To use insurance or not...

[sircruisealotVS]

Well I'm just wondering what my best course of action is following a small car accident I had last night.

Basically I'm at fault, but the damage is fairly minor and I don't really want to claim it on insurance and pay the excess then have them pump up my premium as well.
It was only a small accident - the car infront of me at an intersection turning left started merging into traffic and I rolled forward to check for traffic to see if I was clear to go too, thinking the car infront had gone already.
But when I did my check for traffic and it was clear, as i started to accelerate I bumped into the car infront because she for some reason decided to slam her brakes on (with no traffic in sight!).

So her car was a new mazda hatchback and just crumpled, the boot has a ripple and her rear bar a dint - my car is almost untouched, the number plate is a bit bent and there is a couple of scuff marks, but thats it, no dints or anything to even bother repairing, you can't even tell it was in an accident.

So my thoughts are, do I even bother telling my insurance company about it? Will her insurance just send me a letter of demand for compensation of damages that i can pay and thats that?

[Krisp]

well you can almost see a ripple in her boot and the dent in her bar will equate to a new piece of each including paint. might as well claim

[walesy]

if you can offord to pay for her damages then if it was me id do that, then your not claiming on such a small accident, losing your no claim bonus etc etc... id save it incase you have a bigger accident

[minux]

Fairly sure you must inform the insurer about the accident irrelevant to whether you wish to claim or not. As it may change their judgement on your coverage. Check your PDS most will say you must inform regardless.

All this said, you would have to be an idiot to not inform the insurer. What if 3 months down the track the woman claims her spine was injured in the shunt? You did not claim so YOU are liable for all damages.

All for the sake of a few hundred dollars.

People really should think more.

[Krisp]

. What if 3 months down the track the woman claims her spine was injured in the shunt? You did not claim so YOU are liable for all damages..

Isnt that covered under 3rd party insurance when you pay for your licence every year?

[GenReaper]

Minux is right because if she puts in an injury claim your screwed and these days its all the rage to claim injury for easy money.

[Jacko84]

yes it is claimed under 3rd party ur licence if you have insurance, if not your in the shit,

[GenReaper]

Until they find out the accident wasnt reported to the Police and your cover is null and void.

[sircruisealotVS]

Fairly sure you must inform the insurer about the accident irrelevant to whether you wish to claim or not. As it may change their judgement on your coverage. Check your PDS most will say you must inform regardless.

All this said, you would have to be an idiot to not inform the insurer. What if 3 months down the track the woman claims her spine was injured in the shunt? You did not claim so YOU are liable for all damages.

All for the sake of a few hundred dollars.

People really should think more.

Well fair enough then, I fail to see how personal injury has anything to do with property damage - being completely different policies and all, but thats an opinion your entitled to.
But personal injury isn't covered in a full comprehensive policy, it's covered in your compulsory third party policy you undertake when registering a vehicle.

There is also no grounds for contacting the police and/or making a police report about the accident because neither party was injured and total damage would be under the $2500 threshold where you are then required to report it.
As for being "All for the sake of a few hundred dollars" - the excess on my policy is $1500, so that's not quite as small as you make it out. Not to mention then the increase in premiums.
For all that outlay it's likely to cost the same if not less to pay damages out of my own pocket.

As of now, I've already been in contact with her insurer and they are fine with me paying it myself and not claiming it on my insurance.