Car insurance question

[staceyv]

I caused an accident Monday morning on my way to work. Totally my fault- I pulled in front of some guy when I was trying to take a left turn- I must've looked too far up the road and not directly in front of my face before I turned, anyway, he had no choice but to crash into me.

We got out and exchanged information. The guy was really calm and nice about it, he could've yelled at me and called me an idiot who doesn't belong on the road, but he was pretty cool.
He called me later on that day and said that if I want to, he can drop the claim on my insurance policy and I can just pay for the repairs out of pocket, if I want. I said it sounded like a good idea.
He got a few estimates, renging from $980 to almost $1200.
I could easily charge that amount on the credit card we are working our asses to pay off, IF it'll be worth it-

But I'm having second thoughts. Two girls at work told me that this accident and my measly $1000 claim shouldn't make my insurance go way up. Now, I thought that if you file a claim, it makes your insurance go up, but they said that it's my first offense and a small claim, and it would be stupid to pay out of pocket. So now I'm thinking- should I use the insurance? Which will be cheaper in the long run??

I tried calling Geico to get this information, but they refuse to answer my questions until I file my half of the accident report. I don't want to give them the information they need to start processing the claim, because this guy might drop the claim today if I want...

Is there a difference in the amount my insurance will increase if he files a claim or not? The insurance already knows about the accident, but does having a claim filed or not filed significantly affect my premium?
Do I pay out of pocket or through the insurance??