It depends on what happened, because each kind of damage is a different claim with different costs. If you caused the crash, it's a collision claim on your own policy, and the question is whether the rate increase costs more than the claim pays. If someone else caused it, their insurance pays, and the question becomes whether to also claim your car's lost value. If hail or weather did it, it's a comprehensive claim that's nobody's fault, and filing often makes sense.
File a collision claim or pay the shop? We weigh what the claim pays after your deductible against what an at-fault accident adds to your premium, with your state's rules.
Run it →Their insurance pays for the repair. This says whether your car's lost resale value is worth claiming too, and how.
Run it →Hail is a comprehensive claim: nobody's fault. Filing often makes sense. This does the math with your deductible and your insurer.
Run it →A cracked windshield is its own comprehensive claim, and some states require a $0 glass deductible. Run the windshield calculator.