I went to the car wash and after I put in my money, I decided I didn't look "straight" to drive in. So I backed up and backed into this SUV behind me. There was no one around before! I know I should have looked but I just didn't think about it. I got out right away and said I am so sorry - I didn't look. And the man getting out was real snippy and said no you didn't! Well I called the police and they came and wrote an information exchange report (since it was on private property). So then the snippy guy says well it's probably not over $100 worth of damage and it wouldn't make sense to turn this in to your insurance. But then in the next breath he is saying he is taking his vehicle to the local Ford dealership to have it looked at? So what is it buddy? The officer said if we worked something out, that was fine. Well I pay insurance and I will be calling my insurance agent first thing in the morning and they can handle it. I'm not writing this guy a check and then him come wanting money from me 2 months later. I didn't bother telling him I work for a law firm. He was being real cocky (probably cause I was a woman) about it. I told the police officer I will be calling my insurance agent in the morning no matter how much the damage is. My dh said I didn't hurt my Explorer - just that my hitch hit this guy's front license plate and wrinkled it. But I don't care if it's $30 damage - I'm calling the insurance agent and they can handle it. I don't even want to talk to this cocky rude guy again. What a way to bum out my day! Oh and then I didn't even get my car washed!

You are doing the right thing!!! YOu are so right about not writing this guy a check just to get him off your back I believe you pay the insurance company for a reason & they will take care of this for you.

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mom of 3 greats girls

Something to remember is that if it is not as much as your deductible (we have a $500 deductible for this type of accident), you might not want to get insurance involved AT all -- mainly because your insurance rates could potentially go up.

But, I'd pay the place that does the repair and not the man.

Sorry this happened.

My insurance is really good. I had a small accident, turned it over to the agent, ended up being less than the deductible, he told me this and told me it would be silly not to pay out of pocket... I like that about him.

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I would NEVER EVER call my insurance company over something small. Even if it was a few hundred dollars over my deductible I would not call I would just pay it. Your insurance will go up and even if for some reason it doesn't go up if you have another accident it will make two points against you and will go up or may get canceled. It's sad that we pay for insurance and then are afraid to use it. I think the snippy guy was trying to do you a favor.

Paying out of pocket is usually the way to go for small dollar amounts. The way the point system works here, they really zing you on your premiums for an at-fault accident (six years, I think) so you have to factor that into the decision if it's similar in your state.

The other driver does not necessarily have to fix his vehicle - it's really his choice. As such, I don't think that you can insist on paying the repair place.

cj/

ETA: if/when you pay him, you might want to write up something that releases you from any further obligation in this regard and make a note on your check's memo field as well (although you know more about legal stuff than me, I'm sure! )

Snippy guy now has to go through the hassle of taking his car to the body shop for an estimate and waiting for it to be repaired. I've been in snippy guy's position before -- and I don't blame him for being snippy. It's far more aggravation to be the person that's hit -- and he did nothing wrong!

Well excuse me - I'm sure snippy guy has NEVER had an accident! And that was exactly what it was - AN ACCIDENT! I have been the "hit" person - and when my car was hit, the other person HAD NO INSURANCE! I can fully verify I have insurance in place. And you know what - I'm pretty upset myself about it even happening - AND IT WAS MY FAULT! So sorry you and snippy guy are having a bad day - mine wasn't exactly WONDERFUL after I hit snippy guy.

Ummm, I don't think she was being rude, it's just that snippy guy is the one who will have to spend time on this, not you.

Think about it this way. Snippy guy must now take his car for the estimate and depending on your insurance, it may be a place specified that is not convenient for him and at a time that's hard for him. Then he has to be without his car when it's being repaired which is a time that may not be good for him. He probably has better things to do than go get his car fixed for something that was someone else's fault.

This happened to us when we were living paycheck to paycheck. My husband lost 10 hrs of work (unpaid) and we had to go without a car for a day. Was this fair to us? Not at all we were out about $150 and we had to have our car repaired at a shop we would not have chosen just because of their insurance carrier. While having an accident sucks and I'm sorry your day was ruined, you really put out snippy guy and probably don't realize it.

You should have backed into me,my license plate is already busted and I need a new one anyway,lol.What happened to me was, at a light,some monster semi truck decides to make a turn despite the fact there is not enough room.The poor old man in front of me hopelessly tries to move backwards to avoid getting slaughtered unaware that I am unable to move backward due to a line of cars behind me bumper to bumper practically.So WHAM!. The Truckdriver didn't give a hoot that he came only an inch of creaming this poor old man or that he caused an accident.I told the man not to worry about my broken license plate,that I was just glad he was ok.I still haven't got around to getting it fixed.After that I always make sure that just in case a semitruck comes up while I'm at a light that he has plenty of room to get through so I never run into that problem.And also if the car in front of me hasn't ,I stay an extra distance away from him just in case.

I'm sorry you had such a bad day, we have ALL been there before.
I just wanted to say, You would be VERY VERY surprise at how little it takes to throw a car out of line. I have seen cars hit a pot hole less than a few inches and would throw it out of line. So maybe he was kinda of upset over this.
Also, When a car is in a accident it will and does get reported to CAR-FAX , its a site that goes by the Vin Number on cars , once a accident is reported they turn the Vin number over, this way people that might be buying that SUV at a later time ( If at all ) can check VN's to make sure its never been in a accident.

While it sucks I know to have hit someone, It's also upsetting to the one that got hit. I know if my husband were to ever get hit I would be the one having to do EVERYTHING to get the car repaired, call insurance companies, get the est on repairs, find the shop to repair it, go pick up a rental, The list could go on and on FOREVER, ACK !!...
Or Maybe the man has a job that will require him to miss work with out pay and he looking at it that way.
Who knows really, Maybe he was just having a terrible day himself and this just added to it.

Either way, Glad no one was hurt and hope your day goes better.

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MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

Being either party in an accident really shakes you up -- even when the accident is 'small'.

Yes, it is an incredibly major hassle. When we were in our accident that totaled the car in October, I was worried about the other driver, yes, but I literally CRIED about the hassle that I knew was coming.

I was right to cry. It took months and months to get the full settlement. It was a horrible experience.

Hopefully, things can be settled easily and there isn't any hidden damage. There shouldn't be if it was a low impact ding.

I have to agree with the other poster that said don't even get your insurance involved. Even if you call them but don't ultimately use them they make a record of the accident and it will affect your rates. Whether or not your insurance is used the report will be used the next time your insurance is up for renewal and it is likely your rates will increase because of it.

Have him get two estimates and pay with a check that denotes that it is PAID IN FULL for damage to his vehicle on <date>

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Living well IS the best revenge!!

Well I just talked to my local insurance office. They are going to be handling this for us and we will not have to worry about anything. She said it does not count against us UNLESS it is over $750.00. And I'm pretty sure it is not over $150.00 so I'm feeling much better about this whole fiasco. She said if snippy guy contacts me, to just refer him to our insurance agent. My week has just got to get better!

If your insurance company is handling it for you and you don't think it's going to be over $150.00, then you must have a really, really low deductible or no deductible at all.

I still wouldn't get my insurance company involved in something so small. Your local insurance company can say anything they want but they have to report to the overall BIG insurance company from the main office when it comes to renewing your insurance.

Also, someone was talking about not having a car after an accident -- if it's the other driver's fault, their insurance company has to provide you with a car while the car is being repaired. That happened to us a few years ago. The car was waiting for us at the repair shop and when I picked up my car, I just left the rental car at the repair shop. So if the guy you hit needs a rental car, you'll be paying for that too (or your insurance company will).

I have to agree with Tammy on this one, though, if someone backed into me I would probably be upset too. I drive a beautiful Mustang GT and I'm pretty picky about it. I would probably be like 'why didn't you watch what you were doing?" Plus it's a lot of trouble to go thru if this guy didn't do anything but was just waiting to get his car washed and you backed up into him. He is the one who will have to get the estimates, take time off work and all the other stuff involved in getting his vehicle fixed. Plus he had to wait for the police officer to get there and probably made him late for wherever he was going. So I can see his side, too.

Hope you get everything worked out though without a lot of problems from it.

From reading your last post, it sounds like your deductible is $750 (right?) so it will be your responsibility to write a check to cover the cost of repair if less than $750? Right?

Maybe I'm confused. That's entirely possible. I think the policeman knew what the snippy man was saying about settling between yourselves... Be careful, ok?

There is some good advice in this thread.

The lady at the insurance office said the deductible applies to MY vehicle when it is damaged - not the other person's. And yes I am being careful - I'm letting the insurance company handle ALL of it. I work for a law firm - I know how people can come back 2 months later and say well it was really $300.00 in damages when you think they are happy with whatever payment you gave them. So I was not about to even GO THERE!

The OP is right, the deductible applies only to damages to your own vehicle which is where the comprehensive and collision coverages come in. Liability covers damage to the other person's vehicle. And, yes, the OP is also correct when she states if damages are less than $750 the accident will not count against her insurance rates.

Are you SURE about the $750 deductible applying to only your car? Anytime there's been an accident/incident with our cars (and with two boys there have been quite a few), whether it was their fault or not, the deductible had to come out of the person's pocket that CAUSED the accident, whether the damage was to their car or the other person's car.

It sounds like you need to talk to someone else in your insurance office or look over your policy real carefully. I think the being careful part that everyone is talking about pertains to your insurance company and what they're telling you.

Liability coverages do not have deductibles. Liability coverage is for damages to the other persons car.
Comprehensive and collision coverages have deductibles. Collision coverages are for damages to your vehicle.
In this case, the OP does not have any damages to her vehicle. So the collision coverage will not be used.
There were damages to another person's vehicle so the Liability coverage, which has no deductible, will cover those damages.

OP, so sorry. I was wrong about the deductible you have to pay. I don't know what I was thinking. As a matter of fact, this same thing happened to my sister a few years ago. She was sitting at the Wal-Greens parking lot exit and her car rolled back and barely tapped the car behind. The lady in the other car wouldn't let my sister pay her. She said she wanted to report it to my sister's insurance. And she did. My sister didn't have to pay the deductible. It was a small amount the insurance company had to pay BUT when it was time for my sister's insurance to be renewed, her insurance company brought up the 'accident' and her insurance went up because of it. She had no other claims but that one and it caused her insurance to go up.

Again, I apologize.

Aah, it is becoming clearer. Insurance always has been clear as mud to me.

Is liability coverage called 'property damage' or 'bodily injury'? Those are the only ones with $0 deductible on our policy.

Both are covered under liabiity. Property damage to the other person's vehicle and bodily injury for medical payments to the injured other person. Both coverages are usually so much per vehicle or person with a total amount paid per accident.
For example 100/300 property damages. $100,000 per vehicle, total paid per accident $300,000. So if you hit three vehicles and totaled them, your insurance would pay up to $100,000 per vehicle and a total of $300,000.
Sorry to say the limits required by some states is not adequate. Limits of 25/50 are not adequate IMHO. $25,000 won't even come close to paying for most vehicles nowadays.

So what is the $750 that OP mentioned in post #14? Is that the amount of damage against the other's vehicle where the insurance company will put points against the OP's policy? or raise her rates? or???

Thanks for explaining, gen.

geninichols - it sounds like you are an insurance expert. I have to agree with the other poster - when it comes to insurance, it is clear as mud to me too. And I wasn't going to pay snippy guy anything - I feel that is why I pay for insurance and when something even this small happens, they can handle it for me. I just don't want to deal with snippy guy - yes I was in the wrong, yes I should have looked but don't rub salt in my wound. And to the picky owner of the Mustang, I am also a very picky vehicle owner - I have a 2007 Ford Explorer that I just got in February - but accidents happen whether you are a picky vehicle owner or not. Thanks geninichols for the assurance posts - I was beginning to feel like turning it into my insurance to handle was the WRONG thing to do. But working in a law firm, I know all about what people sue other people for!

So, let me guess: You work in a law firm?

Really and truly, I work in a Drs. office so I know about all kinds of medical "stuff".

Regardless of whether this actually costs you anything out of pocket now, it will be reflected on your "history" the next time your policy comes up for review. And it could most definitely increase your premiums. I would have swallowed my pride and made nice with Pissy guy just to NOT have to report it to the insurance.

Surprisingly, you work in a law office but yet don't feel you could deal with pissy guy? What do you DO at the this law office? Obviously it must not involve dealing too much with the general public.

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Jesus love me--you he only tolerates!

I am a legal administrative assistant and YES I do deal with the public. But I know how people are - yes $100.00 will cover it says snippy guy. Six months later, snippy guy's damages turn into $300.00 - so then do I pay him another $200.00? I don't think so.

I have read all the posts and felt alot of anger from those "who have been hit". I am sure kathydanford did what is right for herself. I have been on the "been hit" list too and let my insurance/their insurance deal with it and I have dealt with the pay out of the pocket idea. I am thankful for those who have hit me did have insurance should any of the collision's needed the "insurance" way of dealing with things. Or at least if it was small we notigated between "us" to keep our insurance premiums/history out of the picture.

ahhhhh....it's all clearer now!

If you have or had as much legal knowledge as you have proclaimed ad nauseum, you would know that there are ways to keep pissy guy from coming back and demanding more money.

I, nor was anyone else, implying you should have paid the injured party any money at the time of the accident! It should have been a case of exchanging information and having him contact you after he got estimates to fix whatever damage YOU caused. And since "you work in a law office" you should have been able to draft a legal document stating what amount you would pay for the damages and that would release you from any and all future liability.

Good Grief! I knew how to do that almost 20 years ago...and I've never worked in a law office!

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Jesus love me--you he only tolerates!

I'm sorry - I don't know about the law firms where you are - but I'm a legal administrative assistant - so I don't practice law nor do I have a law degree. And good for you in knowing how to draft a legal document and never having worked in a law office - it's people like you whose mistakes our ATTORNEYS have to fix! I'm going to a corner to lick my wounds now.

Yes, that' it! You're getting it. Times have changed. Used to an accident was a chargeable accident no matter what the dollar amount of damages was. No more. In fact, I've seen commercials on TV (Allstate?) that allows one accident to be paid without affecting your insurance. Could be the fine print stipulates a dollar amount limit though.

I understand the OP not wanting to deal with someone with an attitude. Had the guy been reasonable from the start, the OP might have considered not involving her insurance.
I believe the OP did the right thing.

Snippy guy can take it where he wants to get estimates. However, most likely, the insurance adjuster will look at the damages and prepare an estimate. The adjuster will also have a list of body shops that will agree to fix it for the amount stated.
Or, the insurance company may request the snippy guy to obtain 2-3 estimates. Although I haven't seen that happen in a while because it causes the injured party to do the leg work which isn't fair.
Unless there's a lien on the vehicle the settlement check will be made out to snippy guy and he doesn't even have to get his vehicle fixed. He can just pocket the money. If there's a lien on the vehicle, the check will be made out to snippy guy and the body shop and quite possibly the lienholder.

A few months ago, someone rearended DH at stop sign. It was icy/slippery at the time so it wasn't as if she were being reckless or anything. There wasn't much damage seen first just a dent in the fender, but when this happened DH's min-van slipped out of gear. Then the problems began, within a week the transmission was stuck in reverse. So of course it needed a new one. What had first appeared as "no big deal" quickly became a VERY big deal. The persons insurance had to pay for a rental car for us for almost 3 wks, PLUS cover the cost of the repairs which amounted to over $3000 all together. So while I understand where the Op is coming from, I just had to say that it's not always the victims fault when "no big deal" and small $$ amounts quickly escalate into something much BIGGER and more expensive. I think OP did the right thing though with insurance as at least if there are problems later, stemming from her hitting "snippy guy" He will be covered by her insurance.

I thought automobile insurance guidelines varied quite a bit by state. I know in MA the state govt has their hands in it big time......

cj/

I totally agree! I was hit in the side two months ago. An older guy hit me and was getting ready to try and blame ME for driving too fast, which I wasn't. I had to get snippy with him so he KNEW that it was clearly his fault (he didn't look before he pulled out). It was such a hassle. I had to go and buy two new car seats out of my own pocket and wait to be reimbursed, which took almost a month. Then the 1st rental car we had, I had to return the next day cause they had someone else who needed a minivan. I had to lug both my kids up to the rental place, switch car seats to the 2nd rental car, all because this guy didn't look before he pulled out in front of ME. Add to the fact that I had the baby with me and I was NOT a happy camper. And he started calling me "honey."

Anyway, I called my insurance company when I got home. I could have filed the claim, but I would have had to pay my deductible if I filed and wait until they reimbursed me. I left him initiate the claim and I paid nothing, obviously. He ended up doing over $2,000 damage to my door then add in the rental car that was supposed to be for two days that turned in to five and two new car seats.

Anyway, OP, I would let your insurance handle it. There's no way I would pay the guy directly. Coming from someone who was recently hit, I can understand the snippiness of the guy (and no, I haven't caused any accidents in my 15 years of driving...yet). It's called an accident for a reason, but it doesn't make people any less upset when they are in one.

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Amy
Mom to Lauren, Eryn, Naysa
and announcing......
Gavin Michael Chase, 9 lbs 10 ozs
and 21 3/4 inches long on 10/13/09!

Where, oh where, do you infer that "snippy" guy was unreasonable?
He had just been hit by someone who wasn't paying attention. He didn't DEMAND payment right then and there (unless of course I missed something in the post). From my reading he did say that it probably wasn't more than $100 damage.

I don't give a flying flip about whether the OP involved her insurance; that's her loss. What my point was and what I think a lot of people saw was that the OP was put out because the VICTIM of her carelessness was UPSET with her. She seemed, in her posts, to think that the VICTIM should have been more congenial and happy about being hit!

I'd have attitud too (yeah I know that's a surprise to you all ) if someone carelessly backed into me!

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Jesus love me--you he only tolerates!

Who would have thunk it? LOL

I suspect we could say the same thing about snippy guy, who is now inconvenienced because someone didn't use her rear view mirror.

Accidents happen, but blaming the victim for getting annoyed (if he did) is completely ridiculous.

I totally agree. And since OP referred to me in one of her posts as "the picky owner of the Mustang", yes I AM picky. I worked hard for that car and it is paid for and is very well taken care of. And to have it damaged by someone who wasn't paying attention would really make me 'snippy'!!!

I backed my Suburban into a brand new truck. It had the molded 'plastic' bumpers (which I think is such a bad idea). Anyway, I made a small dent but the entire bumper needed to be replaced. The guy wasn't in his vehicle but I left a note with my name and number. He called me the next day and said that his wife got an estimate of a little over $800. I was shocked and he said we could handle it without getting insurance involved or I could give him my insurance info. I gave him my insurance info. and I'm not sure how much it will affect my rates but I don't think it would go up $800. The guy thanked my profusely for my honesty because most people would have driven off--this is not saying I wasn't tempted to do it. My vehicle didn't have a single mark on it.

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ----Edmund Burke

That was really decent of you Melodymom! My car has been hit TWICE by people in parking lots that left wit hout leaving notes -- and the damage was enough that there's no way they didn't know they'd hit me. One was in a courthouse parking lot -- the other at Sam's. I was so angry, but what can you do? Some people are just such creeps.

ROFLMAO...

Woo Hooo.... you crack me up!

Melodymom, that is very admirable of you.

The plastic bumpers may not hold up well in accidents but the passengers in vehicles with those bumpers hold up better than they used to in the old heavy 100% metal cars -- it's a safety factor. Something about the impact being less since the plastic 'gives' a little. My DH was telling me that it is the reason for the plastic.

Genicols, I saw you wrote something about 100/300 saying 100k is per vehicle and that's not for the vehicle. What that means is if you have coverages that are 100/300 is Bodily Injury in the amounts of 100k per person up to a maximum of 300k per accident and then whatever you have for Property Damage coverages for example if you have the recommended which most insurance companies offer it would be 50k meaning any damages you cause to someone else's property whether is a fence, mail box, house, car etc, the insurance will pay up to a maximum of 50k. I am a licensed insurance agent for The Hartford and this is why I know all this information. Every state has different limits of liabily requirements in which I feel many are on the low side, but as a licensed agent dealing with people from every state on a daily basis many of them want what's cheaper and lower not thinking ahead if something big happens that they will get sued and may loose what they worked so hard for. I give quotes and advise everyday and only 1 out of 10 would get the proper coverages to cover their assets while others say oh well I take the risk. Also Medical Payments are optional in many states while other states have a coverage called Personal Injury Protection (PIP also kniwn as No Fault) that is mandatory in somestates like NY minimum limit of $50k, FL minimum limit of 10k etc. and other states don't offer it or have it as an option for you to add on to your policy. The PIP covers people in your household and drivers listed on your policy. Medical payments are per person in your vehicle so if you have 5 people and they all seek medical treatment after an accident and you have a limit of 10, 15, 20, 25, 50, 75 or 100k whatever limit you have that's paid out per person in medical expenses.

Having worked in General Counsel for a P&C Insurance company for quite a while (before deciding to stay at home when my 1st son was born)...I believe what the adjuster was refereing to with the $750.00 is the threshhold amount. Where I live in the State of FL if the claim is under a $300.00 threshold amount it does not effect the premium...it will however be reviewed when your policy comes up for renewal.

If the claim is for $299.99 the premium is not effected, If it is for $300.01 there goes your rates. (However if you have a certain amount of claims(differing from Insurance company to Insurance Co and State to State) your policy can and probably will be dropped or rates increased due to the number of claims.

It is very prudent to notify your Insurance company of any type of accident. I have seen several cases come cross my desk where the accident wasn't reported and the vehicles were at a standstill and the insured rolled into the parked car at less than 5mph (usually at a red light and the foot slipped off the brake) and no damage was listed or occured to the vehicle but the Insured paid out of pocket for the claim (that probably didn't exist in the 1st place) and the other party comes back later with a large lawsuit and soft tissue injuries and large amounts of body damage to their vehicle (which any good adjuster can tell prior damage to current damage) but it is a pain to fight and a lot of times the insured looses out as they never reported it so we can not defend.

I know a lot of you believe not reporting and paying the other party directly is a good thing but just a word of warning...be careful...it may come back to bit you in the you know where.

Excuse you is right! YOU caused this accident. Did you really expect the guy to praise you to the skies for ruining HIS day? You're blaming the victim. He's 'snippy guy' and you want kudos for having insurance? So you should have insurance. It's the law and particularly advisable if you're going to hit other people through carelessness. You owe him an apology but instead blame him for not being cheerful enough to suit you after you inconvenienced him. If you resent him so much for not being charming after you hit him, how would you feel if you had permanently injured the man? Hate his guts?

Your whole attitude screams poor me and horrible him. This may come as a shock to you but (gasp!) there are THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of people who have never been involved in any type of automobile accident. Thanks to you, snippy guy isn't one of them. Yes, accidents happen but when they're your fault, it's unfair to blame the victim that you created.

Signed up a little while ago, but just now had time to start browsing. Sounds like a real friendly place to hang. NOT. I don't know if I really want to go read any other posts if this is how they members act.

yeah these people must have been having a pretty bad day! It's not always this rude here though, so stick around you'll see

we are real friendly
till someone uses the word snippy

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I think it's good you get a tattoo that reflects your heritage. I'm adopted, so I'm getting one of a recycling bin.

Know what I think your doing the right thing by letting the insurance co take care of it. I'm glad your ok.

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Laura
Please visit my blog
http://mylifeinlaurasworld.blogspot.com/

This thread has been going for a week now... Lots of posters coming and going. Summer heat -- no excuses, but yes, sometimes we get snippy too! But not too often!

Hopefully, the OP has found closure for this and that it all worked out for her. It's never hard to be in an accident... big or small, at fault or not. Luckily, time passes...

This is really a nice place. Sometimes there are threads that get heated, but usually everyone helps one another with their different opinions. I love The Cafe and the diversity that it brings. One minute I will have one opinion and then someone will post the other side and my opinion might change. I like seeing both sides of the fence and The Cafe can bring that.

But no this board is a nice place to hang out. And if you read some of the other posts you will find a wonderful group of ladies that really are very sweet.