I had a minor fender bender in a parking lot that cost $1600 to repair and now I find out that I will now be paying a $375-$420 surcharge for the next five years (i don't remember the cost per point it's either $125 or $130). I haven't even had a speeding ticket in 20+ years, never mind an accident, perfect record. Now I am going to pay more than the actual damage done...BS:realmad:
And being a former autobody repair person I know there wasn't $1600 in damages.
After the surcharge is paid it will cost me a minimum of $1875 for a $1600 repair on top of my premium.

Get quotes from other insurance companies, and also tell your current ins. company that you're looking for someone else. Some other companies will keep rates the same if you have an otherwise unblemished record.

Exercise your right to go to another company. The surcharge doesn't start until your next year, right?

The same thing happened to me. I ended up at Liberty Mutual. Save a sack of dough.

Bundle home or apartment insurance for a discount.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Now that I have calmed down a bit I will explain the situation better. I was in a parking lot and because there was no other exit from the parking lot I had to maneuver the trailer into a parking spot next to a parked car in oder to reverse direction to leave. It was the parked car I bumped causing no damage to my cargo trailer and $1600 dollars damage to the parked car. I then parked the trailer and went inside to find the owner to exchange papers. The owner of the vehicle insisted upon going through the insurance agency and received the $1600. I receive the surcharge. My insurance never came into play because I was using my mothers vehicle.
It is the same company that my mother has her home owners insurance through so I will now be looking into having the damage caused by ice dams covered.
http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/scuppers/69048-ice-dam-photos-damage.html
What I find so irritating is the fact that I am now going to have to pay a surcharge; which will end up costing me more than the damage that was caused. Why can't I just pay for the damages instead of paying more than the insurance company paid through surcharges.

I'm not going to comment...because you'll accuse me of not liking anything you post :hihi:

I'm not going to comment...because you'll accuse me of not liking anything you post :hihi:

So are you saying you liked what I posted or are you just poking me with a stick?

Neither.....not meaning to seem like I'm poking you.....

All you had to do was ID yourself to the other car owner. You don't have to give insurance information, ya no chit, so if it is small dent, your first option will be to pay out of pocket and not go through the insurance company, at least initially.

I take it your in mass?

Rhode island doesn't do the point system.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

In Mass. and the only loophole I could find might be if the reported damage claim amounted to less than the $500. I am thinking if I pay the insurance company $1101, it would reduce the claim to $499 which would then be $1 under the $500 that triggers the points/surcharge. Maybe????
I can't see how I could be found less than 50% at fault since the other vehicle was parked and I was the only one moving. I don't think loosing sight of the car in the mirror while maneuvering the trailer gets me off the hook. I suppose I could just look at the surcharge as being $1600 financed over five years and the extra amount paid would be a finance charge.

In Mass. and the only loophole I could find might be if the reported damage claim amounted to less than the $500. I am thinking if I pay the insurance company $1101, it would reduce the claim to $499 which would then be $1 under the $500 that triggers the points/surcharge. Maybe????
I can't see how I could be found less than 50% at fault since the other vehicle was parked and I was the only one moving. I don't think loosing sight of the car in the mirror while maneuvering the trailer gets me off the hook. I suppose I could just look at the surcharge as being $1600 financed over five years and the extra amount paid would be a finance charge.

You think the insurance company is going to take $1101.00 up front instead of a 7 year surcharge that will amount to a couple of thousand dollars? Keep dreaming. They want as much money for as long as they can get it.
Your only break might be if your insurance has "accident forgiveness" where your rate doesn't get bumped up for one minor accident.
(Key is MINOR accident)

One thing that has sacved me from being at the complete mercy of the insurance company is that the last three incidents I had, I took pictures to prove MY case.
I had a rollover on an icy, untreated road. Photos showed road condition VERY clearly, and I won.
Pulling into company parking lot, car runs into my truck, passenger side front wheel. photo showed that the double yellow line had a gap SPECIFICALLY for traffic going in and out of our lot. I won.
Driving on a hilly NH road, head on with a motorcyle at the crest of the first hill. Photos showed that I was on my side of the road when collision occurred and that the skid.scrape marks were the result of having the driver side front wheel ripped off the tie-rods and the rim scraped the road. The photo also showed that there was no dividing line to indicate EXACTLY where the center of the road was. I was not cited by NHPD, nor did my insurance go up. The same road now has a dividing line and a speed bump where the downhill motorcyclist was coming from. My insurance investigator told me that if there's one thing they LOVE, it's when client have pictures to back up their claim.