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Cars in the storm: who pays for damage caused by fallen trees or flooding - Infobae
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Autos bajo la tormenta: quién paga los daños causados por árboles caídos o inundaciones
La crisis económica impacta en la protección de los bienes. Muchos usuarios de autos ya no pagan un garage o bajan la cobertura del seguro, pero cuando un evento climático genera consecuencias de magnitud, se encuentran desamparados para las reparaciones. Qué cubren los seguros y qué pasa con la...
www.infobae.com
March 12, 2024
The economic crisis impacts the protection of assets. Many car users no longer pay for a garage or lower their insurance coverage, but when a weather event generates major consequences, they find themselves helpless for repairs. What insurance covers and what happens to the responsibility of municipalities
By Diego Zorrero
Trees falling on parked cars are usually one of the immediate consequences of a strong rain and wind storm. (Adrián Escandar)
Both the city of Buenos Aires and the entire area called AMBA woke up this Tuesday with a scenario that begins to repeat itself with increasing frequency, when it receives a storm of magnitude that includes a lot of water fall accompanied by wind in a few hours. Flooded streets and fallen trees or branches especially affect the cars of neighbors who park on the street . And once again, the same old queries return. Who has to pay for the damage caused by a natural phenomenon of these characteristics? The insurance companies or the municipal government?
“The reality is that no matter how much reason any citizen has who has suffered damage to their vehicle due to a storm, the process of filing a civil lawsuit against the municipality can be very exhausting , extensive and not always achieve the expected result. The most reasonable thing is to have your own insurance and that in any case, depending on the severity of the incident, it is the company that decides to repeat the lawsuit against the municipal government, for having responsibility for the maintenance of the trees, although it is very difficult to prove this. responsibility,” says Juan Ignacio Perucchi , General Manager of Cinalli Insurance Brocker when asked by Infobae.
The culture of having insurance coverage not only for the car, but for other assets such as the house, a business or a larger establishment such as a small factory, is something that is gradually becoming established as a concept, although in the midst of An economic crisis like the current one is also something that not everyone can face, even knowing that a much greater risk is assumed by not being covered.
Glass is usually covered in most comprehensive third party insurance policies.
“Insurance increased as everything increased, because if the amounts are not updated, the damage cannot be covered . The value of the insurance policy is directly related to the sum insured,” explained various actors in the sector.
“Generally speaking, damage from falling trees is covered. Of course, it will always depend on the coverage of each vehicle, since those that do not have comprehensive coverage would only be covered for total destruction, although damage to the rear window and glass of the vehicles will always be covered. It is important to ensure that the policy keeps the values of the additional benefits that cover damage to windshields, rear windows and glass updated,” Perucchi added.
The other major damage that a storm with a lot of water can cause is flooding . Cars that are partially affected by water do not have major damage, but when a vehicle is semi-covered , above half of the body, the damage can not only affect the interior of the cabin but fundamentally the mechanics, both the gearbox like the engine itself.
“In the event of a flood, it depends on each policy whether or not it has that additional coverage. Some policies limit it to the value of the insured sum of each vehicle, others grant it with a smaller amount and some do not have it included. It is important to verify it at the time of contracting,” says the insurance bocker.
When a car is left with more than half of its body under water, the damage can not only be to the passenger compartment but also to the engine and gearbox. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)
In the case of motorists, the crisis impacts in multiple aspects. In recent months there have been two situations that run in parallel and come together at a common critical point when there is a major climate event. Many car users stopped paying for the garage and left the car on the street, but at the same time they lowered the quality of the coverage. Some staying with the same company with less coverage, and others, changing it for another in search of a better price.
“We have been working for two months to maintain our client portfolio. All risk coverage became almost a luxury product. There was a lot of reduction of all risk to third parties, although there are some people who cannot resign themselves to leaving all risk because crashing a car has a very high repair cost, so they prefer to increase the deductible but not lose coverage," says Martín Gaggi , from MG Broker.
“Complete third-party insurance includes total destruction of the vehicles, but this is where you have to pay close attention to the fine print of the policies. Most large companies consider that if the loss is greater than 80%, the car is declared destroyed and must be paid for. But in some policies an accident is mentioned as the cause and not a loss, so a tree is not included. Other policies talk about accident and/or fire. The ideal is that all possible variables are considered: total loss due to the occurrence of damage and/or fire and/or robbery or theft,” the businessman completed.
