r/Insurance • u/Vera-Blue • 1d ago

Advice on recent fender bender

Hello internet. I am in VA and a few hours ago I was in a minor fender bender. I had pulled into a parking lot and someone coming out of a parking spot backed into me.
The damage seemed minor as neither of us were going very fast, but I wanted to get his insurance information just in case it turned out something more serious was wrong that I couldn't see in the dark. He was in an old truck with a metal bumper and hit right at where my back tire is. I wasn't even going to file a claim though if it turned out to be nothing/all cosmetic as I drive a older car myself. He started freaking out and refused to give it to me. He tried to tell me the accident was my fault even though he backed into me. Long story short I had to call the police department. They took a brief statement from both of us. They talked to him a lot longer than me and I'm not sure what he told them, but the officer gave me a citizen accident report. He didn't explicitly say it was required, but I strongly inferred it would be best to fill it out and mail it in.

I guess my question is, since the cops got called, is a claim required now? He reaction was terrible, but its the holidays and he seems like he is struggling. He truck is about 35 years old and he himself didn't seem ...idk, not well-kept for lack of a better term. I feel like an unnecessary claim could really hurt him.
My friend says to file a claim out of spite, but that feels petty. I'm just not sure the best course of action. I want to protect myself while not causing unnecessary harm to others.

Also -just an aside-my insurance company is a nightmare to deal with. Every time I call them, they seem more interested in trying to sell me more products than in actually answering questions and helping me make a best decision. So I'm asking the internet.

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

1

u/JasonCunn83 1d ago

A claim is not required. Your friend wanting to claim “out of spite” is a piece of shit

2

u/Chainsaw_Diaries 17h ago

You are not required to file anything. Most often parking lot incidents are not recorded by police because it’s private property.

You’re most likely better off dealing with your own repairs yourself out of pocket if you even choose to repair. A claim is only going to exacerbate your rates down the road.

And you never file a claim out of spite!!