Do I have to LEGALLY fill out accident report?
 

Long story short..Fiance hydroplaned and crashed. She is okay and no one else hurt. State patrol did come to scene and we flat bed the car home. Car cannot be repaired and only had liability insurance since it was an 04' camry.

My question is should we bother contacting insurance and/or filling out the paper work that "has to be submitted in 10 days"??

Again, no one else was involved, and why tell the insurance company only to have her premiums go up. This is her first accident at the age of 31 btw....

Thanks for any input and thought others would be educated as well in the responses.

what did she crash into, without that info its hard to give an answer.

Wouldn't the insurance already know? Seeing as the police were involved, I'm sure they did some paper work.

iirc it varies state to state

If a car crashes in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?
I say dig a nice big hole in your backyard, bury it and forget it ever existed.

If the car is a loss, then why wouldn't you just cancel the insurance on it and then sell it as scrap?
They're just there to collect that $ for liability insurance because it's mandatory by law. Why should they care where/how the car ends up?

In California, you have to report an accident to the DMV if the damages exceed $500 or if a person is injured.

This varies by state. You need to be more specific on where you are located...

I have no idea of the investigative powers that insurance companies have but I am super paranoid about trying to scam insurance companies and the tax office.
You have given 3 identifying pieces of information in your post plus you have given a rough location in your avatar. I don't know if insurance companies scour forums but I would be wearing a foil hat to stop them reading my thoughts.

Undue worry? Perhaps, but that's me.

Cancel insurance - just say it broke down on the side of the road and can't be repair (not technically incorrect.) Take plates and any info to the DMV so they don't tax you. Tow car to junk yard. Walk away and never speak of it again.

If they come back and ding you, then you get dinged. You aren't going to get arrested or have your name put in a black book for later assassination.

Normally if there is no property damage to anything other than your car then there is no requirement to file a report and if you are not submitting a claim to the insurance company then you do not have to notify them.

Some states have laws about damage over a certain amount but that is to protect 3rd parties and insurance companies. If there is not third party then you should not have an issue.

Thanks for all the responses. Let's be clear, I am not trying to scam anyone...shit do you know how many cars end up on used car lots that were supposed to go to scrap? Who is scamming who.

The only other damage was a guardrail...which is why perhaps they gave her the paperwork and it says on it that it has to be turned in within 10days or its a misdemeanor(i didn't see that when I first posted).

But..for all those that replied and popping in,... she drove a Legacy Premium with around 20,000mi on it home tonight and haven't put money down yet. So they have it for $22k...who wants to place bets what I will end up paying for it???

I am shooting for 18K with tax title etc all thrown in.

She should turn in the report. Did they charge her with anything? Could charges be pending? They could up her premiums if she is charged even if there is no claim or actual accident report.

She should turn in the report. Did they charge her with anything? Could charges be pending? They could up her premiums if she is charged/ticketed even if there is no claim or actual accident report.

We still need to know what state it happened in.

Without that info, you really are getting a range of answers.

-alex

Wisconsin:
http://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/safety...t/default.aspx

Minnesota:
https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/dvs/Pag...spx?pageID=488

Or if some other state, do your own research...