There are two factors to consider: your excess and the cost of the damage you have caused to your vehicle. If you have a vehicle of a value greater than £2000-£3000, for example, it may well be you want to preserve its condition. If the damage is less than your excess, there is no point in claiming. If the damage was £1000 and you had a £750 excess, it still would not be in your interest to claim - bearing in mind your age and the assumption you have protected No Claims Discount (NCD). You are allowed to make two claims in any three year underwritten period before it would affect your NCD. If you have a low excess and a high value car with damage of over £1000, for example, it would benefit you to make a claim. If your NCD is protected, your premium will still increase purely because you have made a claim, and are now seen as a bigger risk.