Auto Insurance Claims: my first accident..., fender bender, own insurance

Question
QUESTION: This morning I was involved in my first fender bender (yay).  a cop was racing across the intersection and I had the green light but the lady in front of me had to stop short and i rear ended her at like 8 mph. nobody was hurt.  another police officer filed an accident report which wont be ready until tuesday.  I never got the information of the other driver, but i assume it will all be on the police report.  Additionally, both cars have minimal damage and as a result my car needs no repair (any scratches and dings I will fix myself)  So do I still need to file a claim?  the other driver is filing a claim for her vehicle, so i assume that if my car is not damaged it would be redundant to file a claim too. i also dont want my rates to go up if i dont need to file a claim.  thanks.

ANSWER: Hi Paul,
Yes, you need to file a report with your own insurance company for two reasons.
First, most states require that anytime that you are involved in an accident, proof be filed that you were insured at the time of the accident.
Secondly, you will be considered at fault for this accident (following to close) and her company will file to recover against your company.  Your company will need a report from you before they can pay, plus they will want to see the damage on your vehicle.

I hope this information has been of help.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: okay I went ahead and filed a claim. I dont want to claim any damage on my car, since i can fix it myself, and the damage on the other car should be less than my deductible.  If I'm reading my policy right, an "accident" is defined as more than $1000 of damage, so if the damage is less than $1000 for the other car, my rates shouldnt go up.  does that sound right? thanks!

Answer
Hi Paul,
There are over 600 insurance companies operating in the United States.  Only about 50 of which operate on a national basis, the rest operate in a 'regional' area or even in just one state.  Even the ones that operate on a national basis have different legal wording for their policy in different states.
Although I have never had the opportunity to read every policy written in the U.S., I can safely say that I have read over 100.

I have never seen the wording  "...an "accident" is defined as more than $1000 of damage, so if the damage is less than $1000 for the other car..." that you state is contained in your policy.

The only way that you can know for sure if this will cause a rate increase is to call your personal agent.

I hope this information is of help.
Your feedback by rating my answer will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie