Should I tell my insurance company about an in house accident that was my fault.?

Question

I pulled into my driveway as my hubby was backing out, I didn't see him backing up I turned to try and miss him but he kept going and we slammed into eachother. We're both on the same Insurance policy. He says it was my fault that I came into the drive way too fast, I say it was him for not seeing me come in the driveway and not stopping.

My deductible will be 500$ for both cars if I tell the insurance, the damage was over 1500$ to fix both cars.

Answer 1

I would tell them unless you want to front the bill. Of course, then they may raise your bill.

Answer 2

LOL

I know it wasn't meant to be funny, but it was when you described who is at fault.

Okay, it doesn't matter the location of the accident, it is still an accident. It is optional to report the accident to your insurance company, unless you and hubby called the police. Why I wouldn't know? Anyway, if the police wasn't involved, then there is no need to involve you insurance company. Filing a claim has the tendency to raise your premium, yes even for one claim. The premium may not be raised on this policy, but when it gets renewed it may increase. Even if the claim is not raised, the insurance company will go after the other person's policy to recoup the loss to the company. Being the same company doesn't matter; it's about the individual's policy. It may cheaper to pay the deductible vs. repairs, but the premium in the long run would cost you. Take into consideration if you have a subsequent fender bender.

I would suggest you and your darling husband figure a way to make the repairs without getting the insurance company involved. Either you pay for the other's damages, pay your own, or just let it sit there and rust.

BTW, I think you were both at fault. Regardless of the driveway's size, you had a chance to see the vehicle or at least the lights. Slamming your brakes or honking your horn could've helped. Consider how fast were you going into the driveway?
What was he thinking? He was backing up without making sure nothing was behind him? Private driveway or not, someone or something could have gotten in his way.
He owes you nice relaxation, maybe a nice dinner date or doing your chores for a few days.
You should reciprocate with a nice massage or warm bath.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

There are two issues here.

1. It does not matter who is at fault. By definition in this case, the at-fault driver is on the policy. So, your rates will go up if you report. If your vehicles have yet to be paid off, you may be obligated by your agreement with the bank to report the claim. Of course, they will not know, but they could find out if you get into another accident.

2. In terms of payment, this is what NORMALLY happens. When two drivers on the same policy have an accident, BOTH VEHICLES are covered under the collision portion of the insurance. In other words, you would be paying a deductable on both vehicles. The reason for this is that fraud is always a possibility when two people on the same policy get in an accident (i.e. the driver of the nicer vehicle never seems to be at fault).

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Doesn't matter who was at "fault". If the two of you are having an argument over this, I am saddened. How much damage could have been done by in the driveway? Sounds like both of you were in too much of a hurry and were not paying attention.

Just get estimates of the damage and have your auto's fixed. If you need the help of insurance to pay for the damages, then you will have to do so.

Answer 5

We live in a "no-fault" car insurance state, so if that incident happened to us, it wouldn't matter whose fault it was. Regardless, you both have the same insurance company and they are going to cover the repair costs for both cars and then raise your insurance rates. I would suggest that if the accident didn't affect the ability for the cars to be driven and the safety of either vehicle wasn't compromised to just live with the bumps and dents and don't report it to the insurance company at all. To keep our premiums low, we keep a higher deductible on our cars of $1000. If a repair is going to be less than that, we just get it fixed if needed and don't involve the insurance company. I'd say forget about whose fault it was - it was just an accident. All that matters is that no one was hurt. Cars are fixable and replaceable.

Answer 6

It won't matter who is at fault as it would be two collision claims separately. The insurance contract (and this may vary based on state) usually excludes coverage under liability for hitting property owned by an insured. So that basically means that if you hit your own stuff, your lilability coverage won't pay for the stuff. It may not be in every state, but a lot of policies exclude it.

It's a contributory accident on both party's end. He has a duty to make sure the way is clear as he backs, and you should make sure it's safe to enter the driveway as you do so. His duty is greater though, as is normal for vehicles backing out of driveways, spaces, etc. However, for the purpose of making the claim under collision for the vehicles, it won't matter. If they handle the claim though, it's possible that one of them will be considered "at fault" and subject to an increase in premium. Possible, not definite. It's a question best answered by your company.

Answer 7

if you can afford to fix the damages on your own, do so. As you are married, there will be a collision deductible for EACH vehicle as per the liability sections of most policies, if you damage your own property, they will not cover it under the liability portion of the policy. You both are at fault for the loss for not paying attention and basically it doesn't look good on your record. Eat the cost of the repairs-- especially as you both are at fault for this one.

Answer 8

Don't tell the insurance company unless you are going to make a claim. If the damage is less than the deductible, then just pay out of pocket.

Answer 9

if you are planning on having the insurance pay for the damages, then it doesn't matter who caused the accident because you're on the same policy, your rates will go up no matter what. but if you don't have the damages repaired, then why tell them? then your rates will go up for no reason. however, if you do have them pay for the damage, you might want to tell them the person's car with the lower payment was at fault, that way your bill doesn't go up as much. :)

Answer 10

In all other cases if you rear ended him it is your fault, but I don't know how that works in driveways. I would call your insurence company if you would like them to help pay the damages.

Oh, and I am sorry this happened to you, but it sure made me giggle.

Answer 11

It wasn't your fault! I would just tell the insurance company what happened. I believe it's his fault! Anytime someone is backing up and has an accident they usually blame them. A person backing up doesn't have the right of way! He should have waited until you parked because you were on the road first you had the right of way.