Just bumped into a car - my fault what to do??

malteser

i hope you can help, i went into the back of a car , we were both joining an A road from the slip road and i was looking at the oncoming cars and for some reason thought the person infront had gone or wsas going to go and i went into the back of them. Not too much damage but a few layers of paint scraped off their bumper and i imagine they will need a new one. my car seems ok but its too dark to tell some damage to the number plate and the bumper but its not obvious.
the woman said it would probably be better to go private and not involve insurance and she said her husband does that side of things so she doesnt even know who its with. i've got her name and number, her reg and a photo of the damage but thats all.
should i wait until she gets a quote for the work or shall i tell my insurance company what happened and then see what happens and then maybe settle privately if it is cheaper or do i have to go thru insurance once its been reported? i have protected no claims and am with elephant.
any advice would be appreciated
many thanks

teedee123

well I would tell my insurance company,you get ripped off,she may not be

insured.

penrhyn

You should never admit liability, even if you think you are at fault.
By law you should exchange insurance details, has the third party got yours?
I would report the incident to your insurance company, you would be amazed at the inflated claimed some people make.
If you have her registration number your insurance company will be able to find out who she is insured with via the DVLA.
A new bumper and a paint job could cost you £500+

MikeLB

Spooky, this happened to me a few weeks ago. I knocked into someone at low speed, not a single mark on my car, his car £600 to repair.

We both agreed to just sort it privately so he could get it fixed asap. I spoke to my insuarcne company and they advised that its okay to do it privately if you want, just make sure that the 3rd Party sign a letter stating you have paid for all damage to the vehicle relating to the incident, after it has been repaired. Also, The insurance company took a note of the date of incident, just in case a personal injury claim appeared. But they didnt take any details of the 3rd party, just the date.

So thats what I did. all been okay so far.

Keith

This incident will now be recorded on your file, so I believe you will need to tell your insurance company for the next 5 years as you were involved in an "incident".

Even a low speed rear impact, although it shows damage to the paint can cause a lot of damage to the boot floor. At the end of the day, if it costs too much to repair privately, you can always tell your insurance company and let them sort it out, its why we pay them anyway!