[wakeboarder109]

So a few weeks back I slid into a ditch and cracked the front bumper and kinked the left fender on my Honda Accord. The car is a year and a half old but is a '13 so still fairly new. It's not a huge deal but since i take customers out for work I would rather have the car fixed properly. I have an estimate from the shop I'd like to have fix it and the bumper, fender repaint and its roughly $1,500.00.

To anyone who has ever filed an accident with their insurance company, how much would rates go up for a minor repair like this? I have never had an accident but just switched to USAA within the last few months. My deductible is $500 as I am very careful with my cars. Should I just pay it out of pocket and call it a day?

[ddk632]

Pay it out of pocket.

The differential is only $1000. That means if your rate goes up by more than $333/yr over 3 years, the insurance claim will have cost you more than paying out of pocket.

You will have an accident on your record for the next 3 years (or is it longer?) if you report it, so rates will go up and so will renewals even at a different company. If you want to know by how much, get a quote from another insurer for research purposes, first with no accident, then with an accident.

Maybe someone with some experience can post how much their rates went up. Generally though for only a grand (because you'd be out the remaining $500 no matter what), I would just suck it up and pay it out of pocket.

[wakeboarder109]

Originally Posted by ddk632

Pay it out of pocket.

The differential is only $1000. That means if your rate goes up by more than $333/yr over 3 years, the insurance claim will have cost you more than paying out of pocket.

You will have an accident on your record for the next 3 years (or is it longer?) if you report it, so rates will go up and so will renewals even at a different company. If you want to know by how much, get a quote from another insurer for research purposes, first with no accident, then with an accident.

Maybe someone with some experience can post how much their rates went up. Generally though for only a grand (because you'd be out the remaining $500 no matter what), I would just suck it up and pay it out of pocket.

I would be surprised if it went up $333/yr but I could be wrong. I'm leaning towards just paying it cash but would like some feedback from anyone with some experience.

[bimmerfrk]

Ask on the Honda forums. I'm sure they have had similar experiences.

All I can say your lucky it was not your bimmer.

[ddk632]

Like I said, get a quote with and without, and you'll get an idea of the difference.

[glhs379]

At fault accident surcharges r state regulated. It is a percentage of the premium but u will not know until your next renewal how much. I am an underwriter for over 10 years and have had them range from 100 to 300. But that is only 1 time increase not every renewalt thereafter

[KingOfJericho]

Pay out of pocket.

Here's my experience: A few years ago I was in an accident with my Exige. The claim was right around $30k. They paid the entire thing and my premium barely changed. About six months later I hit a giant buck with my DD Altima SE-R. That claim was about $3k. My rates went through the roof. NOT because of the Lotus accident, but because I had two accidents in close succession which, regardless of the dollar amounts, put me into a high risk category as the frequency of incidents increased. Had I paid for the Altima accident out of pocket, I don't think my rates would have increased nearly as much as they did. My insurance company actually told me that was the case as well. Lesson learned.

Also, you're wasting money by having a low ($500) deductible. You should always pay out of pocket for any incident under $2k anyway so it makes sense to have a $1k-2k deductible and save yourself a nice chunk on premiums.

[P1]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Pay out of pocket.

Here's my experience: A few years ago I was in an accident with my Exige. The claim was right around $30k. They paid the entire thing and my premium barely changed. About six months later I hit a giant buck with my DD Altima SE-R. That claim was about $3k. My rates went through the roof. NOT because of the Lotus accident, but because I had two accidents in close succession which, regardless of the dollar amounts, put me into a high risk category as the frequency of incidents increased. Had I paid for the Altima accident out of pocket, I don't think my rates would have increased nearly as much as they did. My insurance company actually told me that was the case as well. Lesson learned.

Also, you're wasting money by having a low ($500) deductible. You should always pay out of pocket for any incident under $2k anyway so it makes sense to have a $1k-2k deductible and save yourself a nice chunk on premiums.

That last part is excellent advise, thank you.

[wakeboarder109]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

Pay out of pocket.

Here's my experience: A few years ago I was in an accident with my Exige. The claim was right around $30k. They paid the entire thing and my premium barely changed. About six months later I hit a giant buck with my DD Altima SE-R. That claim was about $3k. My rates went through the roof. NOT because of the Lotus accident, but because I had two accidents in close succession which, regardless of the dollar amounts, put me into a high risk category as the frequency of incidents increased. Had I paid for the Altima accident out of pocket, I don't think my rates would have increased nearly as much as they did. My insurance company actually told me that was the case as well. Lesson learned.

Also, you're wasting money by having a low ($500) deductible. You should always pay out of pocket for any incident under $2k anyway so it makes sense to have a $1k-2k deductible and save yourself a nice chunk on premiums.

That is definitely understandable. I will definitely look into raising the deductible and see what kind of difference that will make. Thanks for the tip.

[wakeboarder109]

Originally Posted by glhs379

At fault accident surcharges r state regulated. It is a percentage of the premium but u will not know until your next renewal how much. I am an underwriter for over 10 years and have had them range from 100 to 300. But that is only 1 time increase not every renewalt thereafter

Just to clarify, if I'm paying $400 right now my next renewal may go up a given amount for that renewal but then the premium should drop back to the previous rate?

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by wakeboarder109

Just to clarify, if I'm paying $400 right now my next renewal may go up a given amount for that renewal but then the premium should drop back to the previous rate?

Yes, but it'll take 3-5 years to do so. For example, GEICO looks at a five year driving history while most others only look at three. If you have GEICO and they raise your rates, ditch them after three years and find another provider.