Accident Insurance Question

Ford300 · 10-16-2009, 05:02 PM

I live in Michigan and was involved in an accident involving 4 vehicles. It was very low speed and no one was injured. I was driving my old beater on which I only carry PLPD (no collision). Michigan is a No Fault state. A police report was filed. Should I report this to my insurance company?

agentjaf · 10-16-2009, 09:17 PM

My advice would be to report it to your insurance agent. There are a lot of factors that could come into play here that you may need your coverage for. Were you at fault in the accident? Were the other vehicles damaged?

I guess my theory on filing claims with your agent is, if there is any doubt, report the incident. There may not be anything that comes from it- they may not even have to set up an actual claim, but at least you can be sure you did your due diligence by telling them you were involved in the incident.

Good luck!

JustinUpright · 10-16-2009, 11:08 PM

Originally Posted by agentjaf

My advice would be to report it to your insurance agent. There are a lot of factors that could come into play here that you may need your coverage for. Were you at fault in the accident? Were the other vehicles damaged?

I guess my theory on filing claims with your agent is, if there is any doubt, report the incident. There may not be anything that comes from it- they may not even have to set up an actual claim, but at least you can be sure you did your due diligence by telling them you were involved in the incident.

Good luck!

You obviously didn't read the post! It is a no fault state so it can't be his fault!

The question is did it do any damage to your car? You said it was beater car so can you still drive it safely? If you can live with the damage no reason to report it as it could make your premiums go up. And if you have just liability then it won't cover your car anyway.

Ford300 · 10-17-2009, 01:36 AM

I do not have collision insurance, only injury protection (minimum required by Michigan law), as collision would have been a waste of money for my junker car. In Michigan, any collision damage is covered by your own insurance company regardless of fault (if you carry collision). The only thing you can do if you are not at fault is sue the other person for your deductible, maximum of $500.

The accident was a four car pileup. I was the last car and the way Michigan law reads is if you hit someone, it's your fault. So the only person that was not at fault, was the guy in the front of the line. No citations were issued, however, unless one shows up in someone’s mailbox. There were no injuries. My vehicle needed to be towed away due to a busted radiator and flat tire. The other vehicles drove away with minor cosmetic damage.

I have an excellent driving record and would hate to muddy it with my insurance company. Especially since I'm not making a claim. If there is still good reason to report the accident to my insurance, then I'll bite the bullet and do so. It just sounds to me like I would be shooting myself in the foot if I were to do so (e.g. Rate Increase). All opinions are welcome. Thanks to both for the answers so far.

djs · 10-17-2009, 05:02 AM

I flew over Michigan once, so I don't know the laws there, or the ways things work... I can only talk about where I live, California. I mention this because there is no way I can give advice about Michigan, I can just tell you how it would work if it was in California.

Of course, your agent can explain this with knowledge of local laws. I would give him a call.

In California, you are supposed to report the accident to the DMV, if over a certain amount of damage happened (I don't know the $$$ limit, but 4 cars means it occured). Failure to do so can result in things like a suspended drivers license, fines, etc. If this happens, it shows up on your driving record, you're insurance company will find out about it anyway.

Also, an accident with a claim paid isn't always a rated incident. Lots of factors come into play. If you caused under a certain $$$ of damage, you would not be rated for the accident, even if the insurance company paid out.

You didn't mention how much damage was done, so it's hard to say what would happen, even if it happened here in California. I would highly suggest picking up the phone, talking to your personal agent, he'll guide you. I do this frequently, its what I get paid for.

Dan

agentjaf · 10-17-2009, 10:05 AM

I understand that Michigan is a no-fault state, but in Minnesota, that ONLY applies to medical payments...you can still be at fault for damage to the other vehicles.