Will insurance companies add a record to the Carfax if they only pay for the repair?

Question

Few days ago I saw my car's door has been kicked by a jerk and there was a footprint still on the door. This caused a dent around 10-15 inches on the door and 2-3 inches of chipped paint. I called to my insurance company and brought the car to their recommended body shop to get a repair estimation price. Then the insurance company called me and told me it costs around $2000 to repair and it seems they want to replace the door! (Although the door is in good shape except the dented part and chipped paint). Also when I asked them about the Carfax effect they told me it would be a comprehensive repair record!

I know this is just a small damage and could be fixed easily with no need to replace the door at all, so I want to do a cash settlement and do the repair by a known repair shop. But my questions are:

1- Will they(insurance company) still add a record or write something on the Carfax if I get the money from them but don't repair the car?

2- If I take the car to a local store and repair it, must they still add a record to my Carfax? I mean is it an enforcement/law in the US/CA to add any repairs into the Carfax?

3- Will this have a bad effect on my insurance history if I get the money from the insurance company? I mean I must pay more for future car insurance or won't get future discounts?

Answer 1

If the insurance company was going to report the repair to Carfax, they will do so even if you don't get the repair from their authorized repair shop. If they cut a check because of a claim, they will report it.

A second method of reporting information to Carfax is by the repair shop. If they have a practice of reporting data from all transactions, then your VIN and other data will be reported to Carfax.

Some shops even report non-repair transactions such as state inspections, and other things. That is how the Carfax report includes estimated miles.

Will this have a bad effect on my insurance history if I get the money from the insurance company? I mean I must pay more for future car insurance or won't get future discounts?

If it wasn't your fault then your rates shouldn't go up...Unless you do this several times. Your rates are also dependent on where you live so a large number of claims in your zip code can impact your rates.

Remember if you get the check, but skip the repair and then in a few years file a claim to take care of the rust, they will probably deny it because the new damage was preventable.