Absolutely panicking - please help (car accident and police)

[Unsure72]

I hired a car yesterday and while reversing into a space in a car park, I accidentally hit a metal post/bollard. I couldn’t see any damage to the post, but the car door has a dent in it. I told the car hire company that I put a dent in the car (I’ve given them no further details of how this happened at this stage) and they’ve asked me to fill out an incident form describing what happened for insurance purposes.

However, having had a bit of a google, I’m now absolutely panicking that I should have reported the incident to the police, because I hit a piece of street furniture. It didn’t cross my mind at the time because the post appeared to have no damage, but obviously it was hit.

I’ve had a sleepless night worrying about it and am so scared I’ve screwed up.

Does this also mean I could get points on my licence or have to pay more for my insurance in future? I’ve been driving for about 15 years and have never had an accident before - I feel so incredibly stupid

It’s not a huge mess OP! You’re in a panic spiral.

Remind yourself that EVERY HUMAN MAKES MISTAKES and that is the very reason why you have insurance! It’s not a moral failing to make an occasional error. You’ve done the good and responsible thing by taking out insurance - stop beating yourself up about this.

You don’t need to report the incident if there was no damage to the post.

You will absolutely still be able to hire cars again.

Check what your insurance policy says about reporting accidents in cars not covered by the policy and then just do what it says. Even if you do report and your premium increases, it isn’t going to be a significant increase for such a minor incident.

Everything is going to be ok

It’s a huge mess because my insurance will undoubtedly go up (and my financial situation is tight). I’m also concerned that I should have reported it to the police but having posted on here, it sounds like there was no need. I’m going to go back tonight to double-check there was definitely no damage to the bollard and take some photos

This is really, really not worth getting worked up about.

Thank you Aphid. I get very anxious about things so am not dealing with this very well!

On what planet is this a huge mess?
Agreed. Personally I wouldn’t report this to my regular insurance unless I thought they could cross check, which I don’t see how.

I doubt your insurance will go up a great deal!

It’s really not a huge mess. The worst that can happen is your insurance premiums might increase slightly.

Not worth stressing over.

I totally understand - once you’re in a panic you start catastrophising and can only envisage worst case scenarios. I do the same for my own problems, but am very clear headed about other people’s!

You may not even need to report this under your own insurance policy - see what it says. If you do, it really won’t lead to a huge hike. And if it does go up by more than you are happy with, shop around as you’re likely to get a better deal elsewhere.

Take a deep breath, remind yourself that the worst possible outcome isn’t automatically the most likely one, and stay calm.

You dont need to tell the police or council if the post was not damaged.

Check your policy documebts regarding what your current insurer says regarding notifying them of incidents unrelated to their policy.

You will 100% need to inform them of the fault claim you made come renewal time and if youre getting new quotes.

Probably a 10 - 30% increase in premium depending on insurer

OP uou need to take some deep breaths and calm down. People have accidents every day and yours barely counts on any kind of scale.

Nobody was hurt, even the bollard wasn't damaged. I don't think an undamaged bollard in a car park counts as damaging street furniture.

I was once in a car accident when someone came the wrong way down a one way street. She tried to blame me by saying it wasn't a one way street and called the police. When the policeman came he told her off for wasting police time because nobody was injured and they didn't have time for accidents where nobody was injured.

You don't need to report it to the council. You will need to declare it for the next 3 years to your insurance. It will be recorded on the database so not declaring it will be fraudulent.

I work for enterprise and if you have reported an accident it wont stop you hiring again unless you are a persistent offender.

Even if you think there is no damage you have to report it as later something could be found ie; damage to an area not visible.

I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

Yes pp

Insurance fraud is 100% something to worry about and will have severe consequences. So dont do that

@mummyoflittledragon Insurers can and do have the ability to cross check to stop fraudulent claims.
Not declaring it at renewal can cause your premium to rise and could lead to your policy being suspended.

Even if you think there is no damage you have to report it as later something could be found ie; damage to an area not visible.

@amatsip do you mean no damage to the bollard or damage to the car?

“Probably a 10 - 30% increase in premium depending on insurer”

30% - wow

It didn't even cross my mind to report it when I hit a post. I was too busy cursing said post. Don't worry.

With all due respect op, the vast majority of replies are telling you that you do not need to report as you say, there was no damage to report. But you are picking out the very few replies that are saying to report and questioning those further. You caused no damage, you do not need to report. People are telling you this but you don’t seem to be taking it on board.

OP - you don't need to do anything you haven't already done.

There is absolutely no need to report it to the council. You've
already said there was no visible damage.

If you're driving on the hire company's insurance, your own insurance won't be going up as you've no need to get them involved.

Relax!

It's not likely to have s big impact on your insurance. I've claimed off mine before and the increase was tiny (can't even remember how much it was so small). When do you the your insurance? And no three police will not be interested.

I think honestly don’t worry about it. There was no damage to the post and so no action will be taken by the police. I wouldn’t bother to report it to your insurance either as you haven’t claimed. The car hire company will fix it.

I bet the post gets hit at least once a week.

Zsazsa, I don’t have any personal insurance as I don’t own my own car - only the policy I took out through the car hire company. So I have to report it to their insurance as they’ve sent me a form to fill out. Sorry if I’m not understanding this insurance business very well!

Smellbow you’re right - I think I’m just in panic/catastrophizing mode

So if you don’t have personal insurance, you won’t have a premium to go up.

There isn’t a central database of car hirers and incidents they’ve had, don’t worry about that.

The insurance costs from hire car companies will be flat rate - you won’t pay any extra.

Jon, if I do buy a car later this year, would I have to declare this incident when taking out insurance on the new car?

I do have home insurance which covers a few extras (mobile phone, legal bills) but no insurance for driving, as I don’t own a car at the moment. I just go through the car hire company or buy a cheap 30-day cover from one of those icarhire type companies each time.