Car Accident: Is It Possible To Pay Privately?

Q: I would need the following information asap, PLEASE! I am in Tennessee but I'd like to hear also for other states... Just skip the questions you don't know but please reply to the ones you know. 1 - In the US if you make a small accident like lightly scratching another car and you are at fault, can you agree with the owner of the other car and pay him/her privately without notifying the police or the insurance companies? 2 - If you call the police and notify the insurance company but the damage is very small, can you pay your insurance company for the complete damage, so that they don't have to pay anything, in order not to have your insurance monthly rate rise? 3 - In case (2) is "Yes", and then you *change* insurance company, will the new one "see" your accident and make you pay a high fee, or they will apply the low fee too? (like if you didn't make any accidents?) 4 - As far as the monthly rates are concerned: after how many years you are going to "erase" the effect of an accident, roughly? 5 - If you make an accident, are you going to lose points on the driver license also? (particularly interested for Tennessee) 6 - If you take a new driver license in another State of the US, and also another car insurance in that other State, is the new insurance going to see your previous crash, which you made with the old driver license, in the old state, and with another insurance company?

A: -Absolutely. There's no requirement for insurance companies to be involved. The only time that they may find out about an incident, even if there's not a claim, would be in the case of where the police write you a ticket in the course of an accident It would be better to settle the claim privately. I'm not even sure if they would do what you suggest. They will see anything that was officially filed with the state (i.e. an accident report, speeding ticket. -Don't most states require you to report an accident to police if apparent damages exceed some small amount? (IIRC $200) Won't insurance companies become aware of such a report? Or are you presuming the OP is talking about damages less than $200? I think it might depend on whether the accident involves another vehicle. IOW, if you did something crazy or had unfortunate luck that only involved your vehicle, it would be up to you. Some areas have limits that have to be met before the accident will be investigated by cops.

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