Insurance claim advice/suggestions?

[onegoodbike]

Hi, anyone here got any experience of this sort of thing?.

I had the misfortune to scrape a colleagues car in the works car park recently, my fault entirely and I have fully comp insurance so no issues there, however I wondered if anyone could offer some advice on the matter of my car.

When on the phone reporting the accident I was asked whether I required repair to my vehicle (a vw camper), I instinctively answered yes as there are a couple of scrapes to the side and a dent in the wheel arch, but having looked at the damage this morning it's fairly minor, some of it will polish out and with a bit of sanding and filling the dent could be made good.

So, my question is, is there any benefit to me not to have the repair done on my insurance?, I have protected no claims, so that should be safe, but I'm intending to change cars soon so will have to declare the accident when getting new insurance, does the cost of the claim have any bearing on future insurance costs?, or is a claim a claim regardless of the expense?.

I hope the my description and queries make sense to some of you, any suggestions/experiences with this sort of issue would be gratefully received.

Cheers Matt

 

[unit3]

Re:

If you can get it fixed yourself for a good price, dont go through insurance, you will get stung when renewing.

On a side not, the fact it is december will also have an affect when you come to renewal, its the worst time of the year to have a claim unfortunately.
Insurance company's are a'holes As we aall know.

 

[Midlife]

You have already told the insurance company so "the cat is out of the bag" as they say. Might have been better just to pay evertything out of your own pocket without telling the insurance but that chance has gone.

The insurance company will appoint a claims company who will get in touch with you and take it from there. Paying for your own repair wil not influence things as it's the accident itself and not the cost of the repair that counts.

Shaun

 

[onegoodbike]

Re:

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies, although the damage to my camper is minor (cos it's built like a battleship) the same cannot be said for the wing and bumper of the car I scraped, so I don't think paying for the repair myself was ever going to be an option unfortunately.

My main issue was whether it'd make any difference if my vehicle was also professionally repaired as well, I suspected as much as Shaun has said, one claim is one claim regardless of the cost.

Cheers Matt

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

Basically, what Midlife said. Just get it done off your insurance now.

 

[legrandefromage]

The first mistake was calling your insurers. It will now go down on the log so your premium will go up regardless of repair costs - even if its zero.

Always ALWAYS offer to get it repaired first at the local painters, NEVER report it to an insurer unless its on a public road and theres lots of bits everywhere.

 

[jonnugget69]

Re:

But on the other hand. If someone hits you, never, ever let them repair your car without reporting it to your insurance. You will have no comeback for sub standard repairs.