Legal question - paying for other car repair without insurance

In My Humble Opinion (IMHO)
#1

I hit a mirror on another car in my back alley a couple of weeks ago, and since the repair to the other car will cost about the same as my insurance deductible ($500), I have decided to not go through insurance so my rates don’t go up. I am wondering, however, about having the owner of the other car sign some kind of quit claim or something, indicating that he agrees that the mirror repair is the only damage I did to his car, and I am completely released from all current and future claims from him once this mirror is repaired.

What do you think? Is this necessary?Is it a good idea? How would you handle this?

ETA: You may be a lawyer, but you’re not my lawyer, and I intend this only for opinion purposes, not as legal advice.

#2

Most liability insurance does not have deductible. Your deductible is usually applied to your collision and comprehensive insurance, i.e. to repair your own car. The other parties car will be covered under your liability policy, which in my experience does not have a deductible. Now you are correct that it will likely cause your future liability premiums to go up depending upon your insurance carriers policy.

#3

My car was hit by someone a few years age - I took a cheque from the fella rather than going through insurance and gave him a letter that basically said the cheque was payment in full and he was fully indemnified of any further claims by me. Its a good idea to get a letter like that.

#4

What alice said. If you go this route, it would be a good idea to get them to sign such a letter. But if they won’t, I’d seriously consider going through insurance. That way if he comes back and tries to claim something later, they’ll put the kibosh on it. If you handle this yourself, they can’t help you later.

*And *what **Omar **said, because you wouldn’t pay a deductible for repairs to somebody else’s vehicle. A deductible only applies when you’re getting your own vehicle fixed. Yes, an at-fault claim will cause a rate increase, because people who’ve had accidents in the past are more likely to cause accidents in the future.

The choice of whether or not to file a claim is up to you of course, and it’s not illegal to settle out-of-pocket, but I really think you should just file the claim. Your rates probably aren’t going to go up THAT much, they won’t go up until your next renewal period, and you won’t have to pay ANYTHING out-of-pocket right now.

Not to mention, paying the other guy out-of-pocket can severely limit your insurance company’s ability to intervene later, if he turns out to be a shyster. Most people can do this and it turns out okay, because most people are trustworthy. It would probably turn out okay if you did it, too. But you cannot evaluate a stranger’s trustworthiness with any degree of certainty. If you think he’s trustworthy and he turns out to be trustworthy, that was just a coincidence.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

#5

Check with your insurance company - For at least some of them, an at-fault accident up to some amount ($500 or so) will not cause in increase in your premiums. If this is the case for you, then there is no reason not to get them to pay for it.

#6

I’ve talked to my insurance company already - they informed me that they recommended that I pay for the amount myself and not make a claim, because of the $500 deductible that I would be paying. Insurance here is obviously working differently than insurance in other parts of the world - as far as I understand, I always have to pay my deductible unless the other party’s insurance is paying my deductible (because the other driver was at fault in hitting me).

#7

Oh, you’re in Canada. gak! My advice only applies in America. Sorry. :frowning: The good news is, you don’t live in Land of the Lawsuits. But if your insurance company has advised you to handle this yourself, you might consider calling them back and asking them about the advisability/legality of a quitclaim document.

#8

That’s a good idea - let them do a tiny little bit of work for the $200 I pay them every month.

#9

Get it writing signed by the agent. You don’t want them coming back later saying so and so was not authorized to make that decision.

#10

I don’t know that you really need them to do work. Just call your agent back and mention you’re interested in having the other party sign a release of liability and ask if they have some sort of blank form they can let you borrow. If you don’t get a release it’s not just your ass, it’s your insurance company’s ass, too. The other party could cash your check and then submit a frivolous injury claim to your insurance company 2 or 3 or 6 or 20 months down the road.