Car insurance
Which insurance covers natural hazard damage to your car?
Natural events such as storms, hail or floods can cause damage to your vehicle. Read on to find out what damage may occur and how to report natural hazard damage to your insurance company.
15.03.2022
iStockphoto / CHRISsadowski
1. What is natural hazard damage?
Natural hazard damage is caused by forces of nature. There are 9 risks that can damage your car, with the corresponding financial implications:
1. Windstorms
A storm with a wind speed of more than 75 km/h rages through your municipality. Flying debris damages your vehicle, and you need to get it repaired.
2. Avalanches
Your village is affected by a massive fall of snow that also buries your vehicle and damages it. In the worst-case scenario, it bends the chassis.
3. Hail
Hailstones dent the bodywork of your car, and you need to get the damage repaired.
4. Landslides
Following an earthquake or days of heavy rain, part of a hillside slips down the slope and damages your vehicle. The windows break under the weight of mud and earth, for example.
5. Rockfall
Loose stones and rocks tumble down a slope and damage your vehicle. You need to get the bodywork and windows repaired.
6. High water
Heavy rain turns a stream into raging torrent. Your vehicle is damaged by floating debris that surrounds it. Rising water levels often leave vehicles unusable.
7. Flooding
A river breaks its banks after heavy rainfall. The water can cause catastrophic damage, and may also affect your car.
8. Snow pressure
Snow is also something that can damage your vehicle. Large volumes of snow on the roof can deform the bodywork or even bend the chassis.
9. Lightning
Lightning strikes during a storm and damages your car's paintwork, tyres or electronics.
It's worth checking the general insurance conditions to find out what natural hazard damage your insurance covers. Will partial casco also pay for natural hazard damage caused by heavy rain or backwater during flooding? If in doubt, contact your insurance company directly.
How to document the natural hazard damage properly
After a loss event it is important to report the damage to your insurance company. Many insurers now have online report forms that you can use. In addition to a brief description of what led to the damage, you must specify exactly what has been damaged, as well as where and when the loss event took place. Have your contract/policy number to hand. Always involve the police if it is not clear who is at fault.
2. How do I insure my car against natural hazards?
There is no separate natural hazard insurance for cars, but the risks are included in your partial casco cover. Unlike vehicle liability insurance, neither partial nor full casco insurance is required by law.
Partial casco covers other risks in addition to damage caused by natural hazards. These include, for example, loss in the event of theft, fire or falling objects.
Those who have full casco (comprehensive) insurance are not personally liable for natural hazard damage either. Whether or not casco insurance is the right choice for you depends on a number of factors, such as the age and value of the vehicle. Learn more about this topic in the article "Which car insurance do I need?".
Switching insurer after a natural hazard claim
Not satisfied with how your claim was handled? Want to change your statutory accident insurance or simply save on premiums? After you have made a claim you have the extraordinary right to cancel your insurance. This means that you can terminate your current policy and take out a new one.
This article was first published on 11.07.2017