Imagine a scenario where you are trying to get to work, and just like every other morning, there is a bumper to bumper traffic. Suddenly, you feel a jolt behind you and you look behind to see that another car has run into your bumper. You both come down from your cars and pull over to inspect the damages that has been done to both cars. To your greatest surprise, there are no damages, not even a single scratch. The question is “what next should you do?”, “Act like the accident didn’t happen and go separate ways?”, “what if you were the offender?”, “will the other driver file a case against you?”. If you do not know what to do in a minor car accident with no damage, you have this review at your disposal to show you what needs to be done to avoid unexpected hardship.
What To Do In A Minor Car Accident With No Damage
Are You Sure There’s No Damage?
Even though you can’t find any visible damage on your phone, or maybe you saw a little scratch on your car paint, you might be dealing with a minor damage that has gone unnoticed. Your injuries might also go unnoticed as well as there are certain injuries that takes some time to manifest. If you get into your car and drive off without taking down the other driver’s contact information and insurance company, you have just succeeded in waving your chance of filing a claim goodbye. There are couple of damages that might go unnoticed in this sort of car accident, but these damages depends on the previous car condition, type of car, nature of the accident, and few other factors. Here are some examples of such accident types;
Leaks – A minor car accident with no damage or minimal damage can result into a radiator and oil pan leak. Any other part of the car that holds fluid might experience some leakage too, because all it takes for a car part to leak is a small force capable of creating a rupture.
Reduced Battery Life – A car collision might result into your car battery getting loose. In other cases, you might experience a short circuits in lead plates which could cut short the lifespan of the battery. Even though this is a minor case, it is something you should be worried about.
Computer Diagnostics Delay – Your car might experience some delay in checking to report any internal damage. If your check engine light is on but you feel there isn’t any delay, ensure that you have your car checked out before coming to any conclusion.
Alignment – The importance of car bumpers is for absorbing shock during the course of a collision, and if there are no visible damages, there is a possibility that your car might have lost its alignment after the collision. Losing alignment is a condition that rarely occurs in minor accidents with no damage but it is still a possibility.
These are the types of unforeseen damages your car might experience if it gets involved in a car accident, and precautionary option requires you to have the other driver’s number. Taking photos and notes of the accident scene is another smart thing to do, because you have no idea if the other driver might end up filing a claim before you do.
Car Accident With No Damage…. What Do You Do?
You might think its better off not reporting to the right authorities if you were involved in a minor car accident with no damage. The reason is you do not want your rates to be increased when you failed to file a claim, but that might be a mistake on your path, considering the fact that most insurance policies require their customers to report any form of accident. It doesn’t matter if the accident is a major or minor one but what you should do is report every accident to your insurer.
The only time you can make an exception not to report a car accident is when you are the only one involved in the accident. This type of accident could involve you and your mailbox or fence, so you might consider paying for repairs out of your own pocket. Such accidents doesn’t warrant you to contact and report to your insurance company because there is no other party involved in the accident. The accident is just you and an element around your house.
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