Winter is officially here in Michigan. Although it showed up a little late this year, it's definitely here now! The Salt and Plow trucks are out in full force keeping the roads as clear as they can. Once the snow melts were left with potholes galore! Is damage caused by salt and potholes covered on your insurance?
Is Salt Damage Covered?
Damage caused to your vehicle because of salt on the roads is not going to be a covered loss under your insurance policy. Insurance companies consider this normal wear and tear of the vehicle. Typically if you look through your policy you'll find this exclusion listed in the Exclusions section. It won't come out and say Salt on the roads is not covered, that would be too easy.
On my policy it reads that the following are NOT Covered:
Any Part or Equipment of a covered vehicle if that part or equipment:
a. Fails or is Defective; or
b. Is Damaged as a Direct Result of:
(1) Wear and Tear;
(2) Freezing; or
(3) Mechanical, Electrical, or Electronic Breakdown or Malfunction of that part or Equipment.
Are Frozen Locks Covered?
If you look at the above Exclusion that I listed you will see that your policy won't cover Freezing either. So if your door locks freeze shut and you damage it by trying to open it, it's not going to be a covered loss. I think that it's always a good idea to carry some of that lock de-icer around with you. It's usually in a small can and you can get it at any automotive store, or if you have a Wal-Mart or Meijer near you, they would have it in their automotive section too. It's usually pretty cheap around a buck or so.
I hit a Pot Hole, is that Covered?
Unfortunately, you gonna be in the same boat. If you hit a pot hole and it damages only your tire, it's going to be considered a maintenance issue and your responsibility. You'll find that most insurance companies do not cover tires. If you look back at that Exclusion section I mentioned above you'll most likely find something about it there. My Police actually reads:
There is NO Coverage for Tires. This exclusion does not apply if:
a. loss is caused by missiles, falling objects, windstorm, hail, fire, explosion, earthquake, water, flood, total or partial theft, malicious mischief, vandalism, riot, civil commotion or hitting or being hit by a bird or an animal; or
b. loss caused by collision to another part of the covered vehicle causing loss to tires;
So you can see they do give you a little bit of that coverage back. If it's caused by something mentioned above, but each company is going to have their own guidelines on it, so you will want to make sure you read your policy or ask your insurance provider about that type of loss specifically.
If the pot hole that you hit causes damage to the wheel, rim, etc. MORE than just the tire, then it would likely be considered a collision accident and would be subject to your deductible that you have selected. If you do not carry collision coverage on your policy then of course you wouldn't have any coverage. Again, you would need to ask your specific insurance company, because they are all different and they all have their own rules and guidelines that they go by. When I talked to my company that's what I was told.
Hopefully this post will give you some additional information on these Winter issues that we experience each year. Remember to SLOW DOWN on Snowy or Icy roads. Often times, you can control how your driving. So it's not your driving that you have to worry about, it's the other drivers on the road!
Kristi Lusk invites you to check out her blog for more tips and interesting information on insurance products and services. There are may products out there to help you that most people don't realize. You can checkout her blog by going to http://homelifeandcarinsurance.com/
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