Expert: Anne - 3/3/2010

Question
Aprox. 2 weeks ago I spun out on the freeway in the rain, and slammed my sports car (Nissan 350z) into the center divider. Had it towed home threw AAA, replaced the bent rims out of my own pocket, and continued on. Took it to a shop today, camber is screwed up, front drivers side (collision side) bearing is screwed up, suspension is messed up as well. EST. well over 1k. My question is if I call my insurance company and tell them this happened 2 weeks ago will they cover it? Is it better to just say I hit a pothole in the freeway and slammed into divider today? Insurance is Mercury through A.I.S. if it makes a difference, full coverage Comprehensive/Collision $500 deduct. Also, will this raise my rates?

Answer
Hello Kevin,

This claim will most likely be covered. Just because you waited 2 weeks it does not mean that there is no coverage. You do want to file as soon as possible. See:

http://www.auto-insurance-claim-advice.com/Duty-to-Report-Losses.html

However, you do not want to lie to the insurance company in anyway at all! Any misrepresentation is fraud and you can be left without coverage AND with an insurance fraud investigation on you. Even if they cannot prove fraud, you will be flagged in their system (and good luck getting insurance after that).

They will likely raise your rates. One thing you could do is to get a quote now then move on to file and have the claim handled. We suggest this site: http://www.auto-accident-blog.com/go/auto-insurance-quotes.php

If they raise your rates, the quote be your evidence that they raised your rates BECAUSE of this accident and they should not as this might be your only claim, or this is your first accident etc. If you have the quote, you can show your agent that you will be able to go to another insurance company for less money (they will want your business so they will probably put your rates back).

I hope this helps,
Good Luck
Anne
http://www.quirogalawoffice.com/