If you've ever backed into a mailbox or clipped a curb and decided to fix the damage yourself, you're not alone.
August 30, 2026
A new BestMoney survey of over 1,000 U.S. drivers found that among people who have been in a car accident, 60% paid for the damage out of pocket instead of filing a claim. The number one reason: they were worried filing a claim would raise their rates.
Car insurance companies consider the driver’s history of claims when calculating premiums. Just one claim can follow a driver for years as a higher rate. In some situations, filing a claim doesn’t make sense financially. However, experts urge drivers to consider the pros and cons before deciding to forgo a claim.
"Not filing a claim just to protect your premium isn't always in your best financial interest. From my experience working with auto accident claims, I've found that many drivers think a single claim will actually affect their rates. But paying from your own pocket can put you at a much greater financial risk than just a premium increase in instances when another driver is obviously responsible for an accident, or if there are serious damages or injuries involved."
— Reginald Greene, Attorney and Managing Partner, Greene Legal Group
When asked how their premium changed at their last renewal, about half of survey respondents (49.2%) said it went up in some amount, while only 11.8% said it decreased.
The second most common reason for paying out of pocket, cited by 192 respondents, was more mechanical: their deductible was close to or higher than the repair cost anyway. If your deductible is $1,000 and the damage is $800, filing a claim doesn't save you any money. Not to mention, a single claim on your record can have a lasting impact on your premium.
"A claim typically affects your insurance rate for three to five years, but it varies by insurer and state. While there isn't a fixed dollar value for filing a claim, if the cost of repairs is only slightly above your deductible, it may be worth paying out of pocket. When an accident causes damages to exceed the amount of your deductible, or when injuries are involved or potential liability is an issue, it's almost always a good idea to make a claim."
— Reginald Greene , Attorney and Managing Partner, Greene Legal Group
Here's the smart move buried in this data: know your deductible before you need it. If it's set so high that you'd never actually use it for a fender bender, you're paying for coverage you can't access.
Drivers who haven't compared rates recently can compare car insurance quotes to see whether a different deductible-premium combination fits their situation better.
The survey also asked what changes drivers made in the past year specifically to lower their car insurance premium. Roughly half made no changes at all, but of the ones who did:
Among these data points, one of the most alarming is that nearly a quarter of drivers raised their deductible to an amount they admit they couldn't comfortably afford. That's the exact setup that produces the out-of-pocket-payment pattern above. A policy that looks cheaper on paper but doesn't actually protect the driver when something happens.
The good news is that when premiums do rise, most people respond the right way. When asked what they'd do first if their premium jumped $50 a month at renewal, 52.2% said they'd shop around for a cheaper policy with another insurer, which is exactly the right instinct.
Here's how drivers in different age groups responded when asked how they would lower their premium after a claim:
Age Group | Would Shop Around | Would Cut Household Spending | Would Just Absorb the Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
18-29 | 59.8% | 20.7% | 13.4% |
30-44 | 51.9% | 25.2% | 11.3% |
45-60 | 46.7% | 35.6% | 9.3% |
60+ | 56.4% | 5.0% | 25.2% |
Nearly half of drivers (46.8%) say the cost of owning or insuring their car has caused them to delay some kind of maintenance in the past year:
The survey also found a clear gender split in which expenses get cut:
While delaying maintenance is never preferable, it's important to understand the risks if you can't afford a repair right now. If cost is the reason a repair keeps getting pushed back, an oil change slipping a month is probably safe. A brake issue slipping a month is not, and it's worth prioritizing, even if it means adjusting your insurance budget elsewhere to free up cash.
When asked whether long-term loyalty gets rewarded with better rates or quietly punished, survey respondents were split three ways:
While some insurance companies offer discounts for loyalty, staying with your insurer for an extended period isn't always in your best interest. It's worth shopping around for new quotes at least once per year, and especially after a claim.
Credit-based pricing gets an even more skeptical response. In most states, insurers can factor a driver's credit score into their premium. About one-third (33.2%) of survey respondents called it very unfair, and another 22.9% called it somewhat unfair but understandable. Meanwhile, 15.1% of people didn't even know their credit score could affect their car insurance price at all.
Drivers also don't feel like their rate is purely about their driving. When asked if anything unrelated to their driving record had unfairly affected their rate, 32.1% pointed to their age and 29.8% pointed to where they live.
Age is where the generational gap really shows up: 43.2% of drivers 18-29 feel their age has unfairly bumped their rate, compared to just 23.3% of drivers over 60.
Many car insurance companies offer telematics insurance programs that monitor driving habits and reward safe drivers with a reduced premium. When asked if they'd let their insurer track their driving through a smartphone app in exchange for a 20% discount, 43.8% of respondents said yes. But look at who's actually most willing:
Age Group | Would Opt Into Telematics for a Discount | Positive on a Fully AI-Run Claims Decision |
|---|---|---|
18-29 | 33.1% | 20.3% |
30-44 | 41.2% | 36.1% |
45-60 | 52.9% | 39.1% |
60+ | 41.0% | 6.8% |
Drivers ages 45 to 60 are the most comfortable letting an app monitor their speed and braking for a discount, and are the most positive about AI reviewing accident photos and calculating a payout with no human involved.
Drivers between 18 and 29 are the least enthusiastic about both. If you assumed younger drivers would be the early adopters here because they grew up with the technology, the data suggests otherwise. It's the drivers with the most to gain financially who are leaning in hardest.
On the AI question specifically, many drivers remain skeptical: 44.2% said they'd feel negative about AI making the call with no human involved, versus 28.1% positive and 15.3% who'd be fine with it only if they could appeal to a person.
Among drivers who have actually filed a car insurance claim, 53.3% say they were either denied outright or got a payout lower than they expected, usually because of coverage details or exclusions they didn't fully understand ahead of time.
Split by gender, women are more likely to describe an outright denial (20% vs. 12.1% of men), while men are more likely to describe a lower-than-expected payout (27% vs. 21.1% of women).
"The most typical reason behind denied claims isn't the accident itself, but rather finding out that the policy didn't extend to how the vehicle was being used, the coverage had lapsed, or the claim reporting requirements weren't followed. It's important to understand exactly what your policy covers so you aren't surprised after an accident or another claim."
— Reginald Greene, Attorney and Managing Partner, Greene Legal Group
Not understanding the policy details is the strongest argument in this whole survey for reading through what comprehensive, collision, and liability coverage actually excludes before a claim is on the table, not after.
It's also a good reason to revisit a policy at renewal rather than let it auto-renew untouched. Drivers who want to see what a policy with clearer, better-understood terms would cost can compare car insurance options.
This survey points to a few clear patterns worth acting on:
The consistent advice from experts is this: read your policy closely, choose a deductible you could comfortably afford out of pocket if you had a claim, and shop around at renewal rather than assuming loyalty or a clean record will keep rates low.
Methodology: This BestMoney survey was conducted online among 1,032 to 1,056 U.S. adults (sample size varies slightly by question due to skips), asking about their car insurance costs, claims history, and attitudes toward pricing and emerging technology like telematics and AI-driven claims.
Elizabeth Rivelli is a business finance and insurance expert at BestMoney.com with over five years of experience covering car, home, life, and health insurance. She has contributed to major outlets such as Investopedia, Forbes, CNN Underscored, U.S. News & World Report, and Bankrate. Elizabeth also partners with insurance companies to provide readers with practical insights into industry trends.
