Insurance question/poll...

Well as I suspected, I'm going to have to repaint after getting keyed. I was quoted $1,400 by a really good place that I've been to before. I think my deductible is $200 for comprehensive. Should I go with the insurance or pay out of pocket? I used to think comprehensive claims didn't go towards raising your premium but I don't think that is correct. Anyone know?

I have made two claims on my comprehensive portion of my car insurance and have not suffered a rate increase. Prior to making the claims, I spoke to a company representative. Have spoken to your insurance agent?

obviously that is just repainted the portion that was keyed right? I ask because that is crazy cheap if we are talking complete car repaint.

I just got the check for ~5K to repaint about half my car so thats low, I saw no increase in my rates.

Of coarse you would have insurance help pay for it whether it went against you or not. Evene IF your premiums went up (which is unlikely) the increase would never be more than the $1200 they are paying you.

I always understood if the claim is made against the comp., there is no increase in rates

Yup. Keyed not once but twice. Same side. No, I don't think it was anyone I knew or who didn't like me. It was my handicapped van. Did a repaint of that side after the second one. Guess people resented my family parking in the marked spot to get my sons wheelchair out. Next I got hit from behind. After speaking to the company they said if I get three claims in three years my rates would go up 50%... even though I was not at fault. Wasn't even in the car when they were keyed. If you use them for this event, and I probably would, be careful if you get another claim. It could be the old two strikes scenario. Insurance does not seem to work the way we all would like it to, ie hammer the guys who cause damage and suck up the expense for claims where you had no fault whatsoever.

do it. And you know, if it goes up just bump your premium to like $250 and it should balance out. On a porsche, $50-100 additional damage doesn't take much

Why would he want to bump up his own PREMIUM? Obviously, you meant deductible !

Thanks for all the feedback guys. $1400 was for the rear quarter and some blending on the leading edge of the door. The good news is I had a couple of tiny nicks in the rear wheel well and the edge of the door which will get taken care of. I don't think my rate went up when my M3 got keyed and repainted. However, about a year later, I hit a truck tire tread on the highway which busted up the panel under my airdam and when I tried to claim it under comprehensive, they said it would fall under collision. It was under my deductible so I said forget it. When I transferred my insurance to the Porsche, they still had that claim on my record even though I never used it. Why would they keep track of a claim that was never used? That is why I am hesitant to ask any questions of my agent if I would not use them for the claim.

I once had to investigate with Allstate why they were not willing to renew my father's insurance policy. He was hospitalized at the time and could get to the agent. My father had his auto insurance with Allstate for over a decade. What I was told was that my father was being dropped due to "claim frequency". Although Allstate had never paid a dime to my father, he was struck by other drivers, whose insurance covered the damages. As any good driver, my father notified Allstate each time he was involved in an accident. This was in case the other party failed to pay, and Allstate would then have to cover under the "uninsured motorist" coverage. Although they never paid a dime, Allstate counted each of these occurences as a "claim". Since my father had X claims in Y months, his claim frequency was too high and he was not renewed. The "good hands" people have one hand on your wallet, and the other on your... Well you get the idea.

I've never had a rate hike after a comprehensive claim and I've had plenty.

Yeah, they do keep it on record, I was told that by my home insurance representative once. So I went on ahead and made the claim.

whoops. late nights + Brett = mistakes

Not cool! I wonder what would happen to someone up here like that. ICBC is the ONLY insurance company in BC and is public insurance and the only type we can get on our cars.

I'm an Allstate agent - yes, there is such a thing as "claims frequency", but in my experience, I have never seen or heard of anyone get non-renewed because of all of the claims being non-fault. Meaning, 10 non-fault claims (glass, UIM, towing, other comp, etc.) plus 1 at fault accident in a time frame they consider too short, then yes, I've seen people get non-renewed. Even in this case, I've only seen a handful... and those were mostly for with people w/o the longevity. In your father's case, I'd venture a guess and say there were other reasons perhaps you don't know about. If there weren't then that bites. I have learned over the years (and believe me, I don't want anyone getting non-renewed...premiums = commissions = good) that insurance is no different than any other business out there: They are trying to be profitable. I get the phone calls that go, "I've been w/ you guys for 25 years (5 years), make my payments on time (always coming close to canceling for non payment), never make any claims (I see over a dozen on the computer) and you're going to raise my rates because of one lousy accident that really wasn't even my fault?! (the guy got a citation from the officer and 2 witnesses say it's his fault). I give the same reply I've been giving for a long time, "yeah... your rate increases are what helps me buy things such as my porsche." On a personal note... I try and stay away from comp/towing/glass claims the best I can. Rats chewed through some wiring in the engine 2 years ago and I ate $1000. I'm not worried about the rate increase... I'm worried about the 2 at fault accidents my wife could get into at any moment. I'll save my claims history for her!

It's deductible by the way.

One of my cars got keyed years back and my insurance company told me that was classified as "malicious damage" and a claim for that does NOT affect my premium.

Had a cracked windsheld (still do) from a rock. $1100 for replacement. Asked insurance agent about reporting or not. My deductible is $500 for comp. They gave me insurance company phone number and told me not to report it, unless I'm actually going to file the claim. Have 3 other vehicles insured with them also. Think I will pay all of costs out of my pocket as my premiums are only $1061.00 for all four vehicles every six months. (General Casualty Insurance Co.)