Flash floods, floods, rockslides, tornadoes … and now lava too. These are just a few cases of natural disasters that could end up destroying your vehicle. In this article we will explain what does car insurance cover against possible natural disasters, and what does not cover.
To begin with, we must be very attentive to the policy fine print that we are thinking of hiring, or that we have already hired. Insurers tend to report more or less generically the coverage of your policy, but there is also a small print that we should give more importance than we think.
When comparing between one insurance and another, either within the same insurer or comparing directly against the competition, they leave us very clear a series of points, the most common, such as theft, broken windows or accident, for example, but there is a hidden undertone in the fine print that you should read even more carefully.
Does the comprehensive insurance cover all damages?
NO. There is no comprehensive car insurance that fully covers all the damages that our vehicle may suffer., and much less if it deals with damages caused by extraordinary risks, such as natural phenomena, acts of terrorism, popular unrest, rebellion, sedition, or even by actions of the Armed Forces or Security Bodies in times of peace.
–
Thus, it must be made clear that car insurance does not usually cover damage caused by floods, rocks, hurricane force winds, tornadoes, lava … or any other type of natural disaster. However, all is not lost.
You can claim the Insurance Compensation Consortium
Although your car insurance does not cover the damages caused by these factors, if the Government declares the area catastrophic due to exceptional circumstances, there is still the option of claiming the damages from Insurance Compensation Consortium (CCS), which takes over the compensation for these causes. Of course, make sure you have a valid comprehensive insurance or third party insurance with a specific clause, not the basic one, and with payments up to date. Otherwise, the Consortium will not be responsible for the damage.
The Insurance Consortium it does not cover more common damages caused by hail, snow or the fall of a tree on the carIn the latter case, the owner of the land on which it is planted must take over.
After the unpleasant incident, the first thing to do is contact the insurance company to verify whether or not the insurance covers damage to the car. If not, you have 7 days to make a claim to the Insurance Compensation Consortium. You can make this claim through your virtual office (consorseguros.es), by phone or in person at the Consortium’s delegations, or through your own insurer.
–
When they receive the claim, they will send a expert to assess the damage and verify the information. You must have prepared the policy of the affected goods and the receipt that proves the payment.
The Insurance Consortium covers health, crane or rescue expenses if necessary. The compensation, in principle, covers the same amount that is stipulated in the private insurance policy.
It could also happen that the cost of the repair is higher than the market value of our vehicle. In this case, a total loss would be declared by the Consortium and the market value of the car will be paid.
What is the market value of the vehicle?
–
