Flood Damage and Your Car – Do You Have Protection?

A flood can be very damaging to a vehicle. Not only does the water get into the engine, but it can also saturate the inside of the vehicle. In many cases, these types of instances are hard to repair, if not impossible. Does your car insurance help cover these losses? It is important to know when auto insurance applies. Here are some key details.

What Type of Insurance Covers Floods?

There are limitations on flood insurance for vehicles. If you live in a high-risk area, your insurance policy may exclude flood damage. Other policies in other areas may have coverage, though.

If you have comprehensive auto insurance, check with your agent about flood coverage. If it has protection, you may be able to file a claim when the flood is unavoidable. For example, if a storm causes damage like this. Keep in mind that some policies will not cover any flooding of the car. When choosing insurance, you may wish to consider this.

If You Can File a Claim

If you have comprehensive auto insurance that covers flood damage, your agent can help you to file a claim. The key here is to be thorough. A vehicle that has significant water damage is one that may have a great deal of loss to it. The engine could have damage. You may also have damage to the interior electronics, upholstery, and carpeting. In some situations, there is no simple way to repair these costs. It is common for policies to total these vehicles.

Salvage Titles

If you are in a flood, be careful about salvage titles. If you try to fix your car, a salvage title may apply to your car. That may mean that it is not possible to sell your car to another buyer without disclosing this damage.

Here’s what may happen. Your vehicle suffers significant flood damage. The insurance company writes it off as a total loss. However, you may want to try to fix the car. However, because the vehicle was a loss like this, it will have a salvage title. That means you may be unable to sell the car to another party down the road without disclosing the damage. This can also make it impossible to get an affordable or comprehensive auto insurance policy for the vehicle.

Are you unsure if you have flood coverage? Contact your car insurance agent. Then, file a claim for all of your losses.

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