Beware of trying to resolve accident-related car repairs without reporting the accident to your insurance, especially if you are injured.
No one likes bureaucracy, waiting for hours on hold to speak with an employee of a huge company, or seeing their car insurance premiums increase astronomically for a trivial reason. Therefore, people who get involved in minor fender benders often try to work things out among themselves without reporting the accident to their insurance companies. While this might seem like a good idea at the moment, this strategy almost always backfires, especially if someone gets injured in the accident. If you do not report the accident to the insurance company, you could end up in the unenviable position of trying to keep your word to pay the medical bills of a virtual stranger whose medical expenses keep piling up. (If you have ever undergone a medical treatment that your health insurance did not cover, you know how expensive it can get to pay medical bills out of pocket.) It can also mean that, after turning a stranger into an enemy by badgering them about your bills, you end up having to pay for your own bills yourself. Instead, it is best to contact the insurance company, and if things get complicated, to have a Ponca City car accident insurance claims lawyer talk to the insurance company on your behalf.
When No One Wants to Deal with the Insurance Companies
You have probably encountered people who immediately fly into a rage when someone dents their bumper, and therefore it is a relief when the other driver in the accident wants to resolve matters like ladies and gentlemen, instead of throwing accusations or punches. It is hard to resist the charms of a neighborly motorist who is willing to pay for your car repairs, tacitly admitting that the accident is their fault. All it will cost you is not reporting the accident to your insurance company. It sounds like a win-win situation, since no one’s insurance premiums will increase, but actually, it is dangerous to avoid reporting a car accident to your insurance company.
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You might think that you are making a financially wise move by letting a magnanimous stranger pay for your car repairs instead of dealing with elevated insurance premiums for years, but there are too many things that could go wrong. For example, you might start experiencing whiplash injury symptoms several days later, and when you notify the apparently generous driver, they might ghost you. In fact, the contact information they gave you at the start might have been fake. In general, it is risky to put so much trust in someone you just met.
Is it Ever a Good Idea to Pay for Someone Else’s Vehicle Damage Without Involving the Insurance Companies?
The times when not reporting an accident is the lesser of two evils are rare. For example, if an outspokenly thrifty friend that you have known for years rear-ended your car at low speed, it might be better to let them pay for the repairs than to lose the friendship over heightened insurance premiums (since this friend holds grudges about having to pay too much). Even so, you should only do this if you are sure that you are not hurt, and you have health insurance.
Contact BDIW Law About Car Accident Insurance Claims
If you dread arguing with insurance agents about money, let your car accident claims lawyer do the talking. Contact BDIW Law in Tulsa, Oklahoma about your car accident case.
