Your Insurance May Cover More than You Think It Does

Remember the story of my friend who put gasoline into his diesel engine? Since then, the story got worse for him. The gas had penetrated most of his fuel system to the point where he needed an additional $4,000 in repairs. Ugh. That's a HUGE amount. But the car was only a couple years old, so he had to go ahead with it.

On a whim, he called his insurance company to see if they would offer any help. They said they would cover the whole thing, less his deductible. Pretty cool for him, huh?

I asked him why this was when the problem was something he caused. He said he asked them and they said:

• They cover many situations when you do something that harms your car and is completely your fault (for lack of paying attention or whatever.) For example, if you back your car into a pole, they'll cover the repair. Same goes for the situation where you put gasoline into a diesel engine.


• They cover lots of things that most people assume they don't. People simply fail to ask if they do and thus miss many of the benefits of their insurance.

A few thoughts on this from me:

• I would never in a million years think that they would cover something as blatant as putting gas into a diesel engine. Shows what I know.


• Like mom used to say, "it never hurts to ask."


• In many (most?) cases, it's not worth making a claim. If you do something that costs $200 to repair, it's probably better IMO to simply pay for it. The hit to your premiums will likely be more than the benefit you gain.


• That said, if the cost is very high, go ahead and claim it. Sure, my friend's premiums will likely go up, but they can afford to go up a ton since he's getting way over $4,000 (the new cost PLUS the cost of work he had done previously). It will take a long time for premium increases to cover that amount.

Anyone out there ever had a problem they thought would never be covered by insurance but it turned out to be covered?

Comments

[Everyday Tips]

Like an idiot, I backed out of the garage and hit my husband's car that was parked where it usually isn't. I was looking to make sure the garage door shut and not paying much attention to what was behind me. (Our driveway is quite long.) I couldn't believe how much damage there was to the car when I couldn't have been going more than 5 miles an hour. Insurance did cover it, which I guess I expected. However, putting the wrong gas in the car is totally the owner's fault just like my 'accident' was, so it does make sense it is covered. I just didn't think it would be either.

You are so right, it never hurts to ask!

[Eric]

My sibling is a claims adjuster and she has run across much more "stupid" claims that this believe it or not. People make mistakes. Of course your premiums go up every time you have an at fault accident but in this case the damage was definitely severe enough to file a claim

[Jon]

My wife's trombone was vandalized when my son took it to school and left it unsecured during his football practice. Our homeowners policy paid to replace it. Never saw a premium increase result from that incident.

[dcs]

I've made several claims, including hitting a dog (he was fine) while driving on the street and they were all covered under my comprehensive policy - meaning they had a $50 deductible, not the higher collision deductible. It has never increased my rates. My agent says that things that don't indicate you are a higher risk don't change your rates, at least for the company I use. So a broken window in the home, a bonk in a parking lot (if your car was parked), or an errant deer/turkey/moose over which you have no control aren't considered indicators of risky behavior, at least at the rate I encounter them.

The only thing that has ever changed my auto rates is changing where I park overnight (in the city in a parking garage = up) and changing the distance I drive to work (longer commute = up). Door dings, dog whacks, and cracked windshields have had no impact on my rates.

I did buy a new car, but that actually lowered my rates because crossover = boring station wagon (although the same turbo 4 in a car = $$ sports car $$) and repair costs are apparently lower than my old 4-door economy sedan - something about costly rear-end damage in low speed accidents on the sedan according to the agent.

[hgstern]

Cavalcade of Risk #138 is up, and your post is in it:

http://insurancecoveragemassachusetts.blogspot.com/2011/08/welcome-to-cavalcade-of-risk.html

Please tell your readers.