Is it illegal to settle an auto claim without informing the insurance co.?

Question

A drunk woman hit our parked car twice. She had no proof of insurance on her, and was too drunk to remember her information. We called out insurance, and we were told to wait to file with her company. A few days after she was arrested, we got her contact information and she was unwilling to use her insurance company, and instead wanted to pay out of pocket to keep the matter hidden from her parents. We took the car to get an estimate, and she will then unwilling to cooperate. We finally got the name of her insurance company, and now we are worried of legal or financial penalties we might face since her insurance company was not contacted from the beginning.
Will they pay for our rental car costs which now exceed 200 dollars?

Answer 1

It's certainly not illegal... if she is willing to pay for the repairs and rental, and you are willing to accept it, neither party has any obligation to contact the insurance company (although her insurance company will likely find out anyway through public documents). However, since she is no longer willing to cooperate (if I'm reading that correctly), then you can file a claim against her through her insurance company (obviously, since she was arrested, there is an account of the accident), or if this is not to your satisfaction (e.g. they refuse to cover the rental, etc.), then through court. Since she was drunk, the court will show little sympathy for her when you ask for repairs, rental reimbursement, lost wages, attorney fees, court costs, etc.

Answer 2

Every insured has the right to the opportunity to pay a debt vs having an insurance company do it for them. This sort of crap happens thousands of times a day and the insurance adjusters are all to familiar with bozos like the woman that crashed ito your car. Just contact them ASAP and stop dealing with the driver. They will probably NOT pay entire cost of rental due to the fact that you were late on reporting the claim but give it a shot anyway.

Answer 3

What you did was fine. It's not uncommon for folks to try to work it out between themselves. It's also very common for the at fault person to believe the estimate is too high once it's presented to them. People just don't realize how expensive it is to repair a car.

There are no penalties or fines that you will face. If the insurance company asks why you delayed in reporting the claim - tell them the truth - that you tried to work it out with the lady directly and when you gave her the estimate she refused to pay it.

Trust me - the adjuster has heard it before.