First off, I realize these things vary by state and insurance carrier, so I am just looking for general advice/opinions.
My 16 yr old nephew was in a fairly minor low speed (nobody hurt) wreck. It was his fault, he pulled out in front of someone and basically got broadsided. From what I understand, the other vehicle had very minor damage and they were a very nice older couple. I do understand they will probably want to file a claim on my sisters’ (nephews mom) insurance.
Nephews’ car is old enough where his damage will surely total the car, but I know a lot of car people and it can be fixed.
My sister wrecked her own car about 5 months ago, and it was totaled.
The question is, does my sister HAVE to file on nephews car? She is freaked out about having two totaled cars in less than 6 months, and what that will do to her rates, especially having to insure a 16 yr old boy.
She is going to try to work out a cash deal with the other party without involving insurance, but if they insist on filing a claim, can she say to her insurance company something like “Yeah, we were at fault, and want the other party taken care of but we don’t want to file a claim on nephews car.”
Would this even matter re her rates going up?
I apologize if I am not real clear on this, and appreciate any responses.
It is perfectly legal to take care of the problem without involving the insurance company. My daughter was driving my wife’s car and was hit by someone making an illegal left hand turn. Everything was taken care of without involving either insurance company, in fact, the at fault party’s insurance company even paid for a lawyer to draw up an agreement for us. As long as the vehicle owner can pay the ‘claim’ in full at the time it is due, there is no need to involve any insurance companies.
Your sister can also easily choose to allow insurance to pay for damage to the other car while choosing not to seek compensation for the damage to your nephew’s. Of course, if the idea is to get nephew’s car repaired, the insurance company may balk about continuing to cover the car after repairs are done off-policy.
In California there is a requirement to file a notice with the DMV if the property damage exceeds a set dollar amount. It used to be $500, and I believe it has recently been increased to $750.
Well, I don’t know what insurance company you have, or what your policy specifies, I’d have to read it, or what your insurance agent would say. I went through this for a friend once & talked to the insurance company in person & they said the rates would be the same if the claim was under $750. They also lowered her rate when she got her next statement for some odd reason, even though it came to $2,000+.
So there is no way for me to tell you what you can/can’t do unless I come with you to your insurance company, which I don’t think I’m going to do
