Need advice: report an accident if don't intend to claim?

[jus]

hi everyone,

my first time in an accident. ever. in 16 years driving. i have no clue what to do, so please be gentle.

the short of it is that i was in an accident on my motorcycle. the only outcome in the end was a scrape on my knee and damage to my motorcycle. nobody else was hurt, no other property was damaged, the other car involved didn't receive any damage and was not even written up in the accident report. more details below if you care...

i currently have an accident report in my hand that names only me and i'm not sure if i need to report it to my insurance company or not. i don't intend to file a claim as the damage to my bike will be less than my deductible ($1000). should i still report this to my insurance company? will my rates go up even if i don't file a claim? what happens when i try to renew my insurance next year? what happens if i want to buy another car or bike and want to get that insured? i'm not sure what to do at this stage.

could i please get your advice on this?

many thanks in advance,
jus

===

details:

so i was on my motorcycle the other night near my apartment. i was following a right-curve in the road when a cab on the opposite side of the street started turning left out another apartment block into the street. unfortunately, that was at the apex of the turn and i suppose he didn't see me. i braked to avoid him as it looked like he didn't see me and was continuing to proceed, however i braked too hard and was thrown off my bike. after a few choice words for the cab driver, i looked back to see my bike on its side in the middle of the road. shortly after a tow truck, ambulance, and fire truck showed up. it turns out the superintendent in one of the nearby buildings called 911 to report the accident. i spent the next little while being checked out by the fire department folks and the paramedics in the back of the ambulance. when the police showed up, they told me that though the other guy was an ***, he technically didn't impede the flow of traffic because he didn't cross the centre line (recall he was turning left out of the building on the other side of the road). i think he might have let the cabbie off with a warning (i really don't know) and then the cabbie left. when the cop came back to the ambulance and handed me an accident report listing just my details. nothing was filled out about the other driver and nothing was filled out in the comments about the details of the accident other than the approx. speed field. no damage or anything else listed. the damage to my bike is minor and probably not even over the cost of my $1000 deductible. just a crack in the fairing, a bent clutch handle, and a broken left-side mirror. i intend to pay for the repairs (or even do some of them) myself.

[BusaBob]

i recall reading a thread stating that if someone cut you off and caused you to crash, it's not your fault.

[AF4iK]

Hope you're ok and thankfully it's minor damage to the bike. Normally I would say to forget the collision centre but since a police report was filed I don't know what to say. In my mind, I'm just thinking I don't want the insurance company to find out about the accident and, if they do, don't want to make matters worse by not reporting it to the collision centre. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can explain what exactly happens after a police report gets filed.

Btw, I hate cabbies. So many have nearly hit me and only one bothered to wave an apology when I pull up beside them to give the WTF motion.

[Hardwrkr13]

My "rider radar" goes up a notch any time I'm near a cab. Just too many close calls with them.

But to answer your question, if a police traffic report is filed your insurance will be notified. Doesn't always mean your insurance company will take a look at you and think about raising your rates though (if you call to report it, you might get someone else that will decide to take a look though).

[short stop]

I was gonna say "hell no!" until I saw that police/EMS/fire responded to the accident. I remember a thread a few months back from someone who said their insurance company was mailed a bill from the fire department for responding to an accident they didn't officially claim. I'll see if I can dig it up, and I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

Post this question in the insurance section. You'll probably get a lot more views and answers.

[jus]

Hey everyone, thanks for the advice so far.

I don't know how much the insurance company will believe me about being cut-off. Especially since the accident report lists only me and no other details. Perhaps they'll contact the officer?

I think I will re-post this in the insurance forum though! It just seemed that one was more for quotes and how to get lower rates.