There's a Jerk...

[Nolongerpuffin]

...living in my new apt complex.

So, I moved to a suburb of Milwaukee, from bumbleep WI, aka Rhinelander for family reasons. The other day I go out to my car and walk around to the rear of the driver's side to put some stuff in the back and happen to notice that the lower rear quarter panel between the gas flap and the hatch is all dented and scraped to hell and part of the bumper is ripped away from the body.

No note, no info, no nothing. It looks like whatever jerk was parked next to me cut their wheels too soon and hit me. We don't have assigned parking so i have no idea who it was.

I have a new ins co., so I'm not claiming. The car is driveable and everything works. It just looks bad. Problem is, I don't have the cash to get it fixed, most likely. Car's only 4 years old and other than some scratches was in perfect shape up until now.

Argh!

There go my vaping acquisitions for hte next few months while i save up $$$ 5o get my car fixed. People just suck sometimes.

 

[Racehorse]

really sorry to hear about this. To be honest, I would file a claim. The whole point of having insurance is to pay for unforseeable damage .

It seems that insurance companies have figured out yet another way to not have to pay claims: make their customer fear filing one.

 

[Nolongerpuffin]

really sorry to hear about this. To be honest, I would file a claim. The whole point of having insurance is to pay for unforseeable damage .

It seems that insurance companies have figured out yet another way to not have to pay claims: make their customer fear filing one.

I have a 500 deductible and the policy is 2 weeks old. I don't know that the damage is much over 500 dollars and if they don't drop me, they'd certainly raise my rates substantially.

The increase, taken over a year, would be more than the cost to repair the damage. It's a matter of some filler, some paint, and a new bumper skin. Not that big of a deal.

 

[Racehorse]

I have a 500 deductible and the policy is 2 weeks old. I don't know that the damage is much over 500 dollars and if they don't drop me, they'd certainly raise my rates substantially.

The increase, taken over a year, would be more than the cost to repair the damage. It's a matter of some filler, some paint, and a new bumper skin. Not that big of a deal.

If the damage is not much more than your deductible, then you are right, it would be silly to file claim.

I would still get an estimate to repair, and then I would call the insurer and ask if your rates would go up. It is actually not always the case, esp. when it is not a "driving accident" where you were driving at the time. They figure all this stuff differently. Never hurts to ask. Carefully review your policy to learn exactly how your insurer will handle a *small claim.* and also how many claims in a 3 year period you would have to have before it affects your rate. In cases like you are describing, that are not your fault, you may be surprised, that's all.