Claimed the other guy's damage through insurance — does fixing my own car make rates worse?

We went through almost this exact thing two years ago with my husband's fender-bender. We only filed for the other party's repairs and didn't touch our own car. Honestly I don't think it saved us much on the rate — the surcharge seemed to be tied to the claim event itself, not the number of vehicles repaired. But I'm glad we had insurance handle it because the other driver did come back weeks later claiming a suspension issue. Would've been a nightmare if we'd paid cash.

Former adjuster here. From what I saw on the inside, most carriers code the surcharge based on the at-fault claim being opened and paid out on the third-party vehicle — your own vehicle's repairs are usually a separate coverage (collision) and can actually be tracked differently on your policy. Some companies will surcharge both separately if you use collision for your own car. So in some cases, skipping your own car's repairs could actually avoid a second ding, depending on how your specific policy handles it. Worth a direct call to your agent to ask how collision claims vs. liability-only claims affect your tier. Just don't tell them you're asking because you want to game it — just say you're weighing your options.

The thing people don't realize is that once you open that claim, adjusters are looking at the whole picture. Make sure you document everything yourself — photos of both cars, the estimate, any communications with the other driver. If that pickup owner suddenly remembers he has back pain in a month, you want your own records to back up what actually happened.

Just to add some process context: the liability payout to the other driver and a collision claim on your own vehicle are typically handled under completely different coverage lines. Your insurer may surcharge them independently. Some states also cap how much a single at-fault incident can raise your premium, so it might be worth looking up your state's regulations. Not telling you what to do, just saying there's more to dig into here than a simple yes/no.

Skip fixing your own car if it's just cosmetic and you can live with it. A small crease isn't going to affect safety or resale by much, and why open a second coverage line for something that doesn't bother you? Save the headache.

The smart move — and this is not legal advice — was probably running it through insurance rather than paying cash, specifically because of the "what if" scenarios you mentioned. Hidden damage and late-reported injuries are real. On the rate question, that's genuinely carrier-specific and sometimes state-specific, so the most reliable answer is going to come from reading your declarations page and calling your agent and asking point blank: 'If I don't file a collision claim on my own vehicle, does that change my surcharge tier?' They have to answer that question.

How old is your son's car and what's the deductible on your collision coverage? If the crease repair would cost less than your deductible anyway, the question kind of answers itself — you couldn't file on it meaningfully even if you wanted to.