Should we inform the insurance company?

Sinbad

I am posting this on behalf of my daughter.

At the weekend she had someone rear end her. It was a slow speed impact and there is no visible damage to her car but the other car did suffer some damage. After the incident they did exchange details.

As there was no damage to my daughter’s car, she felt there was no need to contact her insurance company.

Today, she has a call from an insurance assessor from the other driver’s insurance company. He wants to check her vehicle over to confirm that there is indeed no damage. As yet they have not agreed a date for the visit.

The questions we have:

Should we (can we?) decline the visit and inform them that she doesn’t see the need for a visit as she’s happy there is no damage?

Is she likely to be penalised in the future for have a record of an accident as we’re always told that insurance companies share details?

TIA

Woodstok2000

Without even reading the post, based on the thread title: yes. With that thread title the answer is always yes.

GrubbyGirl_2

Just because there is no visible damage doesn't mean there is no damage. My partner had a similar accident and although there didn't appear to be damage as the bumper pinged back into shape there was damage to the metal structure underneath. The fact that the person has damage to the front of their car means the impact was significant.

A rear end accident means it will not be considered as her fault. She definitely should be contacting her insurance company

vacheron

I had someone drive into the back of me a few years ago (minor cosmetic bumper damage) and we agreed that the driver was going to pay my garage directly to avoid it going through his insurance company, yet my insurer still found out and wrote me a letter about 6 months later saying they were aware I was involved in an accident and didn't declare it, along with a small premium increase, so I would be up front and honest, especially as your details are clearly already in the insurance industry databases.

MyRealNameToo

You are contractually obligated to inform your insurers, but you wouldnt be the first person to "forget" to tell them. It does come at a risk that is heightened by the fact the other person has told their insurers and given them your details but still some would get away with it. Just as long as you are aware that intentional non-disclosure gives your insurers the right to void the policy and not pay any claim even if the non-disclosure is irrelevant to the claim plus you cannot go bankrupt to avoid paying someone compensation for injuring them.

I'd echo others, the rear end of the car is designed to get damaged to avoid injury to the occupants. The deformation isnt always obvious at a glance but once its happened its ability to save you the next time is significantly compromised until you get it fixed. It doesnt have to be their mobile engineer but it would be sensible for someone to inspect the vehicle to make sure its all ok.

Aretnap

Come renewal time your daughter will be asked if she has had any accidents in the last 3 or 5 years, whether or not she made a claim and regardless of blame. Obviously the honest answer to that question is yes, even if the only damage was to the other car.

I don't mean to sound moralistic - if I had a minor bump with an inanimate object and caused no damage or slight scratches to my car I wouldn't be inclined to tell my insurance company either. But with the other drivers insurance company already involved the option of keeping it as her own little secret is obviously a ship that has sailed. I would certainly tell my insurer in those circumstances.

Assuming the other driver doesn't start claiming that she reversed into him or somesuch nonsense it will certainly go down as a no fault accident. The impact on her premiums will be lower than for a fault accident, but might not be zero.

Also agree that she should get her car checked out one way or another - it is fairly common for a bumper to spring back into shape leaving non-visible damage behind it. If the other drivers' insurance company are offering to do this for free there seems to be little to lose by accepting their offer - they obviously still know about the accident either way.

Sinbad

Thanks for all the valuable comments. Insurance company notified!