> Someone hits your car, and says "can we just settle this privately, I don't want my premium to go up", and you agree out of kindness, and a few days later you

> Someone hits your car, and says "can we just settle this privately, I don't want my premium to go up", and you agree out of kindness, and a few days later you get a letter saying that they're making a claim against your insurance. You've missed your chance to get yourself on record as the victim. No this has happened to me and I won ultimately anyway. In California they ask people to immediately get out of the road if they can (i.e. move their cars), and generally deal with it privately if it's under some dollar amount. All states have some variant of this. If the person then comes after you it will be decided between the insurance companies who directly investigate the car and take statements. In my case I explained what happened and pointed out how the scratches/dents/etc supported it. As for playing games with the police, filing a false police report is a crime so be very careful about changing your official statements with them. I'd say talk to a lawyer to advise you on exactly what to say, of perhaps even have them deal directly to get you out of it.