Scratch in car park - Claim on insurance of pay out of pocket

Se99paj

So my partner managed to scratch quite a large dent in our car a couple of weeks ago whilst trying to park in a car park, no other cars were involved and it was obviously our fault.

I'm trying to decide if I should claim on the car insurance or pay out of my own pocket to fix the repairs.

I'm getting quotes from bodyshops on how much it would be for a repair, and I'm sure it will be more than the excess for my insurance (£850) - But what I'm trying to factor into the decision is how much my insurance is going to go up after making the claim.

Do people experience insurance to go up by a few £100 or would it be significantly more?

CliveOfIndia

It's hard to say as it will vary from one insurer to another.  You need to factor in that your premiums will increase anyway as you're now viewed as a higher risk, plus the loss of some of your no-claims discount.  As well as having to pay the excess, of course.

One way to get an idea is to do some dummy quotes on one of the aggregator sites and see what difference claiming would make for a given insurer.  It's not an exact science, but it should give you a reasonable idea.

It's well worth looking at those "smart repair" places (there's bound to be one somewhere near you).  Depending on the nature of the damage, they can often do a really good repair for quite a lot less than a full-on bodyshop that an insurer would use.

MeteredOut

CliveOfIndia said:

It's hard to say as it will vary from one insurer to another.  You need to factor in that your premiums will increase anyway as you're now viewed as a higher risk, plus the loss of some of your no-claims discount.

One way to get an idea is to do some dummy quotes on one of the aggregator sites and see what difference claiming would make for a given insurer.  It's not an exact science, but it should give you a reasonable idea.

It's well worth looking at those "smart repair" places (there's bound to be one somewhere near you).  Depending on the nature of the damage, they can often do a really good repair for quite a lot less than a full-on bodyshop that an insurer would use.

In case its not clear, the above is a reference to the fact that you should (must?) tell your insurer about the damage, even if you do not wish to raise a claim with them.

Many don't and the insurer is unlikely to find out unless you or someone else tells then, but technically (and perhaps legally) you leave yourself open to an accusation of fraud by not informing them.

CliveOfIndia

MeteredOut said:

In case its not clear, the above is a reference to the fact that you should (must?) tell your insurer about the damage, even if you do not wish to raise a claim with them.

You're absolutely right, of course.  But in reality, if you're not going to claim and there was no other vehicle involved, how many people would actually tell their insurer ?

Actually, OP, that does raise an important question ........

Se99paj said:

no other cars were involved

Did you cause any damage to anything in the car park, such as a sign-post, a bollard, or any other "street furniture" (I think what's they call it) ?  If so, and if there is CCTV or other evidence, there's a possibility that you could find yourself receiving a bill from the car-park owner.  If there's any realistic chance of that happening, you may decide it's wise you inform your insurer anyway - things like damaged bollards can be surprisingly and ridiculously expensive to replace.

It may be a non-issue, but certainly something to bear in mind.

cw8825

Realistically speaking for the cost of your excess it’s worth getting it done on insurance

the benefits outweigh the cons

the major con being the raised premium myth 

There is far more upside

chrisw

I've usually found that any increased premium with your own insurance company can usually be mitigated or completely offset by shopping around at renewal so you don't really notice it.

facade

If you are intent on not telling your insurer (your choice)

DO NOT DO DUMMY QUOTES USING YOUR OWN DETAILS, and preferably work through a VPN.

The aggregators offer your details to loads of insurers, to see who will quote, and if one is your current insurer you have just told them about the accident, they will soon contact you offering to cancel your policy for not disclosing an accident!

MeteredOut

facade said:

If you are intent on not telling your insurer (your choice)

DO NOT DO DUMMY QUOTES USING YOUR OWN DETAILS, and preferably work through a VPN.

The aggregators offer your details to loads of insurers, to see who will quote, and if one is your current insurer you have just told them about the accident, they will soon contact you offering to cancel your policy for not disclosing an accident!

Why would a VPN help?

Although I agree its probably prudent to not use your own name on such a quote (purely for peace of mind), I suspect the likelihood that insurer use information provided in quotes that do not progress to policy is very unlikely, and probably an urban myth alongside suggestions such as airlines increasing prices for individuals if they search for the same flight multiple times and the recommendation to use a different browser/privacy mode.

LeafGreen

The amount your insurance will go up will very much depend on personal circumstances.  I remember one case when I worked as an insurance broker, customer had 2 year's NCD (40%) about to get to 3 years(50%) - a claim would have been 2 years step back (down to 0%) so premium doubled at renewal just on NCD reduction alone, never mind any loading for the incident itself.
An £850 excess is obviously quite a lot, best to find out how much the repair quotes are coming back at before considering and making a decision.

facade

MeteredOut said:

facade said:

If you are intent on not telling your insurer (your choice)

DO NOT DO DUMMY QUOTES USING YOUR OWN DETAILS, and preferably work through a VPN.

The aggregators offer your details to loads of insurers, to see who will quote, and if one is your current insurer you have just told them about the accident, they will soon contact you offering to cancel your policy for not disclosing an accident!

Why would a VPN help?

Although I agree its probably prudent to not use your own name on such a quote (purely for peace of mind), I suspect the likelihood that insurer use information provided in quotes that do not progress to policy is very unlikely, and probably an urban myth alongside suggestions such as airlines increasing prices for individuals if they search for the same flight multiple times and the recommendation to use a different browser/privacy mode.

They will log the IP address used to request the quote.  Won't hurt to obfuscate it. ("Dynamic" IP addresses don't change very often)

There have been anecdotal reports on here about people doing dummy quotes to find out what happens if they accept an SP30 rather than take a course and the insurers logged the SP30 against their details, then wanted to know why they weren't declaring their SP30 later on.

I was actually referring to the specific case where the aggregator passes all the details on to their panel of insurers, which includes the one that is the current insurer. Now the current insurer knows that you have been seeking quotes with a declared accident, but you have omitted to declare one! Fairly trivial task for all these AI systems nowadays...

LeafGreen

Also these days you generally have to put the vehicle reg in to get a quote.