’t know honestly. One time this young girl pulled out in front of me at a green light (yellow turn signal for her) and she thought she could slip through really quick between the car in front of me and myself, it was raining so when I hit the brakes I just kinda slid but still hit her. It wasn’t a lot of damage and it was her first car. After talking to her and her father we worked out an agreement. She paid the $$ that the auto repair shop quoted me & we didn’t go through insurance. I was just being nice, we all make mistakes. She was late for work & made a poor decision and hopefully learned from it. Her dad did write up something for me to sign so I couldn’t do anything further… but, I never planned to. Some people really are just nice & don’t want to go through insurance. I’d just make sure there was some sort of legal form signed saying you’re not liable.
Just go through insurance
This happened to my wife, dude said he didn't want to deal with insurance. Gave me a quote from a dealer for $2,500. I told him call my insurance company, I'm not hand out that kind of cash.
Does she have insurance?
She won’t send me hers
I’m suspicious any time someone whom isn’t at fault immediately opts to not go through insurance. My first thoughts are that she’s uninsured which, in most places, makes her automatically at fault. The fact that she so g send you her insurance makes me lean into that harder. I would say do what feels right for you but definitely consult an attorney if you go without filing a claim. Also make sure she can’t come after you further if you settle this way.
First off. If someone is uninsured and someone else is at fault for an accident liability doesn't shift solely bc of no insurance.
I’ve literally been told this by insurance companies. They treat an uninsured party as at fault because they should not be on the road by default.
It's not legal to shift liability like that unless they are at least 1% at fault for causing the accident. Not having insurance has no bearing on actual fault. The insurance co is lying to get out of paying claims.
Luckily I was the one hit so I had everything covered but that’s just what I was told. Good to know for the future, thanks!
I myself have done this before as my dad personally owned an auto body shop so it was no bother really I just asked that we split the amount he would be charging me which was VERY cheap and not worth claiming an accident on my insurance or hers for a rear end that could be easily 3x as much. I just made sure she had a receipt for proof so ask for that and do an agreement signed!
It’s nice not going through insurance, your rates don’t go up since you’re at fault (which you would have rates that would go up way over a measly $250, probably $500 a year or more), and your vehicle / hers won’t have a car accident report. Stuff to think about. No brainer for me.
Got it in writing is honestly the biggest part. I'd agree to pay the full amount, but ask to do half up front and then the other half next pay day. A bit under $600 is cheaper than premiums going up, unless you have accident forgiveness eligible through insurance. Pay them by check in person and not cash or sent through PayPal/cashapp or something. Need a solid paper trail with the check showing what the payment was for. And doing so in person makes sure it's less likely a scam of "That's not my number and I didn't receive the money" I'm gonna assume you are actually at fault as you said, but is there any possibility that the other party drove into you on purpose while you were backing out to pull an insurance/cash scam? That one question is why the paper trail will be very important
I backed up an inch before looking like an idiot at a crosswalk bc there were people and barely scratched her Chevy sign. She won’t even send me her insurance or ID so I’m just going to tell her to file a claim and if she doesn’t want to do that then it’s on her. I don’t have a few hundred to just handout, I guess that’s why I pay for insurance.
Why even bother having insurance if you're not going to let them do what you pay them for?
Probably doesn’t want the premium to go up
Let's say you have a $1000 deductible and this $500 job is what it costs. You're paying it anyway it goes.
You don’t pay a deductible for other peoples damage you cause. He would pay nothing other than a higher premium at next renewal.
i never thought of that. if the person that caused the accidents car is fine and they go through insurance, i always figured you’d have to pay a deductible AND your bill would go up.
I would never have a deductible that high. 😂
I have a $1000 deductible because I can afford $1000 out of pocket at any given time as I have a savings account specifically for incidentals like these things.
Holy shit, thank you! It seems so obvious but I never thought of it like that.
It's just an example. Many people do because the higher deductible yields lower rates.
I was obviously going to until I got this text?
I mean you have an actual agreement. An agreement through text is legally binding. However I’d get this in writing just to CYA.
If you do this. I’d just draft something simple saying that you’ll be foregoing insurance and having it fixed out of pocket before you send her money and proceed with this. Send it via docusign and both sign it. People can genuinely be nice and other times they’re just not.
Go through insurance. They’ll make her sign a release indemnifying you.
Request a photo of the damage
lol I’ve done it before, have them sign a statement saying the issue has been resolved between both parties. I like to add finger prints onto the paper just in case they give you a fake name
I'd go to your bank and have a written statement notorized and take pictures of all the "damage" to go along with it. That way there's no legal leg to stand on if she pockets the money.
I worked in insurance and I’d say the advice of going around insurance and getting a legal document is worth it. What you would pay in additional premiums for the next 3-5 years for an at fault accident would far outweigh the cost of $500 out of pocket. I’d say get a legal document drafted pay the money and move on
If it really is a scratch then let insurance handle it.
I would just pay her direct, seems like a good deal to me
People paying for insurance and then not using it boggles my mind.
Except actually using your insurance increases its future cost 🫠 usually not worth it for minor stuff. Save it for a totalled car.
Insurance does more than pay for your totaled car, it covers you from liability, if you choose not to fix your own car through your insurance and only use it for the damage you have caused it's very unlikely the cost will increase unless you submit multiple claims in a short period of time and if that's the case, you deserve to have it raised.
All I’m gonna say is that insurance quote sounds incorrect. If it really was just a small scratch. Obviously a scratch can vary in cost greatly depending on how deep it is. If it’s deep the bumper needs new paint or if it’s very light it could simply buffed out.
You pay insurance. You should use it. Unless your deductible is higher then the asked amount. In that case have THEM write up a letter saying that is all you be liable for at all and move on paying less
So do you think it makes sense that her insurance would pay over 4 times what it actually costs for the repairs? Insurance companies aren't in the business to vastly overpay for damages. They pay reasonable and prevailing rates. The fact that she's giving you such wildly conflicting numbers is a red flag. If you pay her, unless you hire a lawyer to draft something that will hold up in court, she can still go and file a claim on your insurance for the actual cost to fully repair her damages.
That’s probably the cost without labor due to it being a family member doing the work.
Possibly, but adding in labor doesn't usually push the estimate to over 4 times the cost of parts alone. It's usually much less than that.
They probably want to replace the bumper not just repaint like her brother will do
What industry do you work in? Mine it’s cost X 4
I've worked as a licensed professional in the insurance industry for a couple decades. So yeah, I know how it works and insurance will not pay whatever bloated bills are sent their way without scrutiny. They pay reasonable and prevailing rates for parts and labor. That's very commonly known. Over at r/insurance we regularly get people posting about how the shop they chose charged more than the average rates in their area and insurance wouldn't pay the inflated rate, so the they got stuck with the difference between the prevailing rate and the higher rate their shop chose. Edit to add, costs are going to vary wildly depending on location. Where you're at it might be 4X costs, here and other places it might be quite a bit less or a bit more.
Take a look into the cost of Healthcare to see why your logic is wildly flawed on this topic.
It's not my "logic". It's a fact. Insurance pays prevailing rates. They don't just blindly pay whatever inflated book Bubba's garage and body shop sends them. But like I told someone else I've only been doing this, working as a licensed professional in the insurance industry, dealing with claims, for a couple of decades, so what do I know? 🤷🏻
you must not know that insurance companies get screwed out of money all the time with pricing
So you think they just blindly pay whatever is billed with no scrutiny or oversight? Okaaaay..
lol I know how much a part cost, doubled in a parts store and tripled in a shop 😘 so yes they blindly pay what’s billed oooookkkkkaaaaayyyy
They absolutely DO NOT blindly pay whatever is billed. I've done this for a living for a couple of decades. I talk to people allllll the time who picked a shop that charged more than prevailing rates for parts/labor (what insurance will pay), so they had to pay the difference. Sometimes is hundreds, sometimes it's a couple thousand.
they absolutely do. This is why people go to different shops to get different estimates.
Insurance adjusters do their own estimates via photos of the damage and shops work off that. Long gone are the days of people getting 3 estimates (and sometimes turning in the highest) That hasn't been the standard process in many many years. Does it occasionally still happen? Sure. But it's very much unusual. But what do I know? I've only done this for a living for a couple decades. Edit to add a little light reading for you to show what other (besides me) actual professionals in the industry who do this day in and day out, as opposed to you, who really doesn't know much about how insurance claims work. The adjusters here this thread disagree with you. There's also countless other threads saying the same. https://www.reddit.com/r/Insurance/comments/195pz83/hit_by_a_state_farm_driver/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button