Hi folks,
The story is regarding my policy with Liberty Mutual. We (were family of 5 when the policy started and presently down to my wife, daughter and me as 2 older children left the policy) live in Illinois and have never had an accident until my daughter had a fender bender 18 months ago. I say fender bender, but that still caused several thousands of dollars damage to each car that we had fixed under our policy.
Well, the same daughter had another fender bender a few days ago. My daughter asked the other party to see if we can do this without insurance, and they agreed. They just came back with an estimate from a shop of $2200. It could go up depending on what they find when they start the repair. Oh, and car rental for them for a week while the car is being repaired.
Do I call my insurance and ask for coverage? Is that allowable after the fact? If I do, any estimates on what increases there will be for my premium? How long does it take for the insurance premium to come down in a scenario like mine? Basically I'm trying to determine whether to call the insurance company. Right now we pay $2400 for 3 cars and 3 drivers, full coverage with $500 deductible.
Any educated guesses on whether I should go through insurance or pay out of pocket will be appreciated. Will claiming our car to be fixed (about $3,000K since damage was similar to last time) increase the insurance premiums more than not claiming it if we fix the other car under our insurance?
I've heard that even mentioning an accident could cause the premiums to go up. I don't know if Liberty Mutual is like that, and so I'm reluctant to call them to ask questions about this. Does anybody know?
Oh, if we do this without insurance, I'd ask the other party to sign a form relieving me of all future liabilities including any medical.
Thanks for any help.
The story is regarding my policy with Liberty Mutual. We (were family of 5 when the policy started and presently down to my wife, daughter and me as 2 older children left the policy) live in Illinois and have never had an accident until my daughter had a fender bender 18 months ago. I say fender bender, but that still caused several thousands of dollars damage to each car that we had fixed under our policy.
Well, the same daughter had another fender bender a few days ago. My daughter asked the other party to see if we can do this without insurance, and they agreed. They just came back with an estimate from a shop of $2200. It could go up depending on what they find when they start the repair. Oh, and car rental for them for a week while the car is being repaired.
Do I call my insurance and ask for coverage? Is that allowable after the fact? If I do, any estimates on what increases there will be for my premium? How long does it take for the insurance premium to come down in a scenario like mine? Basically I'm trying to determine whether to call the insurance company. Right now we pay $2400 for 3 cars and 3 drivers, full coverage with $500 deductible.
Any educated guesses on whether I should go through insurance or pay out of pocket will be appreciated. Will claiming our car to be fixed (about $3,000K since damage was similar to last time) increase the insurance premiums more than not claiming it if we fix the other car under our insurance?
I've heard that even mentioning an accident could cause the premiums to go up. I don't know if Liberty Mutual is like that, and so I'm reluctant to call them to ask questions about this. Does anybody know?
Oh, if we do this without insurance, I'd ask the other party to sign a form relieving me of all future liabilities including any medical.
Thanks for any help.
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