"Bump in the car"

I had a bump 2 years ago. No other car was involved and yet my Premium jumped from £250 to £720. As we get older, this is what happens - I am a few years younger than you. In general, we older drivers are more cautious. However, I have decided I will not drive in the night.
I like the freedom of having a car in my drive and being able to drive at the drop of a hat. I don’t like waiting for buses. I am a spontaneous person and do not like watching the clock.
So, I will keep my car for as long as possible

PS. Just wait and see

I believe you should inform them if only to protect yourself if he then claims you were at fault.
My premium also jumped by £500 when a barrier at MK Station multi storey car park leaped out at me and caused significant (=expensive) damage to a door and rear wing.
I don't think it will ever go down again, at least not within I think 7 years by which time I will be in my 80's and probably uninsurable.
Life can be a bitch.

Does' nt sound like monumental damage , so I would leave well alone!

Who advised you not to report?

RosieandherMaw is correct.

You should report any accident, even a minor one, to your insurer, even if you don't plan to make a claim. It’s usually a policy requirement and failure to report could invalidate the policy. If that were to happen you would find it very difficult, perhaps impossible, to get insurance elsewhere.

You say the other driver has been in contact with his insurers, which is what he should do, but that doesn’t mean he has made a claim.

If it turns out he hasn’t claimed, assuming there has been no lasting damage to his car either, then you have both just done as required but no costs are involved.

Did you not exchange phone numbers so you could ask him to text you a photo of any damage to his car?

In a way you have kind of admitted that you may have been at fault as you were driving at night in an unfamiliar city and possibly under stress as your husband is in hospital. Even though you don’t think it was your fault, if he does make a claim and it comes down to one person’s word against the other, it’s possible that you could be held responsible.

I think you need to get clear in your mind what exactly happened and how it was that he managed to scrape your wing. For example: What was the position of your car in relation to the road? Was your car protruding from a junction? Where you over a white line? Did he cut off a corner?

Speak to your insurers.

I’d leave it for now - his fault and he might just choose to live with it, or get it repaired at his own cost, rather than involve his insurance company.

* Forget the circumstances - ie late at night, unfamiliar, stress, it’s irrelevant.

Georgesgran

* Forget the circumstances - ie late at night, unfamiliar, stress, it’s irrelevant.

Actually claiming extenuating circumstances could actually work against you as they imply a degree of excusable blame. However understandable.
Added to this, if you hit anybody going forwards you are generally held to be responsible as theoretically you should always drive at a speed within which you can stop.
I think you must inform your insurers after checking with the other driver what his intentions are (without admitting any more responsibility or getting into a discussion about who is more to blame)
You may find your own insurers are very supportive and will not judge you - they should act on your behalf after all- but I am worried that you leave yourself open to a (possible) claim against you by the other driver.
Sorry, but there it is

Unfortunately if you don’t report it it can cause issues, but if you do report it even if deemed not be to your fault your premiums will rise. Did he say he was going to go through his insurance?

If he has definitely contacted his insurance company I would definitely contact mine.

Yes, inform your insurance company but describe what happened as it sounds as if he was at fault.

Your insurance will be high anyway, it seems to jump once you're 80 but, quite honestly, all the bad driving we've encountered recently has been by young male drivers.

Yes - friends son hit a car on a mini roundabout. The other car was cutting the corner and not indicating.
DD2 (insurance underwriter) said it didn’t matter if she was dressed as Ronald McDonald and driving backwards - still his fault!

I would definitely report it to your insurance company, I would also contact the police to inform them.
My brother in law failed to report an accident and was heavily penalised. A passer by took his registration number and passed the details to the owner of the car. Subsequently, his insurance went through the roof.

I’m pretty sure your policy will say that all bumps, no matter how minor, must be reported and that to fail to do so will invalidate your insurance.

If he has reported it to his Company they will probably be in touch with yours already.

I would report it ASAP.

If you have exchanged details (insurance details as well?), then his Insurance company will get in touch with yours.
When the OP renews her Insurance , she will be required to inform them.
I do not know the Law, so I am not sure ,
Good luck !

Grankle

I would definitely report it to your insurance company, I would also contact the police to inform them.
My brother in law failed to report an accident and was heavily penalised. A passer by took his registration number and passed the details to the owner of the car. Subsequently, his insurance went through the roof.

You don't need to involve the police unless someone has been injured

I informed the police and got an incident number.
I tried to report it to my insurers but the form they emailed me is for a claim, not a report, so I have done nothing.
I'm getting lots of advice to do nothing, not even report it. As Coconutty says ....... "Unfortunately if you don’t report it it can cause issues, but if you do report it even if deemed not be to your fault your premiums will rise" ..... damned if I do and damned if I don't.
I really believe it was his fault, but no-one took pictures or did measurements so nothing can be proved one way or the other.

In which case if he claims it will be a 50/50 divvy up.
Hopefully he won’t try and claim.In your place with no harm done I would do nothing for now.Good luck and hope your DH will be out of hospital soon.💐

Look it up n your policy and on the Internet.

If you fail to report and provide details and he decides to make a claim, the Insurance Company can declare your policy invalid and you can be held personally responsible for any claim he makes.

You can’t rely on anything he said at the time. Claims can surface months later.

More alarmingly your Insurance Company can declare your policy invalid for any future accidents if you have failed to declare this one.

Please read your policy.before you decide to do nothing.

I don’t have an opinion either way about your little bump but why not carry your mobile with you ? Apart from it being useful on this occasion what about if you have a breakdown or become ill ? It seems really silly to me that anyone at any time when the leave the house doesn’t have their mobile phone with them. Why have one ? I think you should have your phone with you in the house too, in case of a fall or feeling fully in the bathroom and in the garden.
It just seems like common sense.

I would advise you to let your insurance company know as it’s normally part of your policy t&c’s that you tell them of any incident which may result in a claim. Otherwise if they find out they could cancel your policy which them makes it very difficult to get a new insurer to cover you, due your policy being cancelled. I worked in car insurance for 25 years and saw this situation happen weekly.

gosh, I bumped another car, very slightly going into a supermarket carpark, I left a note on the windscreen and paid the money for the bumper to be cleaned off.. I never ever had an accident, caused by me! do I have to report that? yes, well over 80... and yes, I had noticed how my premiums had increased but didn`t query it... rip off insurers?

He shoukd have told you who he was insured with. If you are able as you say, able to wipe off any marks I wouldn't inform insurance company. Goodness, folk have quite expensive damage caused by others (and themselves) and just get it repaired. Sometimes the parties agree to do so with the guilty party paying for the damage repair. Gone are tge days when every little bump and scratch are reported, probably due to the insurance financial impact on both parties that lasts for years.

I agree that you should inform your insurance company. I have been hit on two occasions, the first wouldn’t give me details so I used the legal assistance for my policy and the other driver eventually paid up. The second I was not even in the car when the car was hit. The driver said she did not want to report it and offered to pay for the repair. I’m glad I refused her offer which was only about 10% of the final bill. Also my premiums did not increase.