Joe Cochran
New Member
- 12
Should I accept or just go through insurance company?
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Your company is duty bound to defend you in the event of an accident. What happens when you offer to pay out of pocket and then the person comes back for more money? And comes back again? By paying out of pocket you have given your carrier a chance and a reason to deny the claim because you got in the middle of it. How do you, as a pay out of pocket consumer, deal with a bodyshop which sends you an estimate which is was out of line for the repairs? Where do you start to argue?By experience on the route, it is legal to have an agreement with the other driver for him to pay the damage from his pocket.
For example, he hits your rear bumper, and a repair might cost $400, and he offers you the money cash at hand, you can take it and it will be your choice to fix the bumper or just to ignore the dent on it.
I witnessed a case where a car hit a truck. A police officer was near taking care of another accident. The driver of the car offered to pay for the damage, and the truck driver asked for advice to the police officer. The officer told him that such agreement was between both of them and he won't intervene unless there is a demand from the victim.
Like this case, lots of people prefer to pay from their pockets small damages to other cars in order to avoid penalties from their car insurance companies, which will increase their premiums for at least the next three years, plus the record of the accident.
Many people think it is not fair and it might cover lots of traffic violations, and they are correct, however, when the accident is something minimum, and not intentional at all but just a distraction, I guess the acceptance of a fast payment for the damage won't matter if the compensation will be the same amount whereas the other driver or an insurance company.