Will my car insurance really cover that? No way!

Here at Robison Service we see lots of unusual failures.  Many of the cars we work on come from a long way away, which means their owners do all their “easy service” close to home.  What we are left with is the difficult, complex, and time-consuming work no one else can do.

Sometimes that work is at the customer’s expense.  However, we find ourselves working for insurance companies more often that you’d think.  Most of the time, our clients do not know the problem with their car may be covered by insurance until we tell them.

What kinds of problems are covered?  I’ll give you some examples.  But first, let’s go over the components of your insurance policy.

Basically, you have three kinds of coverage:

·      Liability insurance covers injures to other people and their cars and property.  We don’t usually make use of the liability parts of people’s policies unless we are fixing a car someone else damaged, and that third parties’ insurance is paying.

·      Collision coverage pays when you damage your car by hitting something you could or should have foreseen.  This is the part of the policy that pays for repairs if you hit another car, a guardrail, or a tree.  It would also cover damage to the undercarriage if you hit a deep pothole.

·      Comprehensive coverage covers “all other risks” to your car.  The scope of coverage varies slightly from state to state, but in general, comprehensive covers all damage to your car that is not covered by collision, and is not a result of normal wear, negligence, abuse, racing, or certain other excluded activities.  People often refer to this part of a policy as “fire and theft coverage” because those are the best-known comprehensive claims.

On more than one occasion, customers have called me to say their car stopped running, and they were having it towed in.  When the car arrived we found it out of oil or coolant, with a damaged engine.  If the car “ran dry” due to a simple leak and the owner’s failure to check his fluids, he’s on his own.  But if there is a crack or hole because the owner hit something . . . we probably have a comprehensive insurance claim.

Am impact to the engine is covered just the same as an impact to the hood or windshield.  The difference is, an impact to the oil pan can lead to $10,000 in damage where an impact to the windshield is seldom more than a few hundred dollars. 

If you make a claim for engine damage don’t be surprised if the insurance company asks for proof the car was running well before the loss.  If they are asked to pay for a new engine they will try and determine the condition of the old engine before deciding what to offer in terms of repair.

That’s one more reason regular service and maintenance records are so vitally important! 

Every time we have a rain that suddenly floods roadways I hear from motorists whose cars swallowed water while driving through puddles where they expected clear road.  Most often water ingestion ruins the engine, and this too results in a comprehensive claim. 

What about damage under the car, when nothing was run over?  A common example comes from the Land Rover world.  The front drive shafts on Discovery II models are notorious for coming apart.  When that happens the shaft starts swinging round under the car.  If the vehicle is moving fast when this happens that shaft can do a lot of damage.  I see transmission cases smashed, floors torn up, and more.  Damage can easily exceed $5,000.

Damage from driveshaft failure will often be covered by comprehensive coverage.  The driveshaft breakage is a routine mechanical failure, which is not covered. However, all the damage that failed driveshaft causes is covered.   That fact is sometimes a surprise to appraisers, but here’s the theory, presented via a different example: Say your steering linkage breaks, and you lose control and crash into the guardrail.  “Of course crashing into the guardrail is covered,” you say.  Well, the guardrail crash was the consequential result of steering linkage failure.  And the torn up undercarriage is the consequential damage that results from the driveshaft failure.  Both should be covered under the same theory of coverage.

By excluding the specific failed mechanical part, and them making a claim for all consequential mechanical damage it is often possible to get a surprising amout of mechanical repair covered under the comprehensive insurance umbrella.

Another example:  A car won’t start, and we find the computer compartment filled with water.  The cause:  A water drain that was blocked with pollen.  The  repair: Thousands of dollars of new electronic modules to replace the ones that got immersed in water.  This claim isn’t so clear-cut.  If the car has drains, someone should be blowing them clean.  If the drain-cleaning is part of a scheduled maintenance activity, and the customer can show that was done, he should be all set.  If the drains clogged after a local “pollen storm” that will probably cover him too.   However, if the area is filled with rotted leaves and debris and it’s obvious the drains have not been cleaned in years – watch out!  The insurance company may tell the owner he caused the problem by failing to maintain the car as required.  The technical term for that is contributory negligence, and it can leave someone on his own with no coverage or reduced coverage.  The moral:  Always check stuff like that when the car is in for service.  You never know what you will find and a simple thing like leaves in a drain tube can have huge consequences if left unnoticed.

The final thing I’ll mention is rodent damage.  Some of our biggest insurance claims come when mice get into collector cars, and chew them up.  If they inhabit a car for long they leave a stench that cannot be cleaned except by upholstery replacement.  This damage too is covered by comprehensive insurance, and claims on Rolls-Royce and other collector cars can run into six figures.

Rodents can also cause fires, if they chew into electrical harnesses and they subsequently short out.  The moral:  pay attention to where you store your cars, and try and keep them rodent free.

I actually have a whole blog essay on rodent damage for those who have this problem.

In closing I will also add that I'm not a lawyer but coverage questions have more to do with reading the policy carefully and interpreting it that they do with the law.  I'm also not an insurance agent, or employed by any insurance company, except insofar as they pay us to fix their insured's cars.

Insurance rules vary, as do policies.  Read yours carefully.

Best wishes and bye for now

John Robison