QuestionMy son is away at school and had a minor accident. He slightly rear-ended a SUV with his truck. I'm not sure of the exact cost of the damage to the SUV, but I'm expecting it to be in the $300 to $500 range. His truck is fine but he did recieve a failure to yield ticket. My question is if I pay the owner of the SUV for his damages without filing a claim, will our insurance co. find out anyway because of the ticket? I talked to a police officer over the phone who said that if he went to court the judge would probably let him go to driving school to keep it off his record. His driving record is spotless as is ours and we have filed no claims . Thanks for your help.
AnswerAttempting to file a claim yourself is a very bad idea. First of all, I write about 1,000 damage estimates a year and only about 2% are under $500. Secondly, it is likely more than a rear end collision for your son to receive a failure to yield citation. Normally a rear end collision would result in a "following too close" citation so my guess is that there is damage to the side/corner area of the other vehicle. This is not likely going to be repaired for what you are thinking. 1/4 panel damage can get well over $1,000 in a hurry.
Lastly. Per the terms of the insurance policy that you signed and agreed to, you must report all accidents. If you fail to do so and they find out, your policy can be cancelled and any non-reported claims can be denied as the insurance company has lost their right to defend you when the claim was not reported.
You are paying them to handle your claims. If you try to handle a claim and fail, and then come back later wanting them to pick up the peices,,,they don't have to at that point. So at that point, what will you have accomplished? You'll be left holding the bag for everything.
I'd strongly recommend that you file the claim.
Good luck!
