Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Vehicle Damage?

If you own a home and you own a car, you have auto and homeowners insurance. If you own the car but do not drive the car, should you drop the coverage? Would damage to the car be covered by your homeowners insurance policy? Are there any instances in which homeowners insurance covers damage to automobiles?

Will Homeowners Insurance Cover Damage to a Vehicle?

If your car is parked in your garage and your home burns to the ground, you might expect the homeowners insurance to cover the cost of repairs or replacement. Unfortunately, most homeowners insurance policies would not cover the damage to the car. This means that an auto insurance policy would need to be in place to cover the damage caused by the fire.

What happens if you have your uninsured car parked in your driveway and a tree falls and damages the car? This depends on your insurance policy. If you have a writer in your homeowners policy that provides coverage for uninsured vehicles, then, your claim would be covered. However, in many cases, your homeowners insurance will not cover the damage.

One situation in which your homeowners insurance would cover the damage to a vehicle is if the vehicle is not owned by you and was damaged while parked on your property. For example, if a guest at your home has parked in your driveway and your child smashed into the side of the car with his bike, your homeowners insurance would cover the cost of repairs.

What Should You Do to Protect Your Vehicle?

If you plan to park a vehicle have no plans to drive it, you can drop the collision and liability coverage. This would leave you with an auto policy that protects solely against comprehensive damage. What does this mean? This means that your vehicle would be covered if it is damaged by vandalism, flood, hail, wind, fire or other natural disaster. It will also be covered if the vehicle is stolen.

Generally speaking, comprehensive insurance is very cheap and should carefully be considered if the vehicle you are parking on your property has any value whatsoever. The only time a car is not worth the expense of carrying comprehensive insurance is if the car has no monetary value whatsoever. For example, if the car is a spare parts car that you are stripping down to use for parts for another vehicle.

Still unsure about what insurance you need for your house and vehicles? Talk more with your insurance provider (such as The Flechsig Insurance Agency Inc) to learn about your options and possible discounts for bundling your home and auto insurance.