At fault accident!!

**Bulza** · 12-07-2011, 10:53 AM

Hey guys,

I rear ended someone. A cop happen to be passing be who also wrote a report. He put me at fault obviously...but there was no damage to the other car..so im sure no claim was made.. Also I have third party..so i fixed the damage on my car myself. So if no claims are made from both parties..but I have an at fault in my driving record.. should I expect insurance to increase A LOT or not as much due to no claims.

Thanks!!

**FiReSTaRT** · 12-07-2011, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by Bulza

Hey guys,

I rear ended someone. A cop happen to be passing be who also wrote a report. He put me at fault obviously...but there was no damage to the other car..so im sure no claim was made.. Also I have third party..so i fixed the damage on my car myself. So if no claims are made from both parties..but I have an at fault in my driving record.. should I expect insurance to increase A LOT or not as much due to no claims.

Thanks!!

It looks like it won't be reported to the insurance industry, so you should be in the clear. As long as they don't "get whiplash", you're safe.

**GreyGhost** · 12-07-2011, 11:57 AM

Although you should avoid changing insurance companies for a few years. When you sign up for a new policy they normally ask you if you have any at-fault collisions. Lying to an insurance company is never a good idea.

**Aleks Hara** · 12-07-2011, 05:15 PM

Originally Posted by Bulza

Hey guys,

I rear ended someone. A cop happen to be passing be who also wrote a report. He put me at fault obviously...but there was no damage to the other car..so im sure no claim was made.. Also I have third party..so i fixed the damage on my car myself. So if no claims are made from both parties..but I have an at fault in my driving record.. should I expect insurance to increase A LOT or not as much due to no claims.

Thanks!!

As long as neither party's insurance company hears about this incident, it won't be an issue for you. As far as I understand, you don't have to report an accident to the police if the damages are below $1000. Therefore, if there really were just minor scratches, maybe the cop won't report it to the Collision Reporting Center or to the insurance company directly. If it does get reported somehow, having a zero payout on a claim could help in certain cases. I am aware of two companies that won't rate for a zero-payout At-Fault; Wawanesa for new and existing clients, and Gore Mutual for existing clients only. Having said that, all companies still look at the overall picture i.e. 2 AF's = high risk and so on.

An At-Fault on your record can impact the renewal rates depending on individual circumstances. Did you purchase Accident Forgiveness? Does the company automatically offer partial accident forgiveness to experienced drivers? If neither, then you might have to renew at a zero-star driving record, or when the renewal comes, maybe look at Wawanesa for auto.

**S500K** · 12-07-2011, 05:35 PM

@ Bulza

Kinda in the same situation - my 2000 saturn car was written off as it was only worth $1500, didnt have collision on it and just going to buy a new car, car in front had little damage. I won my case and no charges against me but a claim was made / cop reported it and apparently it stays on your insurance record for 7 yrs. Im in the process of dealing with this...

**FiReSTaRT** · 12-07-2011, 10:07 PM

Just a bit of explanation.. Insurance companies operate through fault determination rules. Just by being charged, you already assume a part of the blame. Even if you weren't but the circumstances of the collision indicated that you are to blame (for example a rear-end), you would still be found "at fault". They don't care if you avoided the conviction.

As for the OP.. As long as nobody makes a claim, chances are the insurance company won't know about the collision.

**RickT** · 12-11-2011, 09:08 AM

The police wrote up a report...
1) Did they get the name/address of your insurance company? If so, maybe a copy was sent to them
2) Did you get charged with anything? Sometimes a rear end collision gets a charge of following too close. If so, this is on your record and is a clear indication of an accident.

Good luck

**S500K** · 12-11-2011, 12:29 PM

So yes it dose go on record even with out a ticket / charge. If it was reported by the other driver (which I dont see why in your case) or the cop because he'd most likely be the one, then insurance will know and they will contact you (it took them about 3 weeks to call me, maybe longer for you so your not scott free yet) One the bright side, my insurance gives 1 free at fault so its ok for now, just no more screw ups, just picked up a 08 suv and surprised at the rate I have now for an awesome "newish" suv compared to a 2000 beater car.

Any update on you status Bulza

**Avi Singh** · 12-16-2011, 12:12 PM

It is also important to note that the other person has one year to sue you. If there were children in the car, they get until their 19th birthday to sue. If you are sued, and you didn't report the incident to your insurer in a 'reasonable' period of time, your insurer may be at liberty to deny coverage.

Just something to think about before you decide on what to do. If you have accident forgiveness, use it and report it.

**Bulza** · 12-17-2011, 07:43 PM

Hey guys,
Thanks for the replies.

when the accident happened, there was a cop passing by who wrote the report. He did not give me any tickets because he said I was honest. The cop told the other driver himself that there is no damage to his car. Also I took the report to my insurance company and they told me I did need to tell them and they will find out eventually. He didn't look at the report. This happened just few days after my renewal so Ill have to wait for a while to see what happens.

No riding next year