The following comment was posted by Ms Ho back in 3rd June 2015.
She had a minor accident with another car and wanted to know if it is best to claim from her insurance company.
Minor car accident with a Toyota Vios
Dear Cikgu Yap,
I had an accident this evening after work and I’m at fault.
I hit a Toyota Vios’ right bumper and it caused quite a dent on the bumper.
The lady driver was in shocked and so was I.
I honestly thought she would have moved already as the car on the right lane are still a little far and not driving too fast.
Ended up I bumped into her car.
We weren’t sure what to do and I felt so guilty as the lady needed few seconds to calm down plus my car only suffered very tiny scratch (like 5-10 cents tiny).
She asked if we want to go to lodge a police report or settle outside, meaning I will pay for her repair.
I opted to pay for the repair but the lady driver said that she will bring her car to Toyota service centre to get them to check and provide a quotation.
And she said she will discuss with me on the quotation and from there, we decide whether I’m ok with the price.
We took photo of our cars and our identity cards, exchanged contact numbers (plus we worked at the same office area) and agreed to meet up once we have agreement on the repair cost before parted quite amicably.
So my questions are, since we agreed to settle this within ourselves:
1) Do I pay exactly the price quoted by her Toyato service centre or is it something that I can negotiate if assuming the price is too much for me to handle?
2) Do I still need to inform my own insurance about this accident as we’re settling ourselves and though there’s really nothing to fix except for that tiny scratch on my car?
If yes, will I be penalized by having to pay higher insurance next year or losing my NCB?
Appreciate your advise as this is my first accident.
Thank you.
My response to Ms Ho
The other party’s Vios appears badly damaged.
Wouldn’t it be better to make a police report and claim insurance instead?
Anyway, if the other party’s quotation is not acceptable for you, you could negotiate with her for an amicable solution.
Finally, it is you who makes the final decision whether to accept it or not.
If in any eventuality, a police report be made, the inform your insurance company.
Of course, in pursuing such a stance, you will lose your following year’s NCB and insurance costs will therefore become higher.
But don’t forget, repairs of the Vios you hit will be borne by the insurance company.
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