Here at Robison Service we see lots of
unusual failures. Many of the cars we work on come from a long way away,
which means their owners do all their “easy service” close to home. What
we are left with is the difficult, complex, and time-consuming work no one else
can do.
Sometimes that work is at the
customer’s expense. However, we find ourselves working for insurance
companies more often that you’d think. Most of the time, our clients do
not know the problem with their car may be covered by insurance until we tell
them.
What kinds of problems are
covered? I’ll give you some examples. But first, let’s go over the
components of your insurance policy.
Basically, you have three kinds of
coverage:
- Liability insurance covers injures to other people
and their cars and property. We don’t usually make use of the liability
parts of people’s policies unless we are fixing a car someone else damaged, and
that third parties’ insurance is paying.
- Collision coverage pays when you damage your car by
hitting something you could or should have foreseen. This is the part of
the policy that pays for repairs if you hit another car, a guardrail, or a
tree. It would also cover damage to the undercarriage if you hit a deep
pothole.
- Comprehensive coverage covers “all other risks” to
your car. The scope of coverage varies slightly from state to state, but
in general, comprehensive covers all damage to your car that is not covered by
collision, and is not a result of normal wear, negligence, abuse, racing, or
certain other excluded activities. People often refer to this part of a
policy as “fire and theft coverage” because those are the best-known
comprehensive claims.
On more than one occasion, customers
have called me to say their car stopped running, and they were having it towed
in. When the car arrived we found it out of oil or coolant, with a
damaged engine. If the car “ran dry” due to a simple leak and the owner’s
failure to check his fluids, he’s on his own. But if there is a crack or
hole because the owner hit something. We probably have a comprehensive
insurance claim.
Am impact to the engine is covered just
the same as an impact to the hood or windshield. The difference is, an
impact to the oil pan can lead to $10,000 in damage where an impact to the
windshield is seldom more than a few hundred dollars.
If you make a claim for engine damage doesn’t
be surprised if the insurance company asks for proof the car was running well
before the loss. If they are asked to pay for a new engine they will try
and determine the condition of the old engine before deciding what to offer in
terms of repair.
That’s one more reason regular service
and maintenance records are so vitally important!
Every time we have a rain that suddenly
floods roadways I hear from motorists whose cars swallowed water while driving
through puddles where they expected clear road. Most often water
ingestion ruins the engine, and this too results in a comprehensive
claim.
What about damage under the car, when
nothing was run over? A common example comes from the Land Rover
world. The front drive shafts on Discovery II models are notorious for
coming apart. When that happens the shaft starts swinging round under the
car. If the vehicle is moving fast when this happens that shaft can do a
lot of damage. I see transmission cases smashed, floors torn up, and more.
Damage can easily exceed 5,000.
Damage from driveshaft failure will
often be covered by comprehensive coverage. The driveshaft breakage is a
routine mechanical failure, which is not covered. However, all the damage that
failed driveshaft causes is covered. That fact is sometimes a
surprise to appraisers, but here’s the theory, presented via a different example:
Say your steering linkage breaks, and you lose control and crash into the
guardrail. “Of course crashing into the guardrail is covered,” you
say. Well, the guardrail crash was the consequential result of steering
linkage failure. And the torn up undercarriage is the consequential
damage that results from the driveshaft failure. Both should be covered
under the same theory of coverage.
By excluding the specific failed
mechanical part and them making a claim for all consequential mechanical damage
it is often possible to get a surprising amount of mechanical repair motor
insurance covered under the comprehensive insurance umbrella.
Another example: A car won’t
start, and we find the computer compartment filled with water. The
cause: A water drain that was blocked with pollen. The repair:
Thousands of dollars of new electronic modules to replace the ones that got
immersed in water. This claim isn’t so clear-cut. If the car has
drains, someone should be blowing them clean. If the drain-cleaning is
part of a scheduled maintenance activity, and the customer can show that was
done, he should be all set. If the drains clogged after a local “pollen
storm” that will probably cover him too. However, if the area is
filled with rotted leaves and debris and it’s obvious the drains have not been
cleaned in years – watch out! The insurance company may tell the owner he
caused the problem by failing to maintain the car as required. The
technical term for that is contributory negligence, and it can leave someone on
his own with no coverage or reduced coverage. The moral: Always
check stuff like that when the car is in for service. You never know what
you will find and a simple thing like leaves in a drain tube can have huge
consequences if left unnoticed.
The final thing I’ll mention is rodent
damage. Some of our biggest insurance claims come when mice get into
collector cars, and chew them up. If they inhabit a car for long they
leave a stench that cannot be cleaned except by upholstery replacement.
This damage too is covered by comprehensive insurance, and claims on
Rolls-Royce and other collector cars can run into six figures.
Rodents can also cause fires, if they
chew into electrical harnesses and they subsequently short out. The
moral: pay attention to where you store your cars, and try and keep them
rodent free.
I actually have a whole blog essay on
rodent damage for those who have this problem.
In closing I will also add that I'm not a lawyer but coverage questions have
more to do with reading the policy carefully and interpreting it that they do
with the law. I'm also not an insurance agent, or employed by any
insurance company, except insofar as they pay us to fix their insured's cars.
