Im at Fault Accident. What Do I Do?

Hi. I have reversed into a parked car. It scratched my rear bumper (very slightly) now its buffed out.
It has also scratched the front bumper of a van (slightly).
The van owner bought the van 1 week ago and wants to claim on insurance.

I have comprehensive insurance.
I also have dashcam footage
I am with Bingle and they dont have a call centre and i can claim online and have to pay $795 excess first.
I have given them my insurance company and insurance policy number

Do I
a) Wait until their insurance company calls me? then i claim through bingle?

b) I claim through bingle anyways.

c) other options.

d) wait for my insurance company to call me?

I dont know what to do as this is the first time im at fault in an accident.
Thanks

Comments

  • +4

    d) wait for my insurance company to call me?

    • Agree with this. If you're not worried about any damage or repairs to your car and you're at fault then why bother claiming. Let the other party do so first and then by all means follow the process. There's a chance they might not even bother and it all goes away.

      • The terms and conditions require him/her to report all accidents involved the insured vehicle.

        • Some insurance companies/policies mandate you must report all incidents to them. That doesn't mean it's a claim though.

          You can absolutely report an accident and clearly state you are not raising a claim.

          • @Hybroid: I would like to report and not raise a claim however, bingle does not have a phone number and once i put in a claim, they ask for the payment in order to submit it. Im stuck

        • It appear that this does not apply to Bingle.

          2) Is it financially worth it?

          Depending on the extent of the damage your total excess may be more than the cost of repairing the damage privately. More information on excesses can be found here. So if you have a small ding, or a scratch, it may be better value for you to repair it yourself. If you do decide to claim with Bingle and the repair work is less than your total excess, the difference is refunded back to you.

          One other thing to consider is if you have a claim on your policy, you may see an increase in your next years premium.

          OP, I wouldn't report the accident. Option D

  • +23

    I have comprehensive insurance.

    Congratulations, you made the right choice.

    • +6

      This is legit the best insurance post this year.

      • +4

        No Dashcam footage.

        5/7.

        • +3

          Also needs a MS Paint diagram

          • @Typical16-bitEnjoyer: Surely MS paint is a bit of an overkill to describe reversing into a parked car.

            Unless the devil is in the details like: maybe the parked car parked in an ambulance spot without a permit, or the bearing of the parked car matters as the sun was in the drivers eyes as he reversed into a car.

            • @AbsX:

              Surely MS paint is a bit of an overkill to describe reversing into a parked car.

              Never!!!

        • I have dashcam footage

    • +3

      \insurance celebrations/

    • +1

      I am with Bingle and they dont have a call centre and i can claim online and have to pay $795 excess first.

      Could have made a better choice by going with a better insurer.

  • +11

    WOW someone with comprehensive insurance, AND admitting they were at fault.

    Got to be a troll thread.

    • I dont see why this is a problem?
      I reversed and into a parked car. I dont see how the other car is at fault unless illegally parked.

      • +9

        It’s just an ongoing joke.

        Most posts here are about having no insurance and trying to avoid liability so you’re sort of our hero.

  • +1

    Claim on your insurance, pay excess and provide claim number on all party. /End thread

    • +2

      Why does the OP have to claim on his insurance? The damage to his car has been buffed out.

      He has given his insurance details to the other party. That's all he needs to do. The other party will make a claim on their insurance, they will tell their insurer that the OP is at fault and provide their insurance company with OP's details.

      The OP's insurance company will call the OP to confirm the story.

      • +3

        provide their insurance company with OP's details.
        The OP's insurance company will call the OP to confirm the story.

        Then ask Op if he wants to initiate a claim and pay excess, or not go through insurance and pay van/van insurance directly.

      • +1

        They need to claim insurance because he is at fault, he can decide not to claim and pay for the Van damage by himself which may be far more than the excess

      • Thank you jelko. I was just not too sure of the procedure, but you have written it nice and neat for me. Cheers

  • B

  • +1

    OP you should have had comprehensive insurance

    • +1

      read OP

      I have comprehensive insurance.
      I am with Bingle

    • I have comprehensive insurance.

      forgot your glasses too?

  • +3

    OP you'll get far more responses if you repost this and not mention you have comprehensive insurance. People are clicking, seeing insurance, thinking "boooring" and clicking away.

  • A.

  • If it's minor, sometimes it cheaper to have him get it repaired and pay for it, if it's a minor as you say, then it might cost less to pay for the repair as opposed to your excess. It then doesn't affect your no claim bonus, ongoing premiums etc as well.

    • If it's minor, sometimes it cheaper to have him get it repaired and pay for it

      You should definitely pursue this option with the other party, but be prepared not to reach a settlement.

      Often new car owners are completely unreasonable when it comes to this. They'll expect a new bumper, even though an insurer would never give them a new bumper.

  • You could offer him cash to settle the issue. Maybe offer him less than your excess. If he accepts, get him to sign he waived his right to claim against you.

  • +1

    I would say the driver is just annoyed at this stage. Many of the "scuffs" upon modern plastic bumpers can be buffed out.
    A good repair shop will just tell the driver to get some wax and polish.
    I would just wait and see. Don't worry about your insurer - too much excess these days.
    The damage may only be $200 if that.

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