To not report a car accident?

[helpagirlout17]

NC so that this doesn't get associated with my other threads!

DP rear ended someone this morning, so lightly, no damage noticeable on either car. They exchanged details.
I said to DP he has to report to police but the form says because no one was hurt you don't need to.

However should he report to insurance company? (Ignoring the T&C's that say you should - not checked policy yet)

The car he went into has a dent on the boot that cannot have been caused by DP, his car is low down but the boot is high so his car can't reach it. I'm worried she might say he has to pay for that.
He hasn't accepted liability - although I know it would go in her favour.

Anyway - if he doesn't report it then she comes back with something outrageous (I'm very sceptical of people!) he would then go through insurance - how long until you have to do this? Or they say it's bad he didn't tell them sooner?

Any advice?

[MitziK]

An ex wrote off his 4 year old car at 2mph when it slid into the car behind on snow. serves him right for trying to move it whilst standing outside smoking a fag and leaning through the window. The poor neighbour just needed a new bumper.


I think your DH was lucky the woman didn't suddenly develop 'severe whiplash' and claim thousands off him.

[Hingeandbracket]

I was rear ended by a woman too busy using her Range Rover as a mobile office to bother looking out of the large office window at the front. Damage appeared minimal but actually cost over £1500 due to unseen damage.

[cabbageking]

He caused the damage and it is up to the insurance people to decide if the damage is appropriate.

He could still take some photos of his car as this may still be helpful to evidence the speed of the impact.

[hidinginthenightgarden]

Oh dear op! Did you end up reporting it to your insurer?
Someone went into the back of me and although it felt light/medium, it smashed my laptop, dented the bumper (not visable from outside car) and caused whiplash that I am still struggling with 10 months later.
If you have pictures then send them to your insurer to prove the damage is not likely from you. But if you are kidding yourself that it was a knock not a bump, be aware that it can cause more damage than it looks.

[fuckitywhy]

Someone went into my new car at maybe 5mph in a car park. I didnt think it had done much at the time, but they had dented the back bumper, broken the numberplate, and destroyed the exhaust pipe. You can't always see the damage right away.

[Witchend]

Someone went into the back of me at about 5mph.
Slight damage to bumper, and small dent.
First garage I went to told me it was a write off (about £1500) second quoted around £1000. After some looking we found someone that did it for £600. However it was a good enough job for our car, but the other places would have done it better.
There was more damage than it first appeared, it became obvious when I went to open the boot.
The dent in the boot looked too high for the car to have done, but it definitely did it.

She's not necessarily trying to diddle you.

[helpagirlout17]

Hello all, as an update. The woman never contacted DP and after a week made a claim on his insurance for the excess damage that was already in place.

We did say people aren't nice!

[helpagirlout17]

I'm not disputing if he's at fault, please RTFT.

[AdobeWanKenobi]

The rear ending was less than a knock

DS had less than a knock to the rear end of his car a few years ago. He took it to the main dealer to have a look for damage and there was £1100 worth underneath that hadn't been visible.

Modern car bumpers are designed to crumple. Less than a knock can cause a lot of damage.

[loutypips]

If he went into the back of her, then in the insurance company's eyes he is at fault. It doesn't matter if he admits it or not- technically he is at fault.

[helpagirlout17]

Thanks for advice.

The rear ending was less than a knock - imagine just touching bumper as if you were going to jump start a car - there wouldn't be unseen damage caused by him it would be impossible.

I also think report it to insurer as it would look bad - he's need to go through insurance if it was more than about £200

[TiddyTid]

All incidents need to be reported to your insurer. It will be in the T&Cs, even if there is no claim. I've just done this myself as I can't risk invalidating our insurance.

[maggiecate]

He should report to his insurance - there may be damage that isn’t visible or an injury claim might come in if she suddenly develops whiplash. If he ran into the back of her then the insurance will regard him as at fault. The condition of her car is irrelevant. If it comes up down the road that there’s been an accident that he hasn’t reported where he was at fault it might impact the validity of his insurance or resulting him being refused insurance.

[FreckledLeopard]

In theory you must report every incident to the insurer. Realistically, if the other driver doesn't report and you sort out any damage privately, then this may avoid premiums going up. BUT, be careful about doing this because if the other driver decides to be difficult and you then do report to insurer, they may well question why you didn't report immediately.

[Todaythiscouldbe]

He should advise his insurer. What is his plan if her quote runs into the £1000's?

[helpagirlout17]

He's got all the photos and whilst he is at fault, he has not admitted it in case they end up in an argument over damage not caused in this accident.

Also Martin Lewis always says not to admit it.

I know it doesn't need to go through police now but still unsure about insurance.
Her car was 12 years old and her MOT history has a lot of issues with the rear in the advisories so I think it's likely she hit a post or something as that's what the damage looks like.

I'm so sceptical - my parents have been in a few accidents where they were trusting when not at fault and then the other party claimed that it was their fault.

[Mamamia456]

I would wait and see if she comes back with a quote for damage. Someone hit my car not so long ago while it was parked. They didn't want to go through the insurance so I got a quote for the damage and they paid me cash up front. The police don't need to be informed as there were no injuries. I hope he took photos of both cars at the scene.

[wherearemymarbles]

His fault as he went into the back of her.

He can tell his insurers there were was an accident but no damage and no claim

It might lead to a small increase in premiums or it might not but at least he is covered if she comes back asking for £500 or more.

(I had this happen some years ago and my premium didn't change)

[hazell42]

H is certainly 100% at fault, as I'm sure you know.
Not everyone I out to scam you. I have been hit several times. A couple of times I told then not to worry about it as the damage was minimal, and once asked for 50 quid, which the other driver was happy with.
Wait and see what they asked for but If their car was reasonably new (mine wasnt) it might cost several hundred pounds even if the damage is not apparent.
But don't assume that they are going to rip you off.
Have faith in the goodness of people, unless you have been given reason not to

[Finfintytint]

Did he take photos?

[FizzyIce]

She will claim for that damage for sure , it happened to me .
Luckily we went through insurance as they found in her favour because let’s face it ,they’re not very thorough when investigating . Was infuriating though as the damage was there before as I noticed it before the minor accident

[Jupiters]

As there are no injuries and no damage, other the the cars involves, it doesn't need reporting to police.

[ilovesooty]

I think he was unwise to agree not to go through insurance.

[helpagirlout17]

Sorry forgot to say they agreed they'd not go through insurance and she would give him a quote for any damage.