What is life like with your car? Let us know and win £500 in John Lewis vouchers | No thanks

A car hit the back of our car and no damage was done - should we report it to our insurer?

Someone ran into the back of my wife's car at a roundabout. The driver didn't want to get out of the car to speak to her at first, but eventually opened his window to give his name and insurance details. My wife took photos of the cars and the driver. It looks like there was no damage to my wife's car and the garage that looked at it said the bumper is designed to bounce back out - so no damage was done. We weren't going to report it to our insurer as there is no damage. What do you think?

Asked on 18 October 2017 by Shaun Taylor

Answered by Honest John
Just because you think there is no damage does not mean there is no damage. Ask an independent bodyshop to look behind or remove the bumper and check. If it was a very light bump, and you're happy that there are no marks to the paint, then you do not need to claim if you are happy with that. You can make a claim up to five years after the accident, so there's plenty of time. Though a court would question why it took you so long to claim should you take that long.
Similar questions
Last year someone bumped into the back of my car. Initially, he wanted to process a claim, so I informed my insurer, but he then decided not to claim. He paid me for the damage and no claim to any insurance...
How much is my premium likely to go up following a minor at-fault bump?
I have a 2002 Mazda MX5 that's done 73,000 miles. Mechanically it's very sound but the bodywork needs attention. If I spend the money on getting the relevant panels replaced and possibly having whole car...