Ever wondered if your car insurance covers flood damage? Read on to find answers and tips on reporting flood damage to your insurance carrier and processing your claims quickly.
In the United States, floods are the most prevalent form of natural disaster. Flooding has become increasingly common in several regions, including the Northeast and the Mississippi River Valley. To make matters worse, coastal flooding has doubled in recent decades. Along with home insurance, it’s essential to safeguard your car or truck before the next hurricane strikes. But does cheap car insurance cover flood damage? What should you do if your car is flooded, and how can you ensure that your car flood insurance claim is fairly settled? Let’s find out.
Does Car Insurance Cover Flood Damage?
The simple answer is yes. However, if you want your insurance provider to compensate for damage to your flooded vehicle, you’ll need comprehensive car insurance.
You must have comprehensive insurance, whether you lease or finance a vehicle. Even if you don’t require it, it’s probably a good idea to have comprehensive car insurance as it covers damage due to natural calamities such as floods, hail, fires, etc. At way.com, we recommend keeping comprehensive coverage until your car or truck is so old that the cost of coverage exceeds your car’s value.
You’re probably out of luck if your car is flooded and you don’t have comprehensive coverage. Flood damage isn’t covered by home insurance, and even if you have a separate flood insurance policy, it will only cover damage to your personal property in your automobile. However, in a natural disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) may help you with a low-interest loan.
What Should I Do If My Car Is Flooded?
Flooding causes damage to property worth millions of dollars every year. A flood could affect not only your home and belongings but also your primary mode of transportation – your vehicle. If floods have damaged your car, we recommend you take photos of the damage. If you want to secure a fair settlement from the insurance company, make sure you thoroughly document what happened to your car.
This includes photographing and videotaping the vehicle from all angles so that the insurance company can observe how high the water has risen. If the interior is wet, the National Auto Dealers Association recommends drying the vehicle as much as possible and eliminating moisture from the vehicle to avoid any sort of electrical gremlins.
Once you have photographed the necessary evidence to support your claim, contact your insurance agent or car insurance provider. If a major hurricane has hit, you can expect that a lot of other people are filing claims as well. So the faster you file your claim, the better your chances of getting it resolved soon.
Next, it’s time to take your car to your preferred repair shop to fix it. Here, we recommend checking if there’s any damage that isn’t visible to the naked eye. By maintaining an open line of communication with the body shop, you can learn how thoroughly they’re inspecting the vehicle and the extent of the damage. Make sure you’re asking the right questions. This is crucial since it determines whether the car will be repaired or considered a total loss.
Renée Martin is a travel and car expert who focuses on road and air travel in the U.S. For the past 6 years, she’s been helping make driving and trip planning easier and budget-friendly for everyday travelers.
