Does car insurance cover hurricane damage?

With hurricane season (from June to Nov. 30) in full swing, you may be wondering what car insurance coverage you need to cover damage to your vehicle from severe storms.

Collision and comprehensive coverages are needed as a part of your car insurance policy if you want your auto insurer to pay for the repair or total loss of your car (minus your deductible amount) due to severe weather, falling objects and collisions.

So how do collision and comprehensive come into play?

Collision covers your car if it's hit, or hits, another car or object. That means if the rain from the storm causes you to hydroplane and crash your car, you could make a collision claim. However, the majority of damage to vehicles from hurricanes and tropical storms is from winds and water. In that case, your car would be covered under comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive covers your car not only for theft, glass breakage and fire, but also for damages due to flood  waters, hail and other natural occurrences -- such as hurricane-force wind gusts. That means if your car is flipped and damaged by strong winds, comprehensive will typically cover that, too.

How much does collision and comprehensive cost?

The average annual cost for collision coverage is $526, and comprehensive costs an average of $192 a year, according to CarInsurance.com's analysis of rates. If you file a comprehensive claim, which is typically associated with hurricane damage, your rates will increase by just 3 percent, or $39 a year, on average.

Why you need more than minimum liability to cover storm damage

A car insurance policy that consists only of your state's minimum liability coverages wouldn't be of any help if high winds tip a tree onto your car or floodwaters seep into your vehicle. That's because bodily injury liability and property damage liability only cover others' injuries and property damage from accidents you cause -- they don’t offer any protection for your own vehicle.

Buy coverage before storm warnings go into effect

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) says a hurricane or tropical storm warning is issued when weather conditions (sustained winds of 74 mph or higher for a hurricane or sustained winds of 39 to 73 mph for a tropical storm) are expected somewhere in the specified area within 36 hours. A storm watch is issued when these hurricane- or tropical-storm-force winds are possible within 48 hours.

This NHC information is significant because if a hurricane is forming, or already coming in your direction, and you want to buy comprehensive and collision coverage, you would need to do so before a tropical storm watch/warning goes into effect. Otherwise you may be out of luck since insurers can place restrictions on changes to policies or new policies during a storm. 

Important information to know about auto insurance and hurricanes/tropical storms:

• Most car insurance companies put temporary binding restrictions into effect in areas that are under a hurricane or named tropical storm watch/warning. When the restrictions go into effect and how long they last vary from one insurance company to the next, as is what is restricted. 
• Restrictions can also vary by state but typically can include not accepting any applications for new coverage as well as not accepting requests for the addition of physical damage coverages, increased limits, or the lowering of deductibles on existing policies.
• In general, the restrictions will usually go into effect as soon as an area goes into a tropical storm watch/warning and lasts until 48 to 72 hours after the watch/warning ends. 
• If you have auto insurance in force that is set to expire during hurricane season, it’s best to renew or shop around purchase a new auto insurance policy early; that way a binding restriction won’t come into play. 
• If you are buying a new car, try to avoid purchasing it if a storm is approaching and could restrict your ability to buy the car insurance coverage that you need.
• An application, such as the Red Cross Hurricane App, may help you monitor weather alerts so you’ll be aware of when you are able to start a new policy or add comprehensive and collision to your current policy.

If you have comprehensive on your vehicle and it's damaged during a hurricane or tropical storm, when it’s safe to go outside, take pictures of the damage and contact your auto insurance provider to make a claim, if the damage looks to be above your deductible amount. If the damage is less than your deductible, then there is no reason to make a claim since your auto insurance policy only starts to pay out after the deductible has been met.

Your auto insurer will likely tell you to take steps to prevent further loss (such as covering any smashed windows, or placing a tarp on the car). Not doing so could result in more damage being done that your insurer would deny coverage for due to your failure to take action and keep this additional damage from being done.

How car insurance covers flood damage to your car

Often, hurricanes bring flood waters. Here's how the different types of insurance coverage come into play if you're caught in a flood:

Comprehensive insurance -- If your vehicle sustains water or flood damage, you can file a claim under your comprehensive insurance coverage, which covers any type of damage to your car up to its actual cash value that's caused by natural disasters instead of accidents, says Penny Gusner, CarInsurance.com consumer analyst.

Collision coverage -- Collision comes into play if you hydroplane and flip your car or hit another car or a tree. Your claim will pay to repair your car or will pay the actual cash value of the car. You do still have to pay the deductible, Gusner says, whether the accident was your fault, someone else's or caused by the storm.

Gap insurance --  This type of insurance comes into play if your car is totaled and you owe more money on your car than it's worth -- gap insurance will pay the difference. "For instance, if you owe $15,000 on your car loan but your car is only worth $12,000, gap insurance will reimburse your lender for the extra $3,000." You can get gap insurance from your car insurance company or from your car financing company, but it's usually more expensive from your lender.

Rental car reimbursement  -- Depending on your situation, rental reimbursement coverage is a wise choice or a waste, says Gusner. If you have a second car or a way to get where you need to go without your car, you don't need rental coverage, she says. But if you'd be left stranded for weeks while your car is being repaired, it may pay to have it. "Rental reimbursement coverage is optional and pays you a certain amount of money per day or per week for a rental car to drive while your car is being repaired," says Gusner.