Comprehensive Car Insurance: Coverage Against Fire Damage
As a car owner, discovering your car is on fire can be one of the scariest and unsettling experiences. You may do everything possible to ensure you are safe from such a scenario, but sometimes unexpected instances like arson or garage fires can impede your efforts. As a result, figuring out how your auto insurance can be helpful in the event of fire damage is essential.
Does Auto Insurance Cover Fire Damage?
Most states have made auto insurance mandatory for car owners. Although insuring your car complies with the laws and regulations in your state, it shouldn't be the sole reason. Auto insurance can also act as a safety net when your car is involved in an accident or damaged. Suppose your vehicle has suffered fire damage, and you wonder if your auto insurance policy covers it. In that case, if you have a comprehensive car insurance policy, the answer is yes. However, other policies, including third-party car insurance liability, do not cover fire damage.
What Is Comprehensive Car Insurance?
Comprehensive car insurance covers your vehicle from all sorts of damage, except that which results from a collision. This policy is optional in most states. Other than fire damage, comprehensive auto insurance also covers damages caused by natural disasters, vandalism, theft, falling objects like trees, and civil disturbances, including riots and strikes.
What Are the Potential Causes of Fire Damage in Cars?
Fire damage in cars is often caused by the following:
1. Mechanical problems
Cars develop mechanical issues from time to time. What most car owners don't know is many of these issues can lead to car fires. Note that some of the fluids in your car, including fuel and coolant, are highly flammable. Therefore, if the pipes holding them are leaking, the sparks from your batteries can lead to a fire. In addition, engine overheating combined with the leaking flammable fluids are also responsible for fire damage in automobiles.
2. Arson
Sometimes criminals and other ill-intentioned individuals or groups set properties such as cars on fire. And, although such cases are rare in civilized settings, they tend to be rampant during civil unrest and disturbances like riots. In such cases, if your car falls victim to arson, then the insurance company will take care of the repair, or if it is too damaged, they will replace your automobile.
3. Garage fires
Garage fires, often caused by electrical malfunctions, destroy properties in many homes. Since most homeowners use their garages to store flammable materials like gasoline and old items like carpets, any sparks caused by electrical problems lead to disastrous fires that spread quickly. These fires always put your vehicle at risk when they occur.
4. Collision fire
Vehicles involved in severe accidents sometimes catch fire. These fires result from leaking fuel tanks in combination with short circuits in electrical systems, which produce sparks.
Parting Shot
Ensure you are always covered against any fire damage by consulting an auto insurance agent for a policy that will protect your vehicle from fire.
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