Do I have to submit a claim immediately?

Do not contact the insurance company unless you plan to claim.

It will immediately be on your record and will remain as a potential claim for a couple of years.

And that alone will increase your premium substantially

OP, you probably will be claiming for the damage to your car. Just as soon as the other party changes his mind about it not being 'worth the fuss' i.e. when he hears how much he will get for a whiplash claim.

Just be aware that if you spend money fixing your car and the other guy lodges a claim, your own insurance will not compensate you for any money you've already spent on your own car. Because they need to inspect the damage before any repairs are carried out.

They haven't gone away you know.

Last month, in what is believed to be one of the first cases under the guidelines to go to hearing, a man who claimed for soft tissue and psychological injuries in a motor accident, in which liability was admitted, was awarded €45,000 at Killarney Circuit Court.

If the only injuries that guy claims to have suffered were 'soft tissue and psychological', it means his doctors simply filled out a 'medical report' which quoted what he told them i.e. there was zero clinical evidence of any injuries. But he was still awarded €45,000. Which I'm happy to say is being appealed.

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/have-new-guidelines-derailed-the-personal-injury-awards-gravy-train-1.4838570

Suggestion to OP not to notify his motor insurers is a bad idea.

1. OP is contractually obliged to notify the incident.
2. OP is obliged under RTA 1961[S.71 / S.72 ?] to notify insurers.
3. People applying for insurance quotations are obliged to disclose all material facts. That duty does not die after the contract is formed. So, if OP says nothing about the accident and the policy is renewed that actually constitutes non-disclosure.
4. The duty of disclosure revives every year at renewal.
5. Non-disclosure renders a contract of insurance void or voidable at the option of the underwriters.
6. If a contract of insurance is voided for non-disclosure that becomes a new material fact in itself which then has to be disclosed in future dealings with insurers.

This is one of those areas where putting your head down and saying nothing is likely to bite you !

You made up potential problems in your head and lambasted your insurer without any experience of engaging with them. Username is apt.

You are still convinced that the insurance would increase. I had 2 accidents where I was not at fault. The other party’s insurance paid for both.

My insurance didn’t increase afterwards.

It's none of their business???? When you took out your policy, you agreed to advise them as soon as possible of any event which may give rise to a claim. Read your policy. This requirement is designed to help YOU, as the sooner they can get involved the better they can gather the relevant facts to establish liability.

I know you won't listen though. You know better, even with no apparent experience of the claims process

The insurer may say there is an "open claim" in case the other party contacts them. If the policy is up for renewal it may cause issues where they will not issue no claims certificate. This could go on for a long time if the insurer does not ring the potential claimant. For minor damage while it might not be within the insurer rules it may make sense for the guy to not tell them.