Does car insurance cover flood damage?

Does car insurance cover water damage?

In many cases, yes—but not every level of coverage offers this protection. If you have Liability coverage, that alone isn’t enough. Liability pays for the other driver’s bodily injuries or property damages resulting from an accident you cause. 

You’ll need Comprehensive coverage if you want flood or water damage protection. Comprehensive helps pay for instances outside of your control that extend far beyond an auto accident. This could be anything from hail damage to car theft. 

But even with Comprehensive, not all types of water damage are covered. Let’s say you decide to leave your windows down or your sunroof open while your car is parked. If it rains while you’re away, and your car suffers water damage as a result, your car insurance generally wouldn’t cover that. 

However, if you have a leaking sunroof, and the water damage resulted from a covered incident, such as a falling object (like a tree branch), Comprehensive may help pay for those damages. Normal wear and tear that causes water to enter into your car via the sunroof is not covered by your insurance. 

The same goes for mold. If water damage has caused areas in your car to grow mold, Comprehensive could cover that as well. But only if the mold was caused by a covered incident, like a flood.

Do you have to pay a deductible for water damage? 

If you want to file a claim, you’ll typically need to pay a deductible. When adding Comprehensive coverage to your policy, you have to set a deductible limit. This is the amount you’ll have to pay out of pocket for your claim before your insurance kicks in to help you out. 

Let’s say your car was damaged in a flood, and the cost to repair the damages is $1,000. If you have a $500 deductible, you would have to pay that before your insurance company covers the remaining $500. 

Accidents are often very stressful, which is why Root makes filing a claim easy. In fact, it only takes our customers about three minutes. The best part? Everything can be done through our easy-to-use mobile app. 

What if flood damage results in a total loss?

A car will be labeled a total loss by your car insurance company if the cost to repair it ends up being more than the vehicle is worth. 

In the event of a flood, cars are often unrecoverable. If your car insurance company determines your car is a total loss, and you have Comprehensive coverage, you’ll receive a payout equal to the market value of your vehicle after you pay the deductible.

Based on a $500 deductible, and the market value of your car being $3,000, you would receive $2,500 for your totalled vehicle. 

Need a ride while water damage is being fixed?

Car getting fixed? Shopping for a new one? Perhaps you need a rental in the meantime. Root can help with that. 

We offer Rental Car coverage because we want you to be able to keep moving even when your car isn’t. Sometimes referred to as “rental car reimbursement,” this is a useful coverage to have on your policy as an extra layer of protection.

This is especially true if your vehicle is your primary way of getting around. Root customers can easily update their coverages anytime in our mobile app. 

What about personal items? 

Unfortunately, car insurance doesn’t cover flood damage to personal items. If it’s not already attached to your vehicle, you can’t include it in your flood or general water damage claim. 

Attached hardware doesn’t include things you’ve installed on your own like a GPS or a dashboard camera. To be covered, the hardware needs to be a part of your car’s original factory design. 

If you’re looking to get protection for your personal property, Renters insurance or Homeowners insurance could be worth looking into. Root offers these coverages to protect more than just where you live. They’re for all the stuff you love most too. 

Worried about water damage?

We’ve got your back. Switch to Root—we’ll help you prepare for the unexpected. Get a quote.