For a variety of reasons, millions of car accidents go unreported each year. In this article, we talk about some of the main reasons people do not report accidents and why this is a mistake for all parties involved.
Worry About Your Premiums Later
Perhaps the most common reason people do not report an accident to either the police or their insurance company is because they are worried about their premiums rising.
For the at-fault party, premiums may rise, but the risk of letting an accident go unreported is high as well. The not at-fault party may decide to report it. And if so, your credibility and ability to limit damage payment may suffer.
For the not at-fault party, there are very few reasons to let an accident go unreported. No insurance company will increase your premiums because you are deemed not at-fault for the accident. On the other hand, your ability to recover a range of damage costs hinges on the timeliness of the report. If you wait too long, the insurance company may not assess the damage by arguing there is no way to prove when the damage occurred.
Have Your Car Assessed Immediately
Excuses like, I did not report the accident because it was just a small bump, or I only grazed the other car so there was no damage, often lead to trouble. After all, moving cars that hit each other will cause damage no matter the speed. Take a look at this quote from a Consumer Reports article:
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) provides a wallet-cringing reality check on repair costs with its assessment of low-speed crash damage. In a staged 10-mph crash that had a 2010 Toyota Corolla rear-end a2010 Toyota RAV4, the IIHS found the visible damage to be very slight. Yet, the Corolla had more than $3,800 in repairs and the RAV4 suffered $6,000 of harm. Even the cheapest damage in 14 such trials by the IIHS involving seven vehicle pairings produced almost $3,000 in total losses—six times the typical $500 collision deductible.
The takeaway? When cars collide, the damage usually costs thousands of dollars to repair. If an accident goes unreported, both parties are responsible for paying the full amount of these exorbitant costs.
Go to a Doctor Right Away
Here is the mistake: I do not need a doctor. I feel fine.
As we have covered in other articles, injuries like whiplash have a way of surfacing many hours or even days after the accident. Head injuries and shock also come into play immediately after an accident. This can cloud your judgment as well as mask severe pain.
Too often, people involved in car accidents wait until the pain becomes overwhelming before they visit a doctor. Whether it is everyday life, a job, a vacation, or some other reason, the doctor visit gets knocked down the to-do list. This is a shame for two main reasons:
- Your health is suffering.
- Any insurance claim you could make to recover medical costs becomes harder to prove with each passing day.
For More Info
An auto accident attorney can help answer all of your car accident reporting questions. If you’ve been the victim of an automobile accident through no fault of your own in the Philadelphia area, contact me at (267) 627-4JOE (267-627-4563) for a free consultation. We can begin the path to your recovery together.
