Auto insurance claim or not?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I hit a pole yesterday and did damage to my minivan. The sliding door is what I hit.

I got three estimates ranging from $$4300 to $4900 to $4700. This is all out of pocket without insurance claim. My deductible is $500. I also have rental car coverage.

Am I correct in thinking that I should make a claim? Because even if my insurance goes up it would have to go up around $100 a month for 3 years to make it not worth filing. I'm not sure our premiums will go up $100 month?

Advice please.

[dfeucht]

That's the exact type of claim you have collision coverage for and should be submitting to insurance. If it's between $500-1000, probably need to think about it, at over $4k definitely submit it.

[msomnipotent]

Can you still use the door? Personally, I would file a claim. I didn't notice an increase on our first claim (we do not have accident forgiveness), but someone hit us so it might be because we were not liable. My husband would want to pocket the insurance money and make me keep driving the van as-is if the door still worked. He would get his car fixed, though.

[Drake3287]

That's the exact type of claim you have collision coverage for and should be submitting to insurance. If it's between $500-1000, probably need to think about it, at over $4k definitely submit it.

Exact answer! Unless of course you have a long history of claims, DUI's etc. It's to bad the insurance industry has made us be so afraid of making a claim's.

[disneysteve]

It's to bad the insurance industry has made us be so afraid of making a claim's.

Yep. We pay all the money but know that if we file a claim, they'll either hike our rates or drop our coverage entirely. That happened to us years ago with our home owners insurance. Apparently if you file 2 claims within 5 years, they drop you. It doesn't matter what the claims were for or how much money was involved.

I basically consider insurance for catastrophic stuff now and cover smaller things out of pocket.

[jacklpalmer]

I hit a pole yesterday and did damage to my minivan. The sliding door is what I hit.

I got three estimates ranging from $$4300 to $4900 to $4700. This is all out of pocket without insurance claim. My deductible is $500. I also have rental car coverage.

Am I correct in thinking that I should make a claim? Because even if my insurance goes up it would have to go up around $100 a month for 3 years to make it not worth filing. I'm not sure our premiums will go up $100 month?

Advice please.

Uh... yeah. I don't suppose your policy has accident forgiveness?

[rennigade]

Yes...file a claim. This is the exact reason why you pay insurance.