Making a car insurance claim
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The right car insurance can bring calm after a storm
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When you buy car insurance, you might not think about whether it will cover your car for weather-related damage.
But road traffic accidents aren’t the only thing that can result in having to take your vehicle to the garage.
Most comprehensive car insurance policies will usually cover storm damage - like a dent caused by a falling tree or flying debris.
However, if your car comes off worse in a storm and you only have third party cover, you won’t be able to make a claim or get a payout.
If a storm damages your car, you might see it as accidental. But insurers often classify weather-related incidents as an ‘Act of God’.
In other words, the damage occurred naturally and was unavoidable - which means you should be able to make a claim.
The type of damage and situations insurers will cover can vary though, so always check the policy wording.
Claims due to bad weather will generally fall under the ‘at-fault’ category because the insurer can’t recover their costs from elsewhere.
Unfortunately, this means that claiming for storm damage will usually impact your no-claims discount (NCD). So, you’re likely to see your premiums increase when it comes to renewal time.
Bad weather conditions can cause damage to your car in several ways. But typical situations that a comprehensive policy might cover include:
Your car insurance can cover the cost of damage if high winds cause a tree to fall onto your car or flying debris to smash windows and scratch paintwork.
If heavy rainfall and sudden high water levels result in flood damage to your car, perhaps causing electrical faults, you should be able to make a claim.
Most comprehensive policies will cover you if a storm causes unusually large hailstones that dent your car’s bodywork, damaging windows and windscreens.
You’ll usually be covered if weather causes dangerous driving conditions which result in a car crash, or your parked car being hit.
There are some situations that your car insurance won’t cover. Typical exclusions for storm damage might include:
If your car’s been damaged by a storm, you may want to claim for the cost of repairs if you’ve got comprehensive car insurance.
To do this, you’ll need to:
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