Had a minor accident-seeking advice on settling without claiming on insurance

[ob1ob]

I was involved in a minor accident that was my fault. The damage isn’t severe, so the other driver seems ok with me paying for the repairs out of pocket. I’m currently waiting for an estimate. I wanted to be transparent about this and called my insurance agent and was told that it’s best to avoid a claim if possible. I’m sure they don’t want to pay out, and at the same time I would also like to avoid a premium increase. I read that the average increase is 64% after a claim. Any advice on how to proceed and minimize any potential issues? Should I ask for a copy of the estimate and/or repair bill, have some sort of signed agreement? How should I handle the payment? Pay the shop directly or to the car owner? Would Venmo or Zelle be ok or check only? Apologies for all of the questions, but I haven’t been in this situation before. Thanks.

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[null98115]

I'm helping my daughter through a similar situation and have found that many repair shops in Denver won't do an out of pocket repair. I've never run into that in Seattle. So, depending on where you are, that might be a barrier. You should ask for at least two estimates and ideally three. Finally, in a perfect world, the repair shop will allow you to pay them directly so you can put it on a card to have a paper trail.

 

[MM Mav]

My previous vehicle was hit in a parking lot, causing damage to the passenger rear bumper area. Thankfully the responsible driver left a note. In communicating with the at fault party, he asked to pay for damages out of pocket.

I got estimates from 3 shops, shared them with him, and he ultimately paid my chosen shop for the repairs out of pocket. He also covered the rental car costs.

Yes - get copies of the estimates. If at all possible, pay the shop directly. My shop wouldn't order parts until the responsible party paid the estimate cost.

 

[Automan21]

Should I ask for a copy of the estimate and/or repair bill, have some sort of signed agreement? How should I handle the payment? Pay the shop directly or to the car owner? Would Venmo or Zelle be ok or check only?

Yes get copies of estimate and bill, signed detailed notarized agreement with the other party, pay the shop directly with a check or some kind of traceable payment.

They might get funny and say they never agreed to the arrangement and hit you up in the future for payment or say it was a hit and run and then ur in problems.

 

[PapaRico]

I was involved in a minor accident that was my fault. The damage isn’t severe, so the other driver seems ok with me paying for the repairs out of pocket. I’m currently waiting for an estimate. I wanted to be transparent about this and called my insurance agent and was told that it’s best to avoid a claim if possible. I’m sure they don’t want to pay out, and at the same time I would also like to avoid a premium increase. I read that the average increase is 64% after a claim. Any advice on how to proceed and minimize any potential issues? Should I ask for a copy of the estimate and/or repair bill, have some sort of signed agreement? How should I handle the payment? Pay the shop directly or to the car owner? Would Venmo or Zelle be ok or check only? Apologies for all of the questions, but I haven’t been in this situation before. Thanks.

Don't forget about a medical release as well.

 

[ob1ob]

These are all great points. Needing a signed and notarized agreement, medical release, etc it seems like I should meet with an attorney to ensure that I’m protected from potential future liability. It’s sounding like just claiming it on insurance is the safest way to go.

 

[1929]

These are all great points. Needing a signed and notarized agreement, medical release, etc it seems like I should meet with an attorney to ensure that I’m protected from potential future liability. It’s sounding like just claiming it on insurance is the safest way to go.

Were you in accident with honest person or dishonest person?
My experience is most people who don't want to involve insurance or police are people that have circumstances where they don't have money, a license, insurance.
People that are honest become dishonest when they get greedy and try to take advantage of the situation.
Anything more than a scratch or dent = involve police if possible. Even if you and the other party agree to a non-insurance solution you want to have documentation of the facts of the incident.
If you are at fault and are paying out of pocket to the other party, obtain a release at same time of payment. Yes, I'd want a minimum of two estimates.

Any damage more than $500 I'd want to involve insurance. Any work that a shop does is going to be more than $500.

My advice, go thru insurance. If you damage your vehicle yourself, or your kids or spouse damage your vehicle yourself and you want to avoid a claim then by all means don't file a claim and pay out of pocket. In an accident with another party, this is why you pay insurance.

 

[ob1ob]

Were you in accident with honest person or dishonest person?
My experience is most people who don't want to involve insurance or police are people that have circumstances where they don't have money, a license, insurance.
People that are honest become dishonest when they get greedy and try to take advantage of the situation.
Anything more than a scratch or dent = involve police if possible. Even if you and the other party agree to a non-insurance solution you want to have documentation of the facts of the incident.
If you are at fault and are paying out of pocket to the other party, obtain a release at same time of payment. Yes, I'd want a minimum of two estimates.

Any damage more than $500 I'd want to involve insurance. Any work that a shop does is going to be more than $500.

My advice, go thru insurance. If you damage your vehicle yourself, or your kids or spouse damage your vehicle yourself and you want to avoid a claim then by all means don't file a claim and pay out of pocket. In an accident with another party, this is why you pay insurance.

These are all concerns that I have. He seems fine with my paying out of pocket now but who knows what could happen later. If he or his passenger later claim an injury, I could be facing a lawsuit. If he refuses to sign a release at the time of payment that may also leave me vulnerable. His front fender was dented and bumper cover cracked so there is no question that the repair will greatly exceed $500.

 

[Jasun]

A few weeks ago, I was a passenger in an Uber (my car is at the repair shop) and was involved in an accident, and the Uber driver’s insurance refused to cover the damages. At that point, I decided to contact a lawyer from Gladstein Law Firm, and they took over all communication with the insurance companies and handled the entire process.
In my case, the lawyer recommended that I get a copy of the repair estimate and make sure that any agreement is signed by both parties to avoid any potential issues in the future. Regarding the payment for repairs, if you decide to pay directly, make sure to do it through a secure method, such as a check, to have clear proof of payment.

 

[Optimus]

FYI this post is 10 months old and likely resolved or well passed its starting point in March 2024.

 

[AzureBlueBill]

These are all concerns that I have. He seems fine with my paying out of pocket now but who knows what could happen later. If he or his passenger later claim an injury, I could be facing a lawsuit. If he refuses to sign a release at the time of payment that may also leave me vulnerable. His front fender was dented and bumper cover cracked so there is no question that the repair will greatly exceed $500.

I had similar damage on a Subaru, and mostly due to having to repaint about 1/2 of the car to get everything to color-match (white pearl color), it ended up being $4800! Maybe you do want to put in an insurance claim? Stuff gets real expensive real fast these days.

 

[Jasun]

I was involved in a minor accident that was my fault. The damage isn’t severe, so the other driver seems ok with me paying for the repairs out of pocket. I’m currently waiting for an estimate. I wanted to be transparent about this and called my insurance agent and was told that it’s best to avoid a claim if possible. I’m sure they don’t want to pay out, and at the same time I would also like to avoid a premium increase. I read that the average increase is 64% after a claim. Any advice on how to proceed and minimize any potential issues? Should I ask for a copy of the estimate and/or repair bill, have some sort of signed agreement? How should I handle the payment? Pay the shop directly or to the car owner? Would Venmo or Zelle be ok or check only? Apologies for all of the questions, but I haven’t been in this situation before. Thanks.

It is way too late to help OP since this happened back in 2024, but anyone reading this now needs to know that paying out of pocket is a massive risk.

For instance, I tried handling a minor scratch this way, but the driver changed his mind months later and filed a fraudulent injury claim anyway. To prove the matter was already settled and protect my record, I hired Louisville Uber & Lyft Accident Lawyer Tyler Thompson to handle the dispute. They used my shop invoices and payment records to force the insurer to drop the case completely.

If you go this route, always get a signed liability waiver first and pay the shop directly. Otherwise, you risk paying for the repairs and still needing an attorney later when the driver gets greedy.

 

[MakinDoForNow]

These are all great points. Needing a signed and notarized agreement, medical release, etc it seems like I should meet with an attorney to ensure that I’m protected from potential future liability. It’s sounding like just claiming it on insurance is the safest way to go.

I had a drivers side rear fender bent in. Initial estimate was around $6700.00 wound up being $12,722.00 plus 7 weeks car rental. Among other things welding required bed liner to be resprayed (about $700 plus towing to and from body shop (about $735). I also got a $2040.00 check for diminished value and signing medical release. So at fault drivers ins was out over $17k.
Also have body shop pull error codes before and after repairs just in case sensors, harnesses, etc are all repaired.

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