Reading threads like this it is easy to see why insurance rates are so high. It is sad to see that some people think an accident is an oppertunity to stick it to people and get more money than something than it cost you, only to spend more money on mods. Insurance is not supposed to be a payment plan for repairs it is the cost of transfering risk of major loss. the advice of many people here is what make claims high, rates higher and pays alot of lawyers porshche payments. You did the right thing by getting the police report, but I try to work things out with people, and if no agreement can be made THEN I get lawyers and insurance involved. Most states are no-fault accident states.....which means YOUR insurance company pays you, and his pays his right now then the two companys lawyers decide who is at fault and who pays who....SO, what this means is that every accident regardless of fault is a claim and every claim make your rates go up! So chances are regardless of fault your rates go up and you will be paying for your repairs for the next 40 years

 

Hmmmm... what insurance do you have, planeguy ? Not every claim should make your rates go up. In fact, less than half our claims are the type that would make our insureds' rates go up.

But I do appreciate the premise of your post. Insurance fraud is a huge problem in this country and it costs all of us a lot of money each year.

The responsibility of the insurance company is to INDEMNIFY you. That is, to return your property to it's pre-accident condition. No better, no worse.

 

That said, however, if one were to reduce that indemnification to a dollar value and exchange those dollars, the property owner has been indemnified ("made whole", so to say), and would be able to spend that money as he or she wished - in essence being paid for work they're doing on their property that they otherwise would not have had to do.

Short way to say it: If it's cost-neutral and you're made whole, mod away. Just don't make the hittER pay more because the hittED felt like modding their car.

PS: Being "made whole" should also within reason take care of time and inconvenience.

 

Sure, DL2. We sometimes have policyholders who want to upgrade their car during the repair process. As long as they agree to pay the difference, no problem.

But no, time and inconvenience can't be measured so we, nor any other insurance company doesn't compensate for that. But when it comes to bodily injury claims, we do typically pay a subjective amount for "pain and suffering".

 

it was parked correctly.. Same spot every day at work.. Its hard to park incorrectly in these Mini's though, they are so damn small. HAHA

 

I think we would all agree with this . . . that's why people like I preface the advise to upgrade to aerokit bumpers with comments like:

I would not agree with this:
It is true that, in parking lots, if 2 of you are in your cars with engines running, most states are no-fault. They don't care who backed into who or who wasn't looking -- but that's not the same as: my car was in a spot, someone came around the corner and clipped my parked and empty car.

 

I've gone through this a few times with the other guy at fault. In my experience, it's WAY better to go through your own insurance company and pay your deductible unless you can't afford it. This accomplishes a bunch of things. Your car gets fixed at the location of your choosing. Your car gets fixed as fast as you want. Your insurance company gets to deal with the other guy's company for you. That's what you are paying for. Once the claim is done, you'll get a check from your insurance company for the money you put out for your deductible. If you go through the other guy's company it could take months to get approval to fix your car so unless you can't afford your deductible, call your insurance company today. Of course, this is just my $0.02.

 

He is not trying to stick it to anyone. (the man at fault) If damages done to a car are lets say...... 3,000 dollars then who cares whether you take that money and fix it back to stock or spend a thousand more out of your pocket and repair it to your own taste.