Rear bumper damage - notify and/or claim on insurance or not

[Julesverne2000]

Hi everyone,

Very disappointed to say that we’ve damaged the rear bumper and corner lamp trim (the bit of plastic between light and bumper) in a reversing incident along a single track road. Our own fault, no others involved.

It seems clear that this will require a new bumper and corner lamp trim, which as parts seem relatively inexpensive. Discussion on other posts seems to suggest approx costs of £1000-£1500, albeit posts from several years ago.

We’re weighing up just paying ourselves using a VW approved body work centre to preserve warranty. But conscious that if we were to claim on insurance we need to notify them asap and not wait until the repair quotes are obtained. The other factor is whether to notify the insurers that we’ve had a bang to the bumper, even if we were not to claim - reading around this is it’s not clear cut. Obviously you can’t declare every single scratch but a replacement bumper is a notable piece of work.

Interested to know how others have approached similar incident:

- paid and organised repair without involving insurer
- notified insurer asap for info but do not claim
- or, notified insurer and made a claim to fund repair?

The cost to repair will come into our decision so also welcome any recent experiences of bumper replacement costs.

Our vehicle is a 2023 T6.1 Ocean, just a few months old so the whole situation is so disappointing - but as I’ve been reminded, it’s repairable and no one has been hurt. On the plus side, I won’t need to order the touch up paint for the small chip i noticed on the bumper now.

Thanks all

 

[Sad]

Doesn't sound worth claiming on insurance to me, what with any excess and the effect on premiums for the next 5 years.

PS. You need to update your vehicle details in your profile (currently shows as 'looking to buy')

 

[WelshGas]

Hi everyone,

Very disappointed to say that we’ve damaged the rear bumper and corner lamp trim (the bit of plastic between light and bumper) in a reversing incident along a single track road. Our own fault, no others involved.

It seems clear that this will require a new bumper and corner lamp trim, which as parts seem relatively inexpensive. Discussion on other posts seems to suggest approx costs of £1000-£1500, albeit posts from several years ago.

We’re weighing up just paying ourselves using a VW approved body work centre to preserve warranty. But conscious that if we were to claim on insurance we need to notify them asap and not wait until the repair quotes are obtained. The other factor is whether to notify the insurers that we’ve had a bang to the bumper, even if we were not to claim - reading around this is it’s not clear cut. Obviously you can’t declare every single scratch but a replacement bumper is a notable piece of work.

Interested to know how others have approached similar incident:

- paid and organised repair without involving insurer
- notified insurer asap for info but do not claim
- or, notified insurer and made a claim to fund repair?

The cost to repair will come into our decision so also welcome any recent experiences of bumper replacement costs.

Our vehicle is a 2023 T6.1 Ocean, just a few months old so the whole situation is so disappointing - but as I’ve been reminded, it’s repairable and no one has been hurt. On the plus side, I won’t need to order the touch up paint for the small chip i noticed on the bumper now.

Thanks all

Once you notify the Insurance company, even if you don’t proceed it will be on your record and premiums will be adjusted accordingly.

As no other vehicle was involved I see no reason not to get a quote to repair to decide whether it is worth notifying them.

 

[Kayleigh]

As soon as you notify your insurer it will be on record and whether you make a claim or not it will always be there. There will possibly be an impact of future premiums as well even if you don’t claim it in the end.
If it were me, I would arrange the repair myself through a VW approved repairer without notifying my insurer.

 

[Julesverne2000]

Doesn't sound worth claiming on insurance to me, what with any excess and the effect on premiums for the next 5 years.

PS. You need to update your vehicle details in your profile (currently shows as 'looking to buy')

Thanks - have updated my details

 

[Julesverne2000]

As soon as you notify your insurer it will be on record and whether you make a claim or not it will always be there. There will possibly be an impact of future premiums as well even if you don’t claim it in the end.
If it were me, I would arrange the repair myself through a VW approved repairer without notifying my insurer.

Yeah, this was our initial position but reading around insurance advice made me query whether notifying them is the most appropriate thing to do - as we may need to let them know at renewal anyway. The other consideration is if the quotes come in at £2000-£3000 which would make us think about claiming. It doesn’t seem like there’s any more serious damage and sensors seem to be working as normal.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

If the repair cost substantially exceeds your excess, then would just claim on insurance especially if you have protected NCB…one claim, won’t impact your renewal too much.

Accidents happen that’s why you pay for insurance.

 

[Julesverne2000]

If the repair cost substantially exceeds your excess, then would just claim on insurance especially if you have protected NCB…one claim, won’t impact your renewal too much.

Accidents happen that’s why you pay for insurance.

This is also on our minds. It’s a tricky decision as the impact on NCD is a bit unknown. It would be the first claim we’ve ever made.

 

[scottk]

Leighton vans had some front and rear bumpers for sale last week. Brand new off 6.1 transporters. Various colours. Might be worth a call to see if they have any left.
Fronts were £100 and rears £75

 

[andymuk]

Did exactly the same damage to our T5 van....repaired privately for about £750 at a local accident repair centre....if it was significantly more than the excess we would have claimed on insurance.

 

[peregrinus]

I didn’t tell insurance about a similar incident. I smoothed out the plastic and put a bumper sticker over it.

 

[Julesverne2000]

Thanks for the additional replies.

The damage is sufficient to need a new bumper (rather than a quick cover up) and we’ve been out getting quotes from VW Approved centres. Only one received so far from an approved indy at £1,200 for new bumper, corner lamp trim, reflector.

Having read our policy, and wanting to play things by the book, we notified the insurance company of the bump. With our old estate I don’t think this is something we would have done or even thought about. With a new California we didn’t want to be in a position where we could potentially be pulled up on something that would invalidate any future claim (should a more serious accident occur). Was reasonably vague when notifying the insurance company as to the severity of the incident.

The decision now is whether to just pay the £1200 ourselves to get everything sorted as quickly as possible - maybe even next week. Or go through insurance and draw out the process for several weeks when we should be enjoying the van without the experience being soured by a dented bumper.

I’m aware that premiums may go up after notifying the insurers even if we don’t make a claim. Hopefully by much less though.

As and when the next quotes come in, will update so anyone looking for a similar repair job will have something to go off.

 

[PeteS]

My wife had an accident in her car in 2021 which was her fault it was about £2000. Her insurance did not change the next year but the claim was still being processed. The person I spoke to at LV said that once it was settled then they would either request a mid term adjustment or wait until renewal. There was no mid term adjustment and at renewal the policy was cheaper by £25.

 

[flying banana]

Once you've told them. You might aswell claim. Too late now. I wouldn't have told them anything and fixed it myself

 

[The Tall Luthier]

Tell the insurance nothing. Until YOU need to tell them something.

Make it clear to the repairers that this won’t be an insurance job. The quotes body shops give to you and the prices insurance companies are willing to pay differ by 30%. Unfortunately it’s 3% in the insurance companies favour.

You job is a simple one. New bumper colour matched and fitted. Shop around get the job done well. Don’t worry about the warranty. Tell no one. Apart from this forum of course.