Should he report it to HIS insurance agency?

Question

My grandpa was driving straight down a road and a car came out making a left turn and my grandpa hit him on his side. The accident has been reported to the other side's insurance agency and investigation is pending. The person that he hit, however, is not accepting fault. Should he file a claim w/ his own insurance company? I just do not want to risk his insurance going up higher.

Answer 1

Why weren't the Police called? Everybody tries to be a nice guy and end up taking it in the can...

I learned my lesson, girl took off my mirror in a parking lot, saw her do it. She was hysterical, I was like "look, relax, no big deal, just give me your name address and number and I will send you a bill. I found a mirror in a junk yard and installed it my self. I sent her the bill, Just over $100. Nothing for 4 weeks, so I give her a call, "the checks in the mail". Nothing for 4 more weeks, I give her a call, "the checks in the mail". Nothing for 4 more weeks, I take the car to the body shop, (put a slight ding in my door as well) estimate was $800 and change. Took her to small claims court and won the full estimate...

Did I get my money yet, NOPE... This is over a year ago now. Chick moved and changed her number, and somehow it is my responsibility to track her down so I can collect my $800. WTF...
It really pays to be a nice guy...

OK, I am done ranting...

Whenever someone pulls out in front of you and you hit them it is their fault, unless you don't try to stop...

Call the insurance company and give them your side of the story before it is too late. You might also think about trying and tracking down any witnesses.

Answer 2

If you did not call the police to file a report and you did not call your own insurance company, your grandfathers company will not find out (unless the other party filed a claim against your grandfathers insurance.. then they know).
If you called the police, then they filed a report and it will show on on your grandfathers motor vehicle record. That wont increase your grandfathers rates though. It will just make it more expensive if he decides to shop around for insurance as they will see the accident (at fault or not).
If your grandfather does not have full coverage then there is also no point in contacting his company because they will not pay for damage to his car.
The other guys insurance company will finish their investigation and make a decision. If your grandfather did not have a red light or stop sign then the other guy will be mostly at fault.
Some states have what is called comparitive negligence (NY is one of them) It basically means that it takes 2 people to cause an accident and as long as both cars were moving, both are partially at fault.
If your grandfather hit the front part of the other party's car then it will be almost entirely the other guys fault. If he hit the rear of the other guys car then it will still be the other guys fault but less (ex 70% his fault 30% your grandfather- which would meant they would pay your grandfather for 70% of his damage)
If you dont like the insurance companies decision, you can take it to small claims court (as long as it is withing their monitary limit) and sue for the full amount of damage. Courts dont do the comparative negligence thing. It's just guilty or not guilty, meaning you would either get all of the money to fix the car or nothing.
If you feel you have a strong case, take it to court. Especially if the insurance company offers you 70% damage or something like that. becuase then they are admitting it was their cleints fault. Once they insurance company gets the court summons they will probably just pay up as to not waste time in court.

Sorry for the long answer, it was a very technical question and I barely scratched the surface. Hope I was able to help.

Answer 3

If your Grandpa and the other driver both swapped details (name/address/car details etc) - then it's impossible for him NOT to get found out sooner or later?

Also it could be classed as an offence if he doesn't report it, and keeps it quiet, so he could get into more trouble. Sooner or later when the other insurance company try to contact his insurance company, it will come out in the open.

After all, if someone ran into the back of your grandpa's car, Im sure you would be contacting the insurance company as soon as it happens... when the situation is reversed, people are more reluctant to report it ! Well good to hear he has insurance at all !

In the UK they are talking about people over a certain age having to re-take their Driving test... After 50 years of driving a car, alot of things can change a persons ability to driev a car - their responses will slow down, bad eye sight, disability etc.

Answer 4

First of all, his policy contract requires that he report all accidents even if he doesn't want to use his coverage, and even if he clearly isn't at fault. If your grandfather has coverage that would pay for his vehicle he should use it, and let his insurance company work out the liability with the other carrier and try to get the money back if the investigation reveals that the other person is at fault. If he is not deemed at fault by his own company then his rates should not be affected, but this varies by company and based on his loss history and other stuff.

Answer 5

YES! You have to report all accidents to your own insurance company. That's spelled out in your policy.

Not filing a report with his insurance company is far more likely to result in his rates going up than filing the report.

Answer 6

Rainchaser is right. They will most certainly raise the rate at renewal if they find out about it on thier own. They do need to be notified so they can do thier job for him. That's part of what your pops pays for.

Answer 7

yes he should. the other guy pulled out in front of ur grandpa so it is the other guys falt.

Answer 8

Well, yeah. Part of their job is to defend you if fault is in dispute. They can't do that if they don't know about it, can they?