So basically another question for you insurnace gurus out there.

Today I was really pissed off while driving (never a good idea, i know) and lovetapped someone in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeway (first accident ). Unfourtunatly for me, that someone just happened some woman driving a BRAND NEW lexus that her husband had just bought her. (princess?) I didnt see her right away because one of her brake lights was burnt out, and I had just switched lanes into her lane and hadnt noticed yet. By the time i noticed the other brake light was on and she was stopped it was too late. I slammed on the brakes.

we pulled over and inspected the damage. No damage to either car, except for a BARELY NOTICABLE SCUFF MARK on her bumper (can be clay-barred out). Of course, since shes better than everyone else, she calls the cops and goes inside her car while the mans shes with (not husband...) writes down my insurnace info. I sit outside, and take a look at the damage on her bumper. The scuff marks are so light, they could easily be buffed out. but still, she flips out.

So the cops come, file an accident report, put me as the at-fault driver, but gave her a citation but not me. (for the burned-out taillight she has)

Just wondering, how much do you think my insurance will go up? Personally I think it was both of our faults, she braked fairly quicly with a busted taillight and I was so pissed off my attention wasnt entirely on driving.

Im not sure if she will file a claim with her/my insurance, but about how much will my insurance go up if she does and how much if she doesnt? bear in mind im 17, with no past accidents/violations.

Thanks.


maan what a crappy day. i get in an accident AND find out that RX7 guy is a con artist...

 

I was rear ended recnelty in my moms car. The other dude and I both looked at the car it didn't appear to have any damage besides a scuff mark. I got his info for good measure. Upon further investigation there was a hairline crack that was quite long that neither one of us noticed at the time of the accident. I was expecting maybe several hundred dollars of damage, but it actually ended up being near 700.00. So what appears to not be a big deal might end up costing you.

Under california law, when someone rear ends someone else it is almost always the person who did the rear endings fault. They say should have allowed enough space to drive safely etc etc. Learned that rule the hard way. Might want to consider paying out of pocket and not informing your insurance of the accident if your deductible is 1000.00.

I'm no guru so wait for 00lx5sp to give more info. Just giving you infos based on experience and not being an industry insider like 00 lol.


edit: how was the rx7 dude a con artist? details if you don't mind sharing.

 

just goto the "deal of a lifetime" thread... i guess he scammed someone else out of their money then ran. Just gone. I never got the VIN, maybe the car was stolen or something. It was just for sale in the parking lot with an email address on it. never thought to write down the VIN, figured i could get it later, as I would do a carfax before i bought the car.

but back on track, i tried to get the lady to let me pay out of pocket, but she wouldnt let me. shes like NO!! INSURANCE ****!. I even offered to go to the ATM right then and there and give her like $350... which is more than enough for something like scuff marks. and it was bumper to bumper, stop + go traffic. I ALWAYS leave a big cushion of space between me and the other cars... it was more or less a combination between many things. My being pissed off (no, not the RX7 thing.. but its a long story i really dont want to type), her burned out brake light (which ... just my luck... was where i was looking when she braked) and her stopping fairly quickly. But mostly my not concentrating enough on the road. Regardless, the cop said i was the at fault driver.
What i was also asking, is that will my insurance skyrocket the same amount even though the cop didnt give give me a citation?

I dont know why she had to call the cops tho. that was really ... $*(%*$( uncool.

 

Does homegirl have your infos? When I rear ended some old lady her insurance called me and said u did xxx amount of damage what's your insurance info. Don't know why they asked me as I gave the old lady all that info. Maybe her insurance will come to you first and not go directly to your insurance? Anyways, when the dude called from triple A I just told him I would pay out of pocket and he told me how to pay and i was golden. Mine was also a love tap and I did 500.00 worth of damage on a buick. Darn these cheap plastic bumper covers! Since homegirl called the police (when i rear ended old lady and was rear ended police weren't involved) and there is a report, i'm not sure if your insurance will find out. Not sure how that works. I would expect for it to go up a couple hundred.

 

I'm not an insurance guru, so take what I have to say with personal consideration and outway the pros/cons.

In many states the person that rear-ends the other is at fault. Also, it's common that many insurance companies require the police to be called to the scene to a) assign fault, and b) ensure that someone was/wasn't hurt on the scene, as well as to validate there was an accident (for fraudulent reasons).

That's unfortunate that she's being a snob, but I would never say out loud that you are at fault (saying you're BOTH at fault, still puts fault on yourself).
Be consistent saying that her taillight was out, and that it was her fault you hit her. Her inability to maintain proper traffic driving, as well as having a burned out tail light caused you accidentally bump her.

As for the deductible, I might be wrong, but I think that's strictly for uninsured motorist insurance; which doesn't have any bearing in this situation.

Let us know how it goes..

Oh, and sorry about the RX-7 man, that sounded awesome!

 

If you run into the rear of someone else, it is almost always your fault. I have seen cases when the other person's brake lights were not even functioning at all that the blame was still placed on the person who rear ended them. The basic insurance company's mentality is, do not hit something in front of you. You shouldn't need to see brake lights to know someone is in front of you and to be able to judge the distance between cars. If the person's brake lights were not working at all, the insurance company may investigate to see if there is any evidence the person got rear-ended on purpose(i.e. fraud) but that is extremely hard to prove. That does not seem to be the case in this situation.
But hey man...accidents happen to the best of us. Even insurance adjusters. The CEO of my insurance company rear ended 3 people in one month this year.
Here's what I would do:
1st: Did you get HER insurance info? If so, contact them and ask if they will make their own estimate so you could pay her directly and not have your insurance company involved.
2nd: If you know it has ben reported to your own insurance company, callthem. Explain what happened (DO NOT tell them you were angry at the time. I would tell them she slammed on her brakes and I couldn't stop in time) and ask them to tell you how much the damage is. Ask them if you can pay the damage on your own so they do not have to pay anything.This would show they never paid a claim.
3rd: One small accident should not make your rates go up. if it does, I suggest you shop around for other insurance.

Let me know if you have any more questions