car insurance?

[deportes]

Last night went out for dinner and my car was parked on the street in San Francisco. Found out someone had hit the front fender slightly butenough to dent it.
my deductible for collision is 500, is this considered collision or comprehensive coverage?
Thanks. :shrug:

 

[Davoso]

This is collision. Comprehensive is fire, theft or hail damage.

 

[AR182]

i wouldn't be so fast to report this to the insurance company if i was you.

first get an estimate, it may be less than the deductible or even if it the damage was $600 it wouldn't pay to report it the ins. company.

i know it doesn't sound great but it's wise to keep your record with your ins. company clean because sometimes companies will cancel you if you have 3 claims in a certain period of time.

 

[Trossi3389]

i wouldn't be so fast to report this to the insurance company if i was you.

first get an estimate, it may be less than the deductible or even if it the damage was $600 it wouldn't pay to report it the ins. company.

i know it doesn't sound great but it's wise to keep your record with your ins. company clean because sometimes companies will cancel you if you have 3 claims in a certain period of time.

good advise AR182! thats probably your best play here.. by the way,wtf is up with s.f and those damn mountain of roads,i went there for a NFC champianship game around 8-9 years ago and was afraid to drive... :scared

 

[GM]

I definitely would not put in a claim unless the damage is major and very expensive. Your rates will probably go up if you make a claim, so you'll end up paying for it anyways...but you'll also have a strike against you.

 

[AR182]

gm quote:"Your rates will probably go up if you make a claim, so you'll end up paying for it anyways..."


it's illegal for an ins.co. to raise your rates based on a claim.

 

[GM]

Oh, ok. In Canada it isn't. Lucky you.

 

[D-Rock]

actually if there is visible damage (dent), and either a witness or a police report filed it can be considered an uninsurance motorist claim and your deductible may be less than your collision coverage ex. $200.00.

The reason the collision is primary is for your insurance company to file subrogation against the at fault party but in this case the at fault party is unknown.

 

[bubbas1]

Believe me your rates will go up by making a claim. Here is how bad it gets..I rolled a snowmobile a few years ago and claimed it .My auto ins went up. Every place I called told me it was because of making that claim. My insurance rates were higher for 3 yrs. Lesson learned...dont make the claim unless it is for more than you would pay in increased premiums.

 

[2muchchalk]

Just hope u guys don't live in NJ. Your premiums go up when u even look at an accident.

 

[Kdogg21]

I would honestly ask a insurance agent. My car was hit a few years ago and the damage was about $700. my rates stayed the same. my agent told me, well at least at State Farm, they won't go up, unless you've had 3 or more incindents.

 

[MadJack]

i live in maryland. about 6 years ago i hit a deer. the damage was $2400 and it fell under the comprehensive. 50 bucks, a fixed car and still no increase on my insurance. a state to state thing?

same thing for a cracked windshield. 50 bucks gets you a new one and i've had 2 and no increases on my premiums.

i use allstate

 

[AR182]

listen guys, i was an insurance broker for 15 years & i can tell you it's illegal for an ins. company to raise your premiums in mid-term or cancel you in mid-term.

they can cancel you if you have 3 claims, or in some cases there are some companies that will charge you more, upon re-newal, than your neighbor, who has no claims.

now i admit i have been out of insurance for 10 years & some states might have changed their rules, but i have not read anything about this in the news.

 

[Agent 0659]

I currently am an agent. It is not illegal for a company to raise your rates because of a claim. :cursin: Its called underwriting. Comprehensive claims such as Jack is talking about dont count against you. They are considered acts of God mostly. The parked car incident would normally be covered under uninsured or underinsured motorist for a hit and run, but since you dont know who did it its considered collision and your deductible applies. Otherwise every time someone ran into something they would call it a hit and run. I would be leary of turning anything in, as it will go on your C.L.U.E. report. This is a large database that all companies use and it shows any claim youve ever had. So if you try to switch companies, the new company will charge you for it also. :cursin: They will surcharge your policy!!!
Hope this helps

 

[Agent 0659]

Actually what Ar182 said is correct, they wont cancel or raise your rate in mid-term but policies only run for 6 months so when you renew it will be higher.

 

[7up]

as a claims adjuster for the last 25 yrs,its about chargability(if you are at fault) if your rates go up because of a claim,if you are not at fault most ins co's will not raise your rates. if it is a small dent on the fender, you might try and find someone who does paintless dent repair. we do alot of hail damage repair this way so no painting has to be done, just depends on the size of the dent, if its small this will probably work, if not it off to the body shop. its my understanding that california body labor is quite expensive as they are union labor and the labor rate is much more than in the rest of the country. if you did file a police report it is an uninsured motorist claim as most state deem a hit and run driver to be uninsured and your deductible should be less. good luck.

 

[deportes]

Thank you gentlemen for all your replies.