Does Car Insurance Cover Vandalism?
Posted on: 3 February 2019
Even if you live or work in a safe area, there is always a chance that someone will vandalize your car. Vandalism to cars is something that happens in all areas, and it can leave a car with major damage. You should understand that vandalism might be covered under your car insurance plan, though, and here are several things to understand about this.
Comprehensive coverage protects you from vandalism
The first thing to understand is the type of coverage that is designed for protecting you against vandalism, and this type is called comprehensive coverage. Comprehensive coverage is different from collision coverage, as collision protects you if you cause an accident with another car. Comprehensive coverage is more for non-driving types of damages you may experience, including vandalism. This means that if your car is vandalized at home, work, or any other place you go, the damages will be covered if you have comprehensive insurance. Comprehensive also covers damages from collisions with deer or other animals, hail damage, or damage from a tree landing on your car.
You may have to pay a deductible for it
Secondly, if you have damage from vandalism, you should realize that you will likely have to pay a deductible first. The amount of your deductible must be paid before your insurance company will pay the rest of the claim, but there is a chance your insurance company will pay nothing. For example, if you have a $500 deductible and experience $500 of damage from vandalism, you will have to pay the full amount. If there was $1,500 of damage, though, the insurance company would cover $1,000 of it.
The steps you should take if this happens
If you ever approach your car and discover that someone vandalized it, there are several key steps you should take to handle this situation. The first step is to call the police. The police will come out and write up a report. This report will document the incident and include any facts that you offer. Secondly, you should call your insurance company to file a claim. One other thing you may want to do is ask your neighbors or those near the incident if they saw anything, as you could use this as evidence to catch the person who did it.
If you are not sure if you have comprehensive insurance coverage on your policy, contact your auto insurance company. Adding this type of coverage is a smart move, as it offers coverage for many different types of damages you may encounter.
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