Minor bump - go through insurance or private?

[Stu666]

I've had a minor bump in my van; I hit a parked car when reversing out of a space causing moderate damage to the bumper and paintwork.

I've swapped insurance details with the unfortunate lady so we'll have to see how it pans out.

In the meantime I'm wondering if it's worthwhile offering to fund the repair privately, or should I stick to the insurance route?

I have something like 9 years unprotected no claims so I'm pretty sure my premiums will take a significant hike should I claim.

[hartcjhart]

I think you have answered your own question,
but try not to go through the insurance depending on cost of repairs

[anewman]

Although it's probably best to report the incident to your insurer. So long as she's reasonable about it and doesn't want the entire bumper replacing for a brand new one (when all it needs is a lick of paint) it should be ok.

[hungrynurse]

just be aware, the minor bumper damage may be masking the huge chasis damage

[elvch01]

just be aware, the minor bumper damage may be masking the huge chasis damage
Indeed - I had a minor accident when somebody went into the back of my car. What originally looked like needing just a new bumper turned out to require a new rear valance, new boot lid & one new rear wing in addition. The car was off the road for 3 weeks.

Also factor in the cost of hiring a replacement car for when the damaed car is being repaired. In the accident above, this amounted to £2,000 alone

[pogofish]

If it is minor, then it will probably be worth offering privately - IME, a traditional panel beater will usually do the work for a significant fraction of an "insurance approved" repairer.

Many will also be happy enough to do it via the insurers as well, but will usually charge a little bit more on a cash quote.

However, it is entirely up to the other party to accept this and if they do find it inconvenient or insist on going down the insurance route, you will have to comply.

I was in the same position 2-3 years back, many years no-claims, then I thoughtlessly tapped a Polo and found out just how jaw-droppingly expensive even a minor "official" repair could be - The Polo owner accepted my request to get a private quote first but insisted on a VW-approved firm as it was a fairly new car.

The result was a 4-figure sum that I just had to take to the insurer. They will probably have something in the policy info that will tell you what it will do to your NCB - IIRC, for mine, one claim but with nothing else in the preceeding three years will not affect it greatly. Although I was lucky to have my NCB insured so there was no probs at all.

After that, they found it very hard to believe that I didn't need to claim for my vehicle because the mark simply polished-out with a drop of t-cut! :)