15 Reasons You May Not Want to Report Your Accident to Your Insurance (And What to Do Instead)

Have you ever been on the fence questioning yourself if you should report a fender bender or not? You might be worried that something so minor could have a huge negative impact on what you pay each month, and you’re not wrong.

Whether you don’t want to go through the admin headache or just are trying to keep more money in your bank account, you likely don’t want to report unless you have to.

If this resonates with you, check out these 15 reasons why you might consider not filing a claim with your car insurance provider.

If you and the other driver mutually agree that it makes sense to not report the accident, for various reasons, we will cover soon, then it might be okay to not share the details with your insurance.

However, it’s important to note that you should only consider the rest of the reasons listed if no one involved in the accident was injured.

If the damage to your vehicle is minor, reporting your accident to your insurance company might not be worth it.

Each time you file an accident report you take the chance that your insurance premium will increase. If the damage can easily be taken care of then there is no sense in paying for it every month for the foreseeable future.

In the case that your insurance deductible, if your personal cost to fix the damage after a claim is high, it might make financial sense to avoid reporting the accident to your insurance.

Consider the cost to pay for the damage and estimate if it would be more cost-effective to pay for the damages out of pocket rather than pay a high deductible.

When you have a combination scenario of minimal damage plus a high deductible you might want to consider paying for the damages out of pocket if it’s an affordable option for you.

Even in the case where the damage is slightly more expensive than your deductible, it might not be worth the hassle of reporting the accident if you have the means to pay for the out-of-pocket expenses yourself.

Similar to how a credit score works, an auto insurance score lets insurance companies know how risky you are to file a claim as a driver. Insurance companies look out for drivers who are constantly costing the insurance company money by filing too many claims.

If you have a history of numerous accidents, you take the risk of having a low insurance score which could prevent you from getting coverage in the future.

If you report an accident to your insurance company there is a risk that your premium, the amount you pay to a car insurance company for protection for you and your car, will increase.

Since your rates could increase significantly, you may want to weigh the overall costs of each decision. Consider how much it will cost you to pay for the damage on your own versus paying an increased premium for the next six to 12 months.

In the scenario that you were driving someone else’s car, you might not want to report the accident for fear that their premium would increase on your behalf.

It could negatively impact you both since it was their vehicle but you were driving, depending on what the damage was and who was at fault.

If you have a history of accidents it's possible that if you get into another accident your claim could be denied by your current insurance provider. With a history of too many accidents you also take the chance of being dropped from your current insurance provider. 

If either of these scenarios happen in the future your only coverage option may be a very expensive alternative.

Reporting an accident can be time-consuming. You may want to consider not reporting the accident to your insurance provider if the time and effort to make multiple calls and report photos are limited.

Depending on the damage that occurred you may find that reporting the accident isn't worth the time and effort involved.

Perhaps you or a close friend or family member is handy with cars. If that is the case and you can confidently work on minor damage, you may find the money spent and time involved with the insurance company isn’t worth it at all.

It’s possible that you hit your mailbox or damaged your car because of a curb or something else you didn’t see.

For these reasons, along with other possibilities listed, you might want to take the risk of not getting a higher premium in the future by not reporting the accident that you caused, especially if no one else was involved.

In addition, if you only have liability insurance you might not be covered for any damages caused by you to your own vehicle. So reporting the accident could get you a negative mark and you’ll still have to pay for the costs on your own.

There's a chance that if your car no longer has a clean history of zero accidents, the value of it could decrease.

Every time an accident is reported a report is also sent to agencies that keep records of your car’s history. These history reports warn potential future buyers of prior accidents and also can be a major factor when calculating the future value of a car.

You might want to think twice about reporting an accident if you currently work at a job that requires a clean driving record.

Additionally, if you're currently looking for a job that requires a history of your driving records you might want to consider not reporting the accident in order to protect your future employment options.

Pro tip: You may want to find ways to make extra money to either pay for accident damage or to protect yourself from losing your job if something like this happens.

Some insurance companies have a limit on how many accidents a renter could have under their history. These rental companies usually have a time frame in which they look back and will consider if it makes sense or not to rent their cars out to risky drivers.

If you have a history of too many reported accidents and have plans to rent a car in the near future you may want to consider not reporting the accident to your insurance.

Although there seems to be damage done to your vehicle you might remember it is a possibility that the damage to the car existed before the accident. In this case, the fender bender you thought happened may not have actually occurred at that moment.

In the scenario that there’s no damage aligning with the other vehicle it might make sense to not report the accident after all.

Reporting an accident does have its risks but not reporting an accident is also risky. There is a chance that there might be damage to your vehicle beyond what your eyes can see.

Weigh in on the financial risks to report an accident. In many scenarios, it might not make sense financially if you’re trying to save money on car insurance.

If you’re unsure, you can turn to your insurance agent even if you decide to not file a claim. They can help walk you through your options and you can make sure you’re best protected.