Was in a wreck today. Her Father wants to pay me off

[Larry_OHF]

I think the father does, but the daughter may not be insured on that vehicle.

1999 Mercedes

[Cloudbringer]

Larry, I can't urge you strongly enough to call and report this! I've seen people be badly burned by trying to be 'nice' and not raise someone's points or insurance by not reporting it! If you don't report it, they can claim just about anything they want and it's all your word versus theirs unless you have a police report.

[Megabot]

I would called the insurance company NOW and you also help to get the trafic a bit safer without that woman on the roads for a while!

[ 04-20-2004, 02:26 PM: Message edited by: Megabot ]

[Bungleau]

IMNSHO, the amount your insurance may go up is trivial, Larry. My guess, not being an actuary in the Carolinas, is that it might go up 5% to 10% for a couple of years. If you're paying $300 every six months, that's $15-30, or $30-$60 per year. Not exactly a huge amount, although it can be inconvenient (it was for me at one time).

Assume it goes on for three years, that's $90 to $180.

How much could you be on the hook for? Think it might cost you more than $180 in your time and wages if this ends up going to court somehow? And even with that, I'd be reluctant to agree to something like this without having a good legal document to cover it, so that they can't come back to sue you for anything. I mean, what if she gets in another accident, loses her license and such anyway, and the old man decides to reneg on his deal with you? Where does that leave you?

Folks may think I'm a hard@$$ about it, but I say she made her bed, she lies in it. If you do the moral and upright thing, you never have to worry about what you're going to do six months or a year from now. You don't have to look over your shoulder, wondering if you're going to get sued or if the police or your insurance company may get upset with you about it. I mean, if they decide you lied about your driving and accident record, they can probably drop you as a client... and where would that leave you?

My position is probably colored because she's already got a lot of points on her record. This isn't a "pity my poor daughter" scenario, where I'd be inclined to give a rookie the benefit of the doubt. She's apparently had a number of benefits of the doubt already, and hasn't learned enough yet.

Having been in a couple of accidents before, it's awful nice to let the insurance folks, who do this for a living, take care of things. I've never had to worry about whether I was doing the right thing or not. I fessed up to what I had done (when appropriate) and moved on.

My vote is for you to take care of you and your family first. Let them take care of themselves.

BTW, you might check your own insurance policies, but I believe most policies extend to you and your immediate family. The "insured on a vehicle" thing pertains to the questions they ask when they determine your rates... and if they lied when they applied for insurance on that Benz, whose fault is that? I'm pretty sure it isn't yours.

[promethius9594]

being that i was recently involved in an accident here are some hints:

1) get a police report... this is invaluable, especially if you have witnesses

2) Call your insurance agency. You pay the deducatable, but buy your new car (assuming you have full coverage). Since the police report will indicate that it is not your fault, then no, your insurance will not raise. Your insurance company will then go after her insurance with their lawyers and will pay you back the deductable that you payed to get your car fixed. Don't agree to sharing any percentage of the fault for the accident or you won't get ANY settlement whatsoever

3) let the cops check out your car before you tear into it. That and the information on who was where when the accident ocurred will pretty clearly show who was at fault.

[Ronn_Bman]

I've done it both ways.

Years ago when I was in high school, a pretty, popular girl hit my car leaving the school parking lot. She cried,admitted it was her fault because she wasn't paying attention, and said she was soooo sorry. When she asked me to please let her dad pay and not to call the cops, I said ok. She was so sweet, how could I say no? My dad ended up going round and round with her dad before he finally paid up. Her story AND attitude changed after she talked to daddy. He acted like we were trying to scam him even though all we asked for was the replacement cost of the bumper and labor costs. Somehow during her crying I forgot that she was too snooty to talk to me any other time. I'm still a sucker for the tears of a pretty woman, but these days I'll only fall for out and out nudity( [img]tongue.gif[/img] ).If I had that to do over again, I'd have called the police despite her tears.

Last year a customer at my wife's place of business hit her car while backing out of his parking space. No one saw the accident, but he stopped, came back inside to find out who the owner was, and told my wife he'd be happy to pay. He had a teenage son and didn't want his insurance to sky rocket. I couldn't help but trust a guy who admitted to an accident he could have easily driven away from. He told us to tell him how much, I provided an estimate and the final bill but he said I didn't have to give him either. He was a nice guy who needed a favor and appreciated our help.

So it all depends on the situation, and I'd say if you have ANY doubts, report it.

AS to the guy wanting the car evaluated, I guess that isn't too unreasonable because he doesn't want to be ripped off, but the bottom line is, you're doing him the favor. If you feel like he should pay $1500 to cover the cost of the car, he can pay it to keep it off his insurance, otherwise you should file it. I believe as long as no one was injured you are free to handle the damages without reporting it, but you get to choose, not him.

Sounds like he's all into this from his point of view without regarding your loss. You are the victim. What about your loss of transportation? You are the one being put out. If your car is out of commission his insurance will not only pay to fix or replace it, but they'll also pay you for a rental.

If this guy doesn't seem to be out to make this situation as easy and painless as possible for you, then I'd say report it.

You just can't be nice to some people.

[Attalus]

Larry, I agree that you should report this. If the guy was all that anxious, he wouldn't want an estimate. I don't object to bribery in itself, but a cheap briber is not to be trusted.

[Harkoliar]

i guess all's been said larry.. good luck and im sure you know what to do.

[Kzonon]

I say report it. Its all too tempting and easy to just take the money but I agree with promethius said. Its much easier for the insurance companies to handle it. Plus they know what they are doing and also have your intesrests in mind ( because your interests are the same as thiers.....get the money from the other guy).

I also agree with reporting it just to get someone off the road. I saw a reckless accident about two months ago. I wasn't involved and couldn't stop because I'd be holding up traffic. But I called the insurance company anyway (...its a bit different in Canada, everyone has to have the basic insurance from the same company...i.e. the government.....and then you can buy additional insurance sompeplace else if you want). I told then what time and where and descriptions of the cars and what happened. I did it partly because one driver really shouldn't have been on the road.

So, if you asked me? I'd say report it. Go to the closest police station and file an accident/incident report and then call your/their insurance company and at least get a file started. If they decide not to claim on their insurance and just pay for it out of their own pockets then nobody's insurnace premiums go up.

my two cents
Kz
K

[Rokenn]

In many states it is a crime to not report accidents to the Motor vechicle department. For instance in California if you do not report an accident where damage exceeds $500 you can lose your license for a year. Both drivers are obligated to report the accident with a certain time frame.

Don't let this guy play you for a chump.