Francesca Knowles wrote:
My Dad was in the insurance business for many years, and here's one of the things he taught me:
Insurance companies track every call you make inquiring about coverage for specific losses. If you already have them involved, you might as well go through with the claim. (This regardless of whether you talked to a claims operator or "your" agent. Their first responsibility is to the companies they represent). The fact that you've reported an "incident" goes down in your record just as if you've filed a claim; paying out of pocket instead of with their money won't make a bit of difference in that department.
That is some of the best advice that I have seen on these forums. I made two separate calls to ask about coverage etc. Next thing I know, my rates went up for that very reason.