True. It also works better if your insurance company is known for better service than the other person’s company. Some are, some aren’t.
The cheaper-faster-better triangle applies to insurers just like it applies everywhere else. We can debate what exactly the proverbial “faster” means in the insurance context, but cheaper & better are always at least partly opposing forces. And each of us chooses which mix of that we prefer.
My mantra has for a long time been “Good judgement comes from experience which comes from bad judgement.” I’ve said it so many times my wife has even started saying it.
Keep in mind that a car that’s been in an accident will lose value regardless of how well it is repaired. Buyers will factor in the accident history when deciding how much to pay. So if you decide to keep the car, it will probably sell for less than if it hasn’t been in an accident.
It won’t matter if you’re like me and plan on keeping the car indefinitely. And it’s actually kind of nice to get the car back from the body shop; they’ve repaired the damage caused by the other driver as well as a few nicks that were caused by me and washed and waxed it. It’s a bit like getting the car refreshed,
A conditional + 1 for this. But you should also consider that it’s not just your own Collision coverage you need to worry about, but your Rental coverage. Even if the other party admits fault, and you go to your own carrier to fix, they (depending on carrier) may be happy to do so, may even waive your DED since they know they’ll get to recover it ( depending on the carrier) but if you DON’T have rental reimbursement with your own carrier, you generally have to pay ALL of that cost out of pocket and go try to recover from the other carrier. And since rental car rates remain comparatively high, that can be a LOT out of pocket. And they (most carriers) will often only pay out at their own rate-negotiated costs.
So, IN GENERAL (proviso) if you have a good, reliable carrier and very complete coverage (including rental) - doing it through them is a solid option. If any of the above are missing, again IN GENERAL you’re better going through the At-Fault Party’s coverage because they have the obligation to make you whole beyond the strict limits of coverage your personal policy may carry.
The “In general” was in all caps repeatedly because, duh, there are soooo many scenarios. Don’t get me started about uninsured motorists (even if they admit fault or were caught at the scene), excluded drivers on unapproved vehicles, Underinsured drivers (you do know that the state minimums for property damage in CA is $5k US?), No fault states, and a host of other exceptions.
I completely agree with this as well. Now that you mention it, one of the reasons I dealt with the other guy’s insurance company in that first accident I mentioned upthread was because I didn’t have rental car coverage of my own at the time. After that experience, I made sure to add it to all of my auto policies.
Ok, that is a general rule of thumb, but of course they can adjust it with reasonable limits.