Reader’s Question:
Six months ago, I bought a used car that had a near flawless finish. After just well over a month, it’s been scratched several times by my nephew on his bike; the marks are everywhere, back of the trunk, right rear quarter panel, hood, left rear quarter panel. Now, do I need to file a claim with my insurance company in Savannah Georgia?
Ned
Savannah, GA
I would suggest paying the costs of repairs from your own pocket instead of filing a claim with your Savannah Georgia insurance company. Each one of these scratches is a separate event, which means that before your auto insurance pays anything you have to pay your deductible for comprehensive coverage. Basically this is $500 or so for each scratch. In the end, you’re only going to end up with a higher premium and nothing from your insurance company to show for it.
You may want to consider filing a claim with the kid’s parents on their homeowner’s policy. You probably need to discuss this with them first, as their rates will go up.
Your comprehensive deductible applies per occurrence. So for each time your vehicle was scratched (can be determined based on the different locations), a separate deductible will apply.
I doubt if it’s worth filing, 5 or 10 claims as I’m betting each loss will be under your deductible and there would then be a very good chance your rates would go up (due to an excessive amount of claims being filed, even though you were not at fault). If your nephew is under 18 and you really think someone should pay for the damage, I’d speak to the child’s parents.