Anav
Sarcastic Llama? Naw, Just Acerbic
Premium
join:2001-07-16
Dartmouth, NS
| Accident Release Form
Hi I am helping a relative deal with a minor fender bender (their car was more severely damaged) and the other party seems willing to sign the subj form and settle for a quick less than $1K amount of money.
THis is the first I have heard of this process but the mechanic who looked the other party's vehicle seems to think so. Anybody have experience with these? Does it necessarily need to be notarized or just witnessed signed etc......
Any assistance/advice appreciated.
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Ain't nuthin but the blues! "Albert Collins".
Leave your troubles at the door! "Pepe Peregil" De Sevilla. Just Don't Wifi without WPA, "Yul Brenner"
LlamaWorks Equipment |
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Snickerdo
Premium
join:2001-02-28
Niagara Falls, ON
| When I tapped the back of someone's bumper in a Tim Hortons parking lot, I was going to make the driver and passenger sign a full release before I handed over any cash. (oddly enough, they never called me back, and they never reported it to their insurance. It was only $350 anyway). It only makes sense.
No need for notarizing or anything like that. Just have them sign it, sign it yourself as a witness, date it, and provide them with a copy (or have them sign two copies).
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You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory. Victory at all costs - Victory in spite of all terror - Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival. |
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urbanriot
join:2004-10-18
St Catharines, ON
 ·Cogeco Cable
| Also did the same as Snickerdo... due to a freak freezing of a road, slid into a car, hit the crumple zone and completely destroyed a guy's winter beater. He had it towed away, and we privately settled for $3,000. I gave him the cash and he wrote me a receipt from a receipt book I had with all his relevant information, for the busted car...
Not sure if that's the best, legal way to do it but it sure saved me from possible insurance issues. |
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Hydraglass
Premium
join:2002-05-08
Kingston, ON
 ·Bell Sympatico
| reply to Anav
If you can settle with the party and get a signed release/receipt that you have covered all their demands for the damage you caused - it's way better for both parties than going through insurance.
The other party probably has a $500 -$1000 deductible on collision - so if they make an insurance claim to get their car fixed and there's $1200 in damage, it'll cost them $500-$1000 and the insurance will pay $200-$700. Your insurance company in turn will see it as a $1200 claim and your rates will go up appropriately for several years - probably to the tune of well over $1200 before they go back down.
On the other hand you settle privately with a cheque or cash for $1000. Their out of pocket repair costs will be $200, and your insurance won't go up unless they run an abstract on your driving history for some reason (most don't bother unless you are making claims or changes to your coverage) - so you'll only be out the $1000 and the story is over.
I've had 3 accidents in my life - unfortunately all were my fault to some extent:
one I was in my truck and rear-ended a woman in a corolla who had made a right turn on red at a busy intersection on a 6 lane street and stopped about 10 feet after turning (there was no traffic in front of her, and she didn't signal that she was turning) - I came around the corner behind her and was watching more to my left to make sure no one was switching into my lane - looked back too late and hit her - she was stopped and I was going about 50km/hr. The only damage to my truck was some paint on the tow hook. Her trunk was in her back seat. I let insurance handle that one as it was $9000 (they wrote her car off). My insurance went up by $72/mo for about 4 years. Cost me about $3500. That was in 1998.
Second accident I was in my car and it was freezing rain and snow mix, I was driving very slowly down a hill (5km/hr or less) and the car just started to slide - regardless of what I did with the brakes, steering, or throttle - I was not stopping until the bottom of the hill. I slowly slid into a car stopped at a traffic light at the bottom of the hill - at maybe 5-10km/hr. The only damage to my car was a scrape on the bumper cover - I broke their tail light and their bumper was folded in - they said to not even call the cops as they were driving without insurance or a licence and if I gave them $200 for the tail light they would forget it ever happened - I had $200 in cash in my pocket - they took it and I just wrote up 2 copies of a quick receipt that had both our licence plate numbers but not our names or anything on it just saying "driver of car licence plate XXXX-YYY pays driver of vehicle licence plate AAAA-BBB $200 to compensate for broken tail light. Both parties are satisfied with this compensation and no further claims will be made on behalf of either party" - we both signed the 2 copies - they kept one I kept one. That was in 2001.
Accident 3 was me - solo - a car coming toward me around a corner on a snow covered road was over the middle line. I had to swerve. If I was going maybe 10-20 km/hr I would have been fine but I was going about 40km/hr. Swerving on a snow covered road is a bad thing. I went diagonally into the snow bank. took me an hour to dig myself out and get back on the road on my own - they didn't stop to help of course. Broke my fog light, my wheel well liner, knocked out my alignment, and made a dent in the unibody under the passenger door. I fixed it all myself (other than the alignment) for around $1800. No way I was making a claim on that.
To each their own - but for me - unless it's a catastrophic event, keeping it out of the hands of insurance is the way to go. |
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