Many first-time buyers often ask – ‘Does car insurance cover natural disasters?’. The simple answer to it is ‘Yes.’ You must have heard of at least one such incident where floods or storms have damaged cars, and an insurance policy covers these losses. Let us understand how four-wheeler insurance protects from these events.
Insurance is a contract between the policyholder and the insurance company to provide coverage for uncertain future events. Here the policyholder pays the price known as premium and enters into a contract with the insurance company. This contract is binding on either party. Where the above answer is a simple yes, there are a few terms and conditions to it.
Car insurance policies are available in two types – third-party and comprehensive. As the name suggests, a third-party policy provides coverage against liabilities that may be raised by the third person and is also known as a liability-only cover. On the contrary, a comprehensive plan includes own-damage cover along with coverage for third-party liabilities.
Do you need to purchase a separate add-on to protect your car against natural disasters?
No, comprehensive plans do not require separate add-on covers for protection against natural disasters. It is included under the own damage component of your comprehensive policy. Therefore, any damages to your car are automatically covered under a comprehensive plan. Note that this benefit is not available for a third-party insurance claim since they are limited in coverage for a third person and property liability only.
What is the advantage of buying a comprehensive cover?
The following points explain the coverage of a comprehensive policy that includes damages against natural calamities.
- A comprehensive plan offers protection for damage to your car while including third-party damages.
- Unlike third-party insurance, the premiums are not standardized, and different insurers have varying premiums.
- Extra coverage can be purchased in the form of optional add-on covers. These add-ons substantially increase the scope of your policy for a nominal price.
- Comprehensive policy covers theft, damage due to fire, natural calamities, and even artificial calamities.
What to do if your car is damaged due to a natural disaster?
Now that you know comprehensive policy coverage extends to natural disasters, what should be your next steps in such an unfortunate event?
First and foremost, ensure your safety in such an event, and once things settle down, click pictures of your car. If possible, record videos. These pictures and videos form the basis of your car insurance claim. Not always, an insurance surveyor will be able to reach out to you to assess the loss. After accumulating evidence of all damages to your car, make an application to the insurer specifying details of the events.
A word of caution, do not initiate the repairs unless you receive an acknowledgment for your claim application. These are the ways how insuring your car using a comprehensive insurance cover can come in handy. If you don’t have one, definitely opt for a comprehensive plan at your next car insurance renewal and enhance your policy’s scope significantly.
