Toronto, Ontario — Nearly two-thirds of American drivers would prefer to pay out of pocket and avoid using auto insurance in the event of an accident, according to a survey of 2,000 American consumers, conducted by LendingTree. Of those who did file a post-accident claim, 24 percent regret doing so.
According to LendingTree’s survey, 39 percent of insured drivers report bypassing their auto insurance when they’ve experienced an accident or incident. Of those drivers, 59 percent said they bypassed insurance because the damage was minimal; 42 percent said it was because they didn’t want their insurance to increase, while 44 percent said it was because their deductible was higher than the repair cost.
Of those surveyed, 76 percent had a deductible of less than $1,000 when they paid out of pocket, while 65 percent spent less than $1,000 on repairs.
Further, LendingTree notes that 57 percent of drivers who have paid out of pocket for repairs did not disclose the incident to their insurer.
Twenty-four percent of insured drivers who have been in an accident and reported a claim later regretted doing so, mainly due to significantly higher insurance rates (59 percent of respondents); decreased vehicle value (36 percent of respondents); expensive deductibles (33 percent) and loss of a “no claim” bonus (five percent).
The survey results also indicate that almost two-thirds of drivers would prefer to pay out of pocket for small repairs in case of a collision or incident. Men are slightly more likely to avoid insurance with 77 percent agreeing; 68 percent of women would prefer to repair small damage without insurance. Of these drivers, 49 percent have previously repaired damage that their insurance would have covered.
LendingTree also notes that young drivers are more likely to skip on using insurance. Forty-three percent of millennials aged 28 years to 43 years have bypassed their insurance after an accident or incident, while just 29 percent of baby boomers aged 60 years to 78 years can say the same.
