Insurance

[msk1986911]

When does it make sense to file an insurance claim? The basketball backboard on our driveway was knocked over in a recent storm. Luckily, the fall was broken by the roof of my car: 2000 Honda Civic (128K miles). The rim scratched the roof on the left side and the pole dented the roof on the right side. Is it worth looking into a claim? Would the claim be against home-owner's or my car policy (2 different companies). I have heard that even inquiring with the insurance company could have a negative impact on my insurance premium.

Any thoughts/comments are appreciated.

Mike

[Dantilla]

I carry very high deductables, so I'm covered if something BIG happens.

For little stuff like this, I'll just open my wallet and fix it.

[DasBoot]

What is your estimate of the damage? Is it worth it to repair an old Civic? That's what I would weigh.

[FastCarFan]

Many, many years ago I was in the insurance business -- I was an Independent Agent.

First of all, if you file under your auto insurance it would come under your comprehensive coverage, not your collision coverage. Often you hear of people not wanting to file for small claims under their collision coverage because they don't want their rates to go up. I think it is different with a comprehensive claim.

Comprehensive covers things "other than collision", including fire, theft, hitting a bird or animal, etc. In other words, generally things out of your control. So I don't think an insurance company would increase rates for a relatively small comp claim.

Having said that, if you have filed several claims in recent years, they could consider you a "nuisance", which could impact rates or whether or not they will renew you.

As for the homeowners coverage, I think it would cover the damage to the car. Same applies about being a nuisance. If you have filed 3-4 HO claims in the past 5 years they may think you are a problem.

But, this is a situation where you could argue both ways -- HO or auto. It wasn't a "fault" of the homeowner, so you can't argue that the homeowner is "responsible" for the claim (like falling on ice because the homeowner didn't shovel his sidewalk). I think the auto insurance is most appropriate, but I am not completely sure this is correct.

I agree with the person who carries high deductibles & uses insurance only for the big things. I have owned homes for over 20 years & I have only filed 1 insurance claim -- I had to have a roof replaced after a hailstorm. And I don't think I have ever filed an auto insurance claim, even though there have been a couple of, uh, minor incidents (thanks to my wife & son). Even though the repair costs were slightly above the deductible, I did not want the insurance company to consider me a nuisance. I chose to "save" the insurance coverage for a big incident.

A couple of other comments about insurance...You might want to consider dropping collision & comp coverage on a 2000 Civic. Look at what you are paying for relatively little insurance. For example, if the car is worth, what, $5,000? If you carry a $1,000 deductible the $ you are paying for collision & comp combined is only covering $4,000 ($5,000 value less $1,000 deductible). You can do the math using realistic figures. You will probably find that you are paying a high cost for relatively little coverage. For example, I have 4 cars & I carry comp & collision on all but my son's '98 Jetta. It just isn't worth it, especially considering the cost of comp & collision with an 18-year-old driver.

Also, you may want to consider using the same company for both HO & auto. While the situation you described is rather unsual, it would make it simpler, but more importantly you usually get discounts on both the HO & auto policies if you go with the same company. Plus you are a more "valuable" customer because you have more business with the insurance company, which comes in handy when you have a "gray area" claim.

My 2 cents. Hopefully someone with more current insurance knowledge will chime in to validate -- or correct -- what I have written.

[TerryH]

A. Cost of repair vs deductible and possible future insurance rate hikes

B. Cost of repair vs resale value w/ and w/o repair.

C. Is it too hideous to ignore? If there's paint loss you may want to at least use rust preventative.

I use insurance for catastrophic reasons only. My deductibles are too high for minor issues. I have filed one insurance claim in my lifetime and have learned my lesson. Insurance is a legalized scam, they get it all back and then some, with rate increases.

Guesstimating I've spent $90K on car/home/buisness insurance. I claimed $4K about 8 years ago and my rates increased for 2 years and covered more than the amount I claimed.