The story:
I was on my way to St. Simons Island (off the GA coast) and while on the freeway the ******** in front of me runs over some tire tread sitting on the road, he was just not not paying attention and doesn't try to avoid. Well the problem with that is that it flew up after his back tire went over it, me being stuck with cars around me took the tread right into my front right bumper. I couldn't avoid but I tried to contain it in a small area. It broke my bumper leaving a large crack on the under side of the bumper and smaller cracking starting from the bottom to about a foot up.

The Question:
It obviously needs to be replaced, how should I go about replacing it? If I go to my insurance would my rate raise for this? (I recently had a bad bad crash where my previous car was totaled, not my fault, but might look bad with the insurance). If I decide the replace the bumper myself would it be cheaper to just get the oem bumper or an aftermarket bumper? Please send my some links to find out how much I am looking at to replace this...

Thank you

-Adam

 

comprehensive claims do not affect your insurance policy, it is illegal to do so.

The OEM bumper is about $225 + painting, usually another $200. If your insurance deductible is less than or equal to $500, I say just claim it on insurance, and make sure you go to a reputable shop and MAKE SURE the paint is a correct match, and the work is to your liking. You may possibly even convince your insurance company to buy you an aftermarket bumper, usually they are cheaper than OEM, and it's all just money to them and as long as you're happy with it, all the better.

 

Thats what I was thinking, and my isurance does have a 500 dollar deductible. I'm glad to know it's illegal to raise my insurance, looks like I'm going to claim.

 

dude you just got bum advise here.

If it's going to be < $500 to fix it, then YOU SHOULDN'T EVEN CALL YOUR INSURANCE AGENT. Pay for it yourself. Heck, I'd say < $1k and you should fix it yourself.

No matter what anyone says, any claim on your insurance can and will jack with your rates. When I got my last policy after changing companies, I had to explain everything on my record... from my car being broken into to accidents where I was and wasn't at fault.

Edit to add: My agent told me that if I call him to ask about something like this, he has to report it in the system, even if no claim comes out of it (CYA for the insurance company). So don't even call your agent if you are going to fix it yourself.

 

so would about 500 be a good estimate for the bumper and have it painted?

 

I dunno... you should maybe try a body shop... Estimates are free...

 

First of all, no offense Otocan, but you don't know what you're talking about. Why should he claim it on his insurance if the total cost is going to be close to his deductible? He'll gain nothing! And trust me, you don't even have to take money from the insurance guys to get on their bad side. My insurance company threatened to drop me because I had too many "claims" over a period of a year or so, even though none of them were my fault and they didn't have to even pay any money on ANY of them! (other person's insurance paid or I paid out-of-pocket)

Goofygrin is right on. If it's less than $1,000 (actually, I'd say $1,200-1,500), DON'T EVEN CALL YOUR INSURANCE AGENT! The first thing you should do, BEFORE calling your agent is get several estimates.

As for estimating the cost on this website, most people can only give you rough guesses and NO ONE on this site can tell you what you'll pay for labor at any of your local body shops unless they've had work done in your town.

Just get off your rear and get some estimates. Make sure you visit at least 3 good shops, as estimates can vary greatly. Ask as many questions as you can think of during the estimating process. Ask what the price differences will be for using OEM vs. aftermarket parts. Ask how long your car will be in the shop. And make sure that they guarantee their work!

 

Do you work for an insurance company? Do you know anyone that works for an insurance company? My auto-X buddy is a state farm agent, and I have enough comprehensive claims on my insurance to know better.

They cannot affect your rates for something that is not your fault. Period. - if you have too many claims, they CAN drop you for being "High Risk" regardless if it is your fault. I don't know why people have such a phobia about insurance companies, because if you are afraid of your insurance company, you are with the wrong company.

Like I said, you said you have a $500 deductible, go get a quote from multiple shops, it may be way more than you're thinking. If it's not, pay the shop and walk away. If it is, claim it on your insurance. That's what you pay them for isn't it?

 

Well no, I don't work for an insurance company, but I do have a family member who does...but that's beside the point. As previously stated, I was recently told I was at risk of being dropped. In fact, the regional underwriter actually wrote me a letter saying I WOULD be dropped, but luckily my agent intervened and talked some sense into her. I was given a list of "claim activities" which resulted in my being flagged. None of these were my fault except for one tiny fender bender which happened long ago and resulted in ZERO payout for them. All the others were not my fault and resulted in ZERO payout for my insurance company. I have never once claimed a single dime from insurance and in 10 years of driving I have a total of 3 minor speeding tickets. BTW, my insurance company is State Farm.

You say that they're not allowed to drop you for claims that aren't your fault, but I'd like to see that in writing somewhere. I'm glad you haven't had problems with State Farm, but as I recently read in the newspaper people are afraid to make claims nowadays because insurance agents (not just auto, but home insurers as well) are dropping people like flies for making claims.

Your last paragraph reiterates what goofygrin & myself stated. You're right, if it is going to be a lot more than the deductible then he should probably claim. However, when you wrote in your first post it sounded like you were saying he should claim it no matter what, even if it was less or equal to the deductible.

 

you're right, i didn't judge what I said correctly and it came out wrong. Thanks for keeping me on the toes.