Auto Insurance Claims: To file or not to file when totalled, nissan altima gxe, nissan altima

Question
My 19-year-old son was distracted when pulling into a parking lot and hit a cement barrier supporting a light pole.  It was pretty much head on and did quite a bit of front-end damage, crushing the bumper through the radiator and deploying both airbags.  The pole was not damaged so we towed it ourselves to a body shop.  The shop says the airbag system alone could cost up to $3000 (wow!) and I'm sure the front end damage would be another $4000 or more based on other experience with this model.  They feel the car would be totalled by the insurance company.  It is a 1997 Nissan Altima GXE with 113K miles in fair+ condition.

I think the car would be valued at $2500 to $3000 retail so with a $500 deductable I might get $2000 from insurance for it.  We have no other accident claims but do have some small comprehensive and towing claims.  Our son moved into his own apartment recently and we were looking at getting him off our policy anyway.  The car and he are still listed at our home address and I think my wife is the main driver.

What do you think filing a claim with Geico would do to our policy permium?  Would it matter if we dop him from the policy?  Is it better to just total the car ourselves and sell it for salvage?  If we total it without filing a claim can the insurance company still get that info and affect our premium?

Thanks very much.

Answer
Given the facts provided the car is probably a Total Loss.

What you need to determine is the approximate Actual Cash Value (ACV) of the car so that you can make intelligent decisions.

Suggest you check both the Red Book and N.A.D.A (both should be available at your local library) to get a handle on the ACV.... do NOT use the Blue or Kelley book for valuation purposes as neither is used by the insurance industry.

Is your 19 year old son listed as a licensed driver on your current policy?

Has he had previous accidents or tickets?

Is the vehicle involved in the accident one that was basically exclusively his to drive?  If so, do you intend to replace it?

Depending on the total loss history on the policy (all drivers) you may well see a premium hike when your policy next renews.... your agent can give you a better idea what you might be looking at.

I am going to assume for what is to follow that the ACV is a couple of thousand dollars and if that is the case I would present the claim to your carrier and have them handle/pay it.  While you might well see a premium hike (over time)it should be small compared to walking away from a COLLISION (COLL) payment from GEICO in the thousands of dollars.

Is your son a F/T student?  If so, does he reside at home or at school?  If he resides at school, does he have a car at school that you provide and is covered under your policy of insurance?

You can opt to remove your son from your policy but it is cumbersome and some carriers may not permit that.... you need to look at the economic and legal ramifications of such a move..... that is beyond the scope of this question/answer.

Hope and trust that I have answered your question(s) and provided some direction.

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Thanks