should I file a claim to fix parking lot damage - continued

by Tom Zoebelein - Tue, Sep 9, 2014 12:46 PM

Your first question is likely to be- if I claim this on my insurance, will my insurance price go up in near future?

Because if the answer is yes, then you will want to know if it is a bad idea to claim it in on your insurance or if you should bite the bullet and pay out of pocket.

So should claim this parking lot damage on your insurance or not?

This parking lot damage is still considered by your car insurance company to be a collision. Parking lots are no different than public roads, and if you hit something with your car it's a collision, and is covered under your collision policy.

Now if you scraped or bumped your car against something this is an at-fault collision and will count against your premiums if you live in an at fault state.

If someone else is responsible for the damage (like another car and you are able to get their driver and insurance information), then it's a not at-fault accident and your record will still be clean.

Sometimes in some states, parking lot damage is a no-fault regardless of who hit who if the state determines that it happened on private property. I once got T boned in a restaurant parking lot in Virginia and police could not find fault because it did not happen on a state roadway, even though the other driver was CLEARLY at fault.

If you are responsible for your own damage, your best bet is to spend the extra $100- $500 and fix it yourself. The $100 to $500 you save today could end up costing you this same amount multiplied for several years until the claim drops off your record (usually three years or more). You never know when a real accident or speeding ticket is going to happen, and the last thing you need is for one little scrape to be the thing that pushes you into the high-risk market.

So if you have some minor damage from a parking lot and nobody was injured, and regardless of fault, please come in for a quote and we will try and work with your budget.