<prompt> Human: tl;dr It is possible your states insurance commission can help get things moving with an insurance agency whose client is refusing contact.A woman bumped into my 1-year-old Honda van at a stoplight. The screw head on her front license plate made a neat if disconcerting hexagonal-shaped hole in the plastic bumper, otherwise the resulting scrape might not have been anything to have repaired. But I didnt want a hole in my bumper.We exchanged information. Based on anectdotal evidence from past experience, I didnt call the police for this extremely minor problem. I still think I was right not to bother them with it.I had the bumper looked at; it was going to cost 500-800 to take the bumper off, repair the hole, paint the bumper, and put it back on. And I would need to leave the van with them 2-3 days, since paint had to dry, etc.I told the woman who hit me, and offered to let her pay for it instead of involving the insurance company; I didnt care which way she did this, and believe that her premiums would almost certainly go up at least the amount of the repair. She said she didnt have 800, and that she would get in touch with her insurance company.I didnt hear anything for a week or so, tried to call her back, got no answer. Tried from my home phone which number she did not have and she did answer, sounded disconcerted to realize it was me, said she had contacted her insurance company, they would be getting in touch.Waited a few more days; she did not answer calls from either number, and did not return messages.I called my insurance company; they said my insurance would cover it if I cared to make a claim there, but that I could also just open a claim with HER insurance company. So I called and did that; the person I talked with said they had no record of the accident, took the information, and said they would contact her and get back in touch.Another week; the insurance company says they have not been able to get in touch with the insured.Another week and a half, same thing. Either something catastrophic has happened to her or shes avoiding talking with both the insurance company and me. I asked the insurance company what they intended to do about it, they said they have to talk to their insured before they can do anything. How convenient.My wife suggests I talk to the state insurance commission; in NC, where we are, this is a state agency that regulates the insurance companies here. So I called and explained what was going on; they said they couldnt help much in terms of getting things moving UNLESS 30 days passed from the time I opened the claim without any action on their part. There is a regulation, you see, that they have to respond to the claim in 30 days.So at 30 days 1 I call the commission again to let them know the insurance company took my claim over 30 days previous and has not offered any information, let alone resolution, since then. The next morning, the insurance company called was it my imagination they were being much more solicitous? and said they were accepting responsibility, lets set up an appointment with one of our adjusters, etc. Appointment was made and kept, damage assessed, check cut, all within a few days. I could have gotten a rental as well, but had access to a car to borrow and decided against it.Im sorry for this woman who drifted into my car and doesnt have 800; I could have been much more accomodating if she had just worked with me. But I wanted PF to know that state agencies can be a help when it seems the normal commercial methods of things break down.EDITADDENDUM: WHY I DIDNT FILE WITH MY OWN INSURANCE. In my experience Ive lived in NC almost all my life, ANY claim made through your insurance company allows them to raise your rates. It doesnt have to make sense, it doesnt have to be your fault, it doesnt have to be substantial. I did call my insurance company for advice after being told I couldnt talk to my agent, this company wants people to talk with them directly, and was told that of course I could file a claim, they would take care of everything and then contact the other insurance company to get reimbursed. But when I asked whether this would raise my rates, they COULDNT TELL ME. It is, according to them, not possible to inform me whether this or any other action will raise my rates. This fact alone made me disinclined to deal with them over something this minor, since it leaves it entirely up to them whether to raise my rates, and there will likely be nothing I can do about it.EDITADDENDUM: WHY I HAD IT REPAIRED. There is certainly a little vanity involved. We buy cars new and drive them until the costs of their repairs makes it economical to buy another. So our other car is a 2003 Camry with over 200k, and I hope to drive it a while longer yet. Yes, the hole in the bumper is a small thing, but it IS a thing, I dont know whether rainwater would get in it or what it would do if it did, I didnt cause the damn hole, I wanted it fixed. I dont think this has anything to do with high insurance rates, except to the extent that it costs so much to fix, which is not my fault. Insurance companies dont charge based on what things cost them, they charge based on what they can get away with. Thats why theyre so rich.EDITADDENDUM: WHY I DIDNT CALL THE POLICE. I thought at the time that there was a minimum amount for which one is required to call the police; I personally think that, if you arent required to and theres no other reason to, that they have more important things to do. Ive looked up that info since, and there seems to be a requirement to call if the damage is more than 1000. I dont know how lay people are supposed to judge that, given that this repair was estimated at 500-800 and actually came in for about 500.Assistant: I was stupid enough to do the same and take the insurance information from another party written on a piece of paper. I guess I was just shocked after the incident and didnt think clearlymine was a little bit worse. Of course, the phone number, policy number and name turned to be fake.Human: Yeah, thats when you can be glad you wrote down the LICENSE number off the plate on the car. Or sorry that you didnt.  <response>: You take a photo of the damage, right? Include one of their license place. 