QuestionQUESTION: Dear Mr Petty
My 22 year old son was driving my car, a 15 year old one, on a windy road. A minivan was coming in the opposite direction in the middle of the road. My son had to swerve to avoid getting hit, and then proceeded to hit a mailbox, and a telephone pole. He fortunately is okay. The minivan never stopped. The police were called and he was towed away. Since this car doesn't have collision and he's only been on my insurance for a few weeks, we just decided to take care of the situation ourselves. Five days later, the man whose mailbox was hit put in a claim through his insurance. I then had to let my insurance know the details of the accident. My question is this: We are and were always willing to replace his mailbox and flagpole that he claims my son hit. If we go to him and say as such and ask him to drop the claim, will my insurance go up anyhow, since they know of the accident or are we safe if he drops the claim? The dollars in my house are stretched to the maximum as it is and I cannot afford more insurance. Also, my son is the victim here and it just infuriates me that we will have to pay more insurance if this claim goes through.
Thank you for reading. I will anticipate your answer.
ANSWER: There is truly no way for me to answer your question. Your question is common and if I had an answer, I would provide it. Here is the best I have. . .
Let the insurance handle it. There is no way you can erase the fact that the accident happened or that it was reported. Whether it was your son's fault will never be determined because there is no other person to point the finger at (which we can identify).
In almost every case, insurance companies count both occurrences and the amount that the occurrence costs them, so a claim that doesn't cost anything counts, but barely, and so on (even if it is closed without any resolution or payment). Each insurance company has their own underwriting procedures and guidelines, too, so you would have to get your underwriting department to answer the question as to how the claim being reported will affect your rates. I'd just let the insurance handle it, it shouldn't cause an increase and if it does, it should be very minor based on what you've told me so far.
I hope this helps!
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. I forgot to add two things to my question. One, my son is a new driver, so rates are high for him and two there was a witness to the event. I don't know if these make any difference, but I feel I have to cover all bases before I proceed.
Again, thank you for your time.
AnswerThe witness could be helpful, if the insurance tries to make the claim count as an "at fault" case, then use the witness to argue liability and make sure if there is any adjustment in the rate it is as minimal as possible. The new driver issue shouldn't be too big of a deal, that's why they have high rates to begin with, they sorta expect a minor claim or two.
Justin
