I have two questions:

1) How was it possible to avoid a police report? Once the police appear at an accident, they are obligated to write a report. In NYS, it's mandatory to have a police report if the damage exceeds (IIRC) $400.

2) What's the reason to avoid using one's insurance? If you've got a clean record, and have one chargeable accident, the surcharge is relatively minor and will disappear after three years. It surely could not have cost an additional $4K............so, I'm not understanding the financial decision for this approach.