Fender Bender
 

Hey guys,

Got in a minor fender bender today, less than 10 kmh. Was at a stop light on an upward slope and I looked away for a second and bumped into an old truck in front of me. I guess I was stupid and let the brakes slip up a bit. We pulled over and exchanged information. The guy claims I 'pushed' in the right side of his bumper (not a dent or anything, there is space between the bumper and end of the truck).

Now I'm curious as to what my approach should be: go to ICBC or settle the matter privately? I'm unsure how this will impact my insurance rates if I go through ICBC and have them pay for it but I don't really want to run risk of paying over, say, $1xxx if he goes to get it fixed and I'm stuck with the bill. Should I just pay him off privately or could that still potentially fuck me in the future?

I appreciate any help/suggestions. Thanks!

You don't have a decision if you are at fault. Once he files a claim with ICBC you pretty much have to go through them.

Oh sorry, I should've noted in the post that he would call me and ask if I wanted to go through with ICBC or settle privately.

ICBC gives you the option of paying the repair cost of the other party's bill in an at-fault claim. Just go through ICBC. You can't get screwed by the other party, this way. It also won't affect your rates (if there are no other issues with the claim).

You don't need any more reminders from know-it-alls on here telling you that you should be a smarter driver, either.

Thanks, D. Yeah, I guess that's the best option. I'm gonna hate it if the bill comes to over a grand or something for something so stupid on my part. First accident ever too.

Something you can do is that even though you're the one to hit him, you can go to ICBC to open up a claim and get your side of the story in as soon as possible. This will help you in the off chance that he decides to try and fuck with you later on, be it with false vehicular damage or injury claims.