bumper only or bumper/AC condensor replacement

by Nanjing
(NY)

My car hit a box in highway and the front bumper was damaged, as well as air condensor. I checked with one body shop and they told me i need to replace bumper since repair is impossible. For AC condensor, they can see clear damage on it, however there is no leak now and AC is working well. If i only replace bumper, i need to pay $800. If i want to replace both bumper and AC condensor, the price is around $1386. Since i have $1000 collision deductible with my car insurance. I am not sure whether i need to report this to insurance company. There are several options here:

1) i pay out my pocket for bumper replacement and leave AC consensor as is since there is no issue now. Then i do not tell insurance company this incident and my policy rate will not increase.

2) I told insurance company the incident. They may agree to pay additional $386 to change both and i get my policy rate increae. Even worse, they do not agree with the AC condensor change since AC is still working now. In this case, i still need to pay $800 for bumper and my policy rate will increase since they know incident??

I am not sure how insurance company will handle my case. Pls give me your suggestion. Thank you.

Answer:

We don't know either. Each insurance company handles their underwriting / rates differently (and they very secretive about it).

Usually one claim that is not your fault will not make much of a difference. If you have a claim where there is evidence of alcohol, you will likely pay a lot.

It depends. Do remember that you pay insurance to use it when you need it.

Good Luck
http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/