This is the way to go, did it a year ago.

Vehicle repaired, no claim on my insurance, and didn’t cost me anything.

Alright guys, I've used State Farm for about 25 years without an ounce of an issue, i'll involve them, like it sounds like I should have to begin with, to get this patched up. Time to quit banging my head against the wall

If you look around, there are guys that will come to you after the repair is done and do an extensive inspection and a depreciation value report. You approach the insurance company with that report and they will write you a check. Your car is now worth less because of the accident and they owe you for that loss in value.

Is this guy with my insurance company, their insurance guy, or someone else. If someone else, do they take a cut, or how does that work?

Watch your step doing this. To get your vehicle fixed you’ll need funds from the insurance company. Do not sign off on the claim if you intend on getting more money for “depreciation”. It’s called diminished value. Talking to your insurance carrier before hand would be a good idea. To the OP- Who is the other parties insurance company?

Let your insurance work for you. File with your insurance and let your insurance chase the at fault persons insurance for their payback.

Better way to say what I was trying to say above.

Not quite

Call your State Farm agent discuss with him the process.

Police report will be needed, If the other driver was cited - there will be a report and record. PD's don't determine "who's at fault' but the report goes a long way in supporting your statement to the At-Fault drivers insurance. They won't act until that driver gives them a statement.

You will basically file a claim with your insurance (not-at-fault designation). They will fix your car and go after the other driver or their insurance "IF" the policy is valid (subrogation). Depending on how your insurance processes it (Collision or Uninsured) you may or may not get deductible refunded.

Diminished Value Claim is a totally separate thing after car is fixed, State Farm probably won't cover that. There is a formula to figure that value loss (can be found on internet)

Only other way to recoup losses is small claims court, unfortunately judgements aren't enforced.

Y'all would be surprised how many people have a fender bender and shake hands with the other driver on a settlement, then find out later the other driver told his insurance carrier a completely different story. Now the insurance carrier wants a police report, and one or both drivers are calling a LE agency, expecting an officer to sign his name to a "report" that is the uncorroborated version of that driver's tale of woe with no scene, witnesses, or physical evidence to back it up..............

I'm assuming you didn't get a police report. If you did, once that is provided to the at fault insurance company, things will go smoother but not without a lot of work on your part.

I just learned this as my son was in an accident that totaled his grandfather's truck.

He turned left on a protected arrow and a lady, previously stopped at the red light, decided to go and hit him, spinning him 180 degrees.
She told the POLICE that she didn't know what color her light was.
She filed against my insurance and told MY insurance that my son took the turn too wide and hit her. Physics would prove this impossible.
When I filed against HER insurance, she told her insurance that my son ran a red light and hit her. Also impossible due to how the impact occurred and where the vehicles came to a stop.

Lucky for us, there was a witness who stopped and gave her info to the responding police. The police report stated that she was at fault.
Then, and only then, would her insurance engage.

Even at that rate, I had to fight HARD to get the amount I wanted for the totaled vehicle. And my son wasn't injured in the accident but I still fought for pain & suffering.
And when GEICO told me that my son's mild injuries and missing school due to back pain, and that we were now without a vehicle that we relied on for transportation were all INCONVENIENCES, I about lost my mind.
Told them I was contacting an attorney.
They called the following day and asked if I had contacted an attorney yet. I told them not yet, but will that day. They started the offer process.

It's a PITA.
Good luck.

There are some decent articles on the www about how to negotiate with insurance companies. I read a few and took some advice that applied to our case and I feel that it helped.

^^^^^^^^^^ this is the best option IMO

You are correct. My wife and I left lunch one day in separate cars. I get a call to come back because some lady backed into my wife. So when I get back to the scene, I requested a police officer to come out. The PO stopped by, asked a few questions then left. The lady was being nice and super apologetic. Well fast forward to a few days later when we’re talking with insurance….our insurance person assigned to the case informed us the other party involved reported that she saw my wife “leaving a bar and she was impaired”. So I gave our insurance the contact info for the office who came out and we got that one shut down fast. The other lady changed her tune when our insurance let her know they had reached out to the officer who reported to the scene. It was 100% the other ladies fault but she was trying to blame my wife.

This... I have had to it and it was hassle free.

I've dealt with enough fender bender BS that my new philosophy is to video everything. Either give them a choice to wait on police, or make a video of them telling what happened in their own words. I've also busted out a piece of paper and had a guy write down what happened and sign it.

Last time I was hit I tried to file against his insurance by myself, and they claimed his policy was in arrears so they would not be responsible. I called my insurance, they called the other company and resolved the whole thing that day. Bottom line is an individual is a small fish in their world. They deal with thousands of claims a day, and your little fender bender just doesn't escalate to any level of importance. Another insurance company comes with the threat of high-powered lawyers, and therefore gets handled in a much more respectful manner.

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is take pictures from different angles before either vehicle is moved. Everybody has a camera and it will prove who hit who. Just my nickles worth.