Griffin-Owens and Associates

Have you ever parked your car in a shopping center parking lot only to return to find that your car was damaged while you were shopping?  It can be very frustrating and it is important to know how your car insurance can respond to these kinds of losses.  There are three very different coverages on your car insurance policy that could pay for damage to your car while it is in a parking lot.

1)  Uninsured Motorist Property Damage coverage is required on liability policies in the state of Virginia.  Which means that you have at least $20,000 of coverage if you have a policy on your car.  The coverage is designed to pay for losses caused by uninsured drivers and hit and run drivers.  The coverage has a standard $200 deductible which effects all policies in Virginia.  Claims under this coverage generally do not have a negative impact on your policy premiums.  However, a high frequency of uninsured motorist losses could jeopardize your policy or raise the insurance company’s suspicion that you may be defrauding your company.  If the loss occurs on a public road or the value of the loss is more than $1,000 it is good to call the police and file a report.  It is unlikely that they will find the driver that hit you, but you will be less likely to be suspected of filing a fraudulent claim.

2)  Comprehensive coverage protects your car while it is parked from vandalism, theft, most natural disasters, glass claims and hitting an animal.  So, if your car has been “Keyed”, your comprehensive coverage will most likely respond.  Generally, comprehensive deductibles are less than $500 and can be as low as “ACV” or actual cash value which means no deductible.  Comprehensive losses are not surcharged either, so no worries about your rate increasing.  Again, claims frequency can be a concern.  If you have three or more losses in three years, your company may ask you to increase your deductible.  In extreme cases. customers with very high frequency may have their coverage cancelled. 

3)  Collision coverage is the final coverage that may respond to your loss.  Collision is the least likely to pay, and is the one coverage that can cause your premium to increase.  If your car is hit by a shopping cart, your insurance company may call that a collision claim.  If you are driving your car across the parking lot and a shopping cart is blown by the “wind” into your car, your insurance may cover that loss as a collision.  Deductibles under collision tend to be $500 to $1,000 and can go even higher.  If the cost to repair your car is more than $400, your insurance company may classify your loss as an “At Fault Accident” which could cause your rates to to up.

Knowing how your insurance policy responds to losses takes the mystery and worry out of filing a claim.  Never be afraid of filing a claim on your insurance policy, but make sure that the claim is worth filing.  There are some losses that are just inherent to owning a car.  Like the inevitable door dings that we all get when people open their doors into the sides of our car.  It is frustrating, but, probably not worthy of an insurance claim.  Being a smart policyholder will allow you to get the most of your policy and you will save money.