rear-ender: best option? ICBC or off the books?
 

alright,

A friend of mine rear-ended a car.

She has the option of fixing it off record or to go through ICBC.

She's been driving for 7 years or so (Max discount?) and the quote she got to repair the bumper was $800 + HST.
If there is internal damage to the bumper it would cost more. ($2k)

My question is, is it better for her to go through ICBC or is it better for her to pay them off?
at what price point should she draw the line?

From what I understand, she drops 5 levels for every at-fault claim.
I also found this on the ICBC website:
"If you have an at-fault claim where the cost of repaying it is not high, it may be cheaper for you to pay for the claim than to follow through with it and then pay higher premiums for three years. Your adjuster will be able to determine which choice will save you money in your specific situation."

I guess it's pretty much the same thing as paying for it off-record...

Your input is appreciated

If she has the money to pay it off that's what I would do. Just my personal opinion since I wouldn't want my premiums to sky rocket.

Edit: I meant to say what ilvtofu, Soundy and Cman said. Tell them you'll (your friend) will repay the repairs so it won't affect her premium.

IIRC she can go through ICBC and pay the claim herself without affecting her rates

Always always ALWAYS go through ICBC. I went the other route once... agreed to pay for the repair directly. The repair then mysteriously went from a quote of $300 before, to $800 after it was supposedly done... except when I said I wanted to pay the shop directly, the other person said no, I had to give them the cash. Uh... wut?

ICBC won't let this sort of BS happen - you know it will get repaired without the hijinks... and as ilvtofu says, you then have the option to repay ICBC and not affect your rating.

Go through ICBC then pay off the claim.

Otherwise even if you PAY them directly, they can still file the claim and basically pocket your money.

Do what others have said. Just go thru ICBC.
They will have the shop reassess the damage and then u can choose to pay it off urself without having ur rates affected.

ICBC gets preferencial rates too. If she gets it done through ICBC then pays it off later, she'll pay much less in the long run.

1. Tell the other person you will only go through ICBC.
2. Call ICBC and report the claim.
3. Both of you will get the cars fixed at an ICBC approved shop.
4. After the repairs are done, wait a week or so and then call ICBC. Ask how much other driver claimed (car repair, injury, etc). Add this amount with your own claim.
5. Decide which option is cheaper. You paying ICBC or ride out the insurance increase.

do you know type a car she hit? because that is a factor.

also if you go to a shop thats not butt buddies with ICBC, you will save lots of $.

Yes going through ICBC seems like the logical approach (i would probably too), but if you know some body shop guys they can help you out a bunch.

My friend backed up into something and completely messed up the rear bumper in his 2005 civic. I recommended him to go to my body guy and he got a new bumper, painted, and a new rebar for $400 cash. Compact cars are easier to work on for paying for the repairs, but if its a BMW or Jaguar involved dont be surprised for a $2000 claim just for a bumper.

Best of luck for your friend.

^That's great for your own car... if you're dealing with someone else tho, you're setting yourself up to get scammed. "Butt buddies with ICBC" has nothing to do with it, either - ICBC has set rates they'll pay out for repairs and the shops in most cases have to stick to those rates, even if it's less than the shop would normally charge on their own. When I did car audio installs, for example, our shop rate at the time was $45/hr (this was 20 years ago), but ICBC jobs only paid the shop something like $30/hr, take-it-or-leave-it.

No injury claim involved?

reputable ICBC valet shops charge maxium. Its a given.

go to a regular body shop that is not an ICBC valet shop (but they do claims), and you will see much better pricing.

I have had my dealings with Richmond Autobody and they have taken say an $1800 claim and bumped it up to $3000 with no additional work done. It all has to do with shops being tied with the estimator. There is a lot of under the table work that we dont know that goes on. I've seen it several of times.

if you have a smaller body shop that you prefer, you can always just through it out at the person you have had an accident with to see if they if they will go along with it. whats the worse they can do? say no? then you can go through ICBC.

btw, icbc has their own estimate of what the repairs are, and its a give or take depending on the shop and work done. ofcourse a shop that is ICBC valet has the ability to overcharge like i saw. An audio or mechanic shop will only get $45-$50/hr. I see it all the time at the shop i work at.

^I second that.

go thru icbc. let icbc pay off the claim.
stay off the road and wait for the discount to come back down.

win - win.
no bad driver on the road and least out of pocket expense

The best way to go is to still file through ICBC, but offer to pay them off. That way ICBC will protect you if you get screwed. Also if the repair bill turns out way higher, now you also have the option of using your insurance instead. Many shops will also give lower quotes to get you in the door, so that's also not a reliable indicator.

It's hard to estimate collision damage without actually taking the car apart. And we all know how much it costs to fix minor dents or do repaints.

the only downside to going though icbc is that the person might decide to claim injuries... a simple whiplash claim is worth around $5k, so if your friend decides to let icbc pay for the damages, he/she might be surprised when it comes time to pay back the claim...

As much as we all hate Insurance because it always takes more money then it gives back, If you were not at fault, you technically shouldn't have to pay anything.

^ read > you :facepalm:

she rear ended someone else.

Alright, Einstein, and what happens if you DON'T go through ICBC, and other other person claims whiplash? *cha-ching!* LAWYERS!

Thank you, failed myself! :fullofwin:

lol anything off the book is bad..

its like working for cash, if they employer wants to rip you off, they can do it and you cant do shit about it...

:stfu:

if the other person claims injuries, then ICBC still covers you... Genious. So if you pay for the repairs out of pocket, you can submit your invoice and they will reimburse you...

Uh.... really. "Oh hi, ICBC? Yeah, I know I didn't call you before or bring my car in to get checked out, but... I paid to get this other person's fixed from me running into them, can you pay me back now?"

Yeah, I'm sure they'll go for that.

umm yes they will. it's called a limitation period and any insurance company has to abide by it... i suggest you do some research before trying to sound smart mr. soundy... i deal with insurance claims for a living so pick your battles my friend