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unfortunately i backed into a car today in the parking lot. the thing is he was double parked behind me and he parked in front of a red curb. i was late for class and in a hurry. i thought i had enough room to back out but i guess i didn't. i scraped his rear right bumper and took off some paint. i can't imagine the cost being more than $200, even for his 1995 porsche. the question i have is whether or not i should file a claim or try to settle this out of court. if any of you have any past experiences would i be better off to settle this without insurance brokerages or should i file a claim and hope it's a 70%/30% (or so) blame situation. thanks

Did an officer investigate? Citations? Blue forms? Handshake? Documentation?

Shade

I could give you a New Zealand perspective as an insurance broker but realise that the governing rules in the US will be very different.

In NZ it would still be a 100% liability on your part regardless of other circumstances. As you were aware of the vehicle (parked illegally or not) and it was stationary it would be a full blame on your part. Perhaps you could consider obtaining a repair quote before you decide?

I would say personally just settle it - Even if you were lucky to get 70/30 through the courts for a possible $200 total claim is it worth all that time wasted?

Don't settle anything through the insurance companies! If you guys have it at all like we have it in Canada, you'll get robbed blind for the next decade!

Rather, just file a police report and such (as I'm sure you have) and offer to pay for the damage out of your own pocket up-front, as it sounds like it was pretty much your fault. I don't see a reason to get the courts involved though. I was in an accident earlier this year and I explained to the man that I was really adamant against settling it through insurance, so if there was any possible way to avoid that, it would be appreciated. Luckily he was very reasonable. It cost me $1500 (plus damages to my car, which were considerably less), but that's a lot cheaper than going through insurance and paying an extra $4000-5000 per year for the next 5-10 years.

it was less than $500 in damages so we didn't need to get the police involved. we exchanged information and we decided to file claims tomorrow but i might try to persuade him otherwise after reading these posts

thanks for the advice guys. i guess i'll try to settle it amongst ourselves. hopefully he won't try to shaft me with an outrageous estimate. but if i can afford to pay it myself i guess it's worth it

I agree. Don't go through your insurance company with something that small. You'll end up paying more in the future through higher premiums.

Absolutely pay the guy. Don't get the insurance company involved. My wife filed a claim on a $700 fender bender, where she was at fault and they dropped her. We had to get separate $$ high-risk $$ insurance for her for a couple of years.