Does Car Insurance Cover Flood Damage?

Vehicles can suffer flood damage for a number of reasons. If your car has taken an unfortunate dip into a watery area, you may be wondering what your options are for repairing or replacing your vehicle. Understanding what happens to a car when it is exposed to flood damage and what your financial options for vehicle recovery in Visalia, CA might be when moving forward from such an unfortunate incident is essential to reclaiming your independence.

Effects of water damage

If your vehicle has been involved in a flooding incident, you are in need of vehicle recovery in Visalia, CA. Even if it may look like the damage isn’t that extensive, flooding can permanently alter your car’s performance, and may lead to serious health and safety concerns if not treated properly. Here are some of the ways that flood damage affects your car:

• Drivetrain damage: The most significant type of damage that can be inflicted upon a vehicle is to its drivetrain. When a car is submerged, it’s transmission, engine and other sensitive mechanical components will be exposed not only to water but also to silt, debris and possibly salt. This can result in long-term rust damage that will quickly eat away at the integrity of your vehicle’s drivetrain, and make your car unreliable and dangerous.
• Mold and mildew: Your cabin can also host a number of possible dangers after a car has been damaged by water exposure. Mold and mildew can quickly grow in the confines of your vehicle’s cabin, which is stale and will remain humid for quite some time after the damage has occurred. This can cause damage to your lungs and respiratory tract.
• Cosmetics and body rust: Floods and other forms of water damage can also affect your vehicle’s paint job, meaning that your car’s cosmetic condition will deteriorate, and its body will become much more susceptible to rust. An auto body that has suffered from extensive rust damage will be less likely to hold up in the event of a crash, and could put you in life-threatening danger.

Insurance provisions

Most insurance policies cover nearly all flood damage if you have opted to carry a comprehensive plan. In cases of minor flood damage, your insurance company will pay to have your vehicle’s mechanical and electrical components repaired and its cosmetics restored. Comprehensive insurance plans will reimburse you for your vehicle’s actual cash value (ACV) if your vehicle has sustained a substantial amount of damage due to a naturally occurring flood.

If you do not carry comprehensive insurance, however, you will be on the hook for covering your own flood damage expenses. If you have opted to maintain state-mandated minimum insurance policy, you will be expected to pay to repair or replace your damaged vehicle.

Tom’s Body & Paint, Inc. offers full service vehicle repair, auto paint service and 24-hour towing. If your car has sustained flood damage and you are in need of vehicle recovery in Visalia, CA, contact one of our dedicated service representatives today to learn about how we can work with your insurance company to get your car back to its prime condition.

Categorised in: Vehicle Recovery

This post was written by Writer