So despite my advice not to go to work today in light of the multiple feet of snow we received and icy roads this morning, the buses being cancelled, cabs pulled off the road etc.. my wife, foolhardy as always ventured out down the 400 and bounced her SUV off a guard rail..
Single vehicle accident, no one else involved and luckily she wasn't hurt.. but there's significant damage to the vehicle.
That said, despite the damage being significantly more then my dedutable.. given her less then stellar driving record and lack of accident forgiveness for her on our policy I'd prefer to repair the vehicle myself and save on the increased insurance premiums for the next 6 years. BUT and here is where my question lays.. given all the fantastic luck I have, there was a cop directly behind her when it happened.. so even though nobody else was involved and she was able to drive her vehicle from the scene, a report was filed. No charges, it was attributed to weather, but a report none the less.. so.. my question, while i'd ideally just repair the vehicle and not file a claim.. since the report was filed, will my insurance company receive a copy and raise our premiums anyway, even if I don't file claim? If so it would be stupid of me to pay for my own repairs since i'll be paying the increased premiums anyway.. or does the insurance company only pull said reports when and if I file a claim?
I know there are some folks on this board who work in the insurance industry, so any insight would be appreciated.
P.S. Yes I am aware that I am supposed to report the accident to my insurance company regardless.. not looking for the legal answer, just want to know if I'm going to get screwed paying higher premiums for her regardless or if I can avoid it buy doing my own repairs.
Single vehicle accident, no one else involved and luckily she wasn't hurt.. but there's significant damage to the vehicle.
That said, despite the damage being significantly more then my dedutable.. given her less then stellar driving record and lack of accident forgiveness for her on our policy I'd prefer to repair the vehicle myself and save on the increased insurance premiums for the next 6 years. BUT and here is where my question lays.. given all the fantastic luck I have, there was a cop directly behind her when it happened.. so even though nobody else was involved and she was able to drive her vehicle from the scene, a report was filed. No charges, it was attributed to weather, but a report none the less.. so.. my question, while i'd ideally just repair the vehicle and not file a claim.. since the report was filed, will my insurance company receive a copy and raise our premiums anyway, even if I don't file claim? If so it would be stupid of me to pay for my own repairs since i'll be paying the increased premiums anyway.. or does the insurance company only pull said reports when and if I file a claim?
I know there are some folks on this board who work in the insurance industry, so any insight would be appreciated.
P.S. Yes I am aware that I am supposed to report the accident to my insurance company regardless.. not looking for the legal answer, just want to know if I'm going to get screwed paying higher premiums for her regardless or if I can avoid it buy doing my own repairs.
