pnoeric...
According to these FAQs on the site of the Grenfield, CA
Police Department, you are correct in thinking that you
may choose not to report an accident to your insurance
company:
"Q: Who is responsible for reporting an accident to the
insurance company?
A: There is no legal requirement for a driver to report
to their insurance company that he/she has been involved
in a traffic accident. The normal procedure is for driver
involved to inform their insurance company of the accident.
Your insurance agent will then guide you through the
process of filing a claim. The accident report will have
insurance information for all the parties involved. In
the event the other driver does not notify their insurance
company, you or your agent can forward a copy of the report
to the insurance company."
http://www.ci.greenfield.ca.us/Police_F_A_Q.htm
What's more important is that you make sure you report
the accident to the police so that the incident is on
file and, if you decide to report it to your insurance
company at a later time, you have a copy of it so that
you can provide them with the report number and the name
of the reporting officer. When you said "I believe the
accident was my fault", it makes it sound like a police
report was not filed. The point of filing the police
report is so that the insurance companies can come to
an agreement on who was at fault, so that the company
of the party who is at fault will assume the expenses
for repairs.
In the absence of a police report, even if you admit to
"probably" being at fault, your company may be reluctant
to shoulder the entire amount and will likely attempt to
negotiate with her company for a share of the costs. The
companies will take statements from both parties and
attempt to determine who was at fault and what percentage
of damages each company should assume. This could drag
out the process.
The fact that the other person is going out of town and
won't be able to provide you with a quote until she comes
back is a perfectly understandable situation, and will
not be penalized by your company if you contact them at
a later date.
A clear indication that insurance companies don't care
if you opt to handle the repairs on your own is the
fact that you can set your deductible at a higher amount
in order to keep your payments lower. This allows you,
and requires you, to handle all repairs that are, say,
less than $1000, if that is the amount of your deductible.
I also phoned a local agent for Farmers insurance, which
is the company I use. He confirmed everything I've said
above, and also suggested that, if you have an agent you
can contact, you should do so. He noted that your agent
is not in a hurry to contact the company so that they
can raise your rates, as many people believe, and that
he is available to advise you in exactly these kinds of
circumstances, and will not contact the company unless
you come to a decision that the cost of repairs is too
high for you to handle without the assistance of your
insurance agency. If the costs for repairs to her car
are too high, contacting the agency will also allow you
to claim the damages for your car, as well. Whether you
claim your own damages or not, your premiums are going
to go up, and the amount of damages won't be the factor
in determining how much, but rather the fact that the
accident was your fault.
If you don't have a local agent in whom you can confide,
but must rather call the company itself by way of an
800 number, I would suggest not calling them until you
have reached a decision about whether you can handle
the cost of damages on your own.
I think I've covered all the bases, but if there's a
question that comes up, feel free to ask about it.
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