<prompt> Human: So a lady ran into my parked car last week when she was pulling into her own spot. Luckily, my boss saw it and told me about it before she was able to get away. So I have all of her information, insurance, etc.The damage she did was on the bumper, and the scratch was significant enough that they cant be buffed out and the bumper itself needs to be replaced costing 559. I personally would rather just have the cash considering the car is pretty old already, and I dont think the scratch will lower the value of my car by 559 when I eventually sell it, so Id rather just take the cash.I have not called her to tell her how much it is, but Im thinking shell want to go through insurance when she finds out the cost. My question is, if she DOES go through insurance, am I able to cash the check the insurance company sends me? Meaning, can I just go to the bank and deposit it into my savings, checking, etc? Or does that check HAVE to be used on repairing my car? If the check does need to be used on my car, would an alternative be to give her a lower number than the 559 in hopes that shed rather give me the cash to fix it than go through insurance?I hope I was clear enough in this. Any help would be greatly appreciated.  <response>: I stated this in a similar thread a while back but it bears repeating: Make sure there isnt any hidden damage to your car. I was rear ended in college and, after getting an estimate, accepted a personal check from the guy who hit me. Like you, I decided not to get the car repaired and spent the money on skis instead. Fast forward a few months and I open up the trunk of my car to discover a veritable sea of mold and mildew. Turns out the accident had compromised my trunk seal and rain water had been leaking into the car. Hopefully the damage to your car wasnt as bad but dont always assume that just because its a scratch, its only a scratch. 