Auto Insurance Claims: underinsured vs. collision claims, collision claims, sharing your expertise

Question
Someone hit my parked car and caused some damage to the rear driver side door and I noticed a few scratches on the driver side panel.  Whoever hit my car didn't leave a note identifying themselves.  I submitted a claim with my insurance company.  The adjuster said I have two options, I can submit this as a collision claim or under-insured motorist claim.  My deductible for the collision is $250 and for under-insured motorist it's $500.  The adjuster said he thought I should go the under-insured route because it will be less of a risk on my profile whenever my policy is re-rated.  He said if I went the collision route, I would pay less now but it could lead to higher premiums because it is a collision claim.  Is he right and are there benefits to collision claims versus under-insured claims besides the difference in deductible?  Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise.

Answer
Each company handles premium adjustments differently so it is not possible for me to give a firm answer.  At my company, we would not penalize you - we would simply give you the lower deductible and mark the accident as non-surchargeable.

I would hope your insurer would do the same - this is the right thing to do.  The claim rep is probably not knowledgeable on this subject.  You should speak to someone at your insurer who sells or underwrites policies.  If you bought the policy from an agent, speak to that person and ask for their help.  If not, you may be out of luck - one reason why it pays to buy from an agent and not an 800 #.  But you could ask to speak to an Underwriter who might be able to help.