<prompt> Human: I rear ended another car last night and the guy I hit gave me the option to pay for the repair out of pocket without involving the insurance agents. He took the car to get an estimate for the damage and the estimate totaled 1709. My question is whether I should go through my insurance company to pay for this or pay out of pocket. Im a 24 year old male and I called my insurance agent and I would have an additional 3 points added to my insurance for 6 years and have a 1000 deductible.  <response>: Always, Always, ALWAYS!! handle accidents via insurance because it protects you from personal liability in case this guy comes back later with a sore neck. This is why you have it, use it. 