How to settle a claim after the vehicle is soaked in a heavy rain
On July 20th, Henan Province encountered extreme heavy rainfall. The daily rainfall of many national meteorological observatories in Zhengzhou exceeded the historical extreme value since the meteorological record.
Heavy rains caused water to accumulate in many roads, serious waterlogging, and many vehicles were trapped in the water.
Will the insurance company compensate for the loss of the vehicle after it is flooded?
How to pay?
How much to lose?
Today we will take a clear inventory one by one.
Question: After the vehicle is soaked in water, what should be done under different circumstances?
Answer: If the water level is below the seat, only a small amount of water enters the floor of the vehicle, and the loss is basically not large.
However, it is also necessary to find a professional maintenance organization to completely remove the lining and door panels at the bottom of the vehicle, clean it, and dry it thoroughly to avoid peculiar smells in the vehicle later.
If the water level exceeds the seat cushion, many electronic components in the car are likely to enter water at this time. The engine, gearbox, etc. also need to be carefully inspected and maintained.
In this case, vehicle maintenance will take a long time, and there may be various hidden dangers in later use.
Once the water level exceeds the center console, it is necessary to consider whether to scrap the vehicle.
If the fixed damage repair amount of the vehicle is greater than 50% or more of the vehicle damage insurance coverage (that is, the current value of the vehicle), the insurance company usually evaluates the vehicle residual value, maintenance fee + residual value ≥ vehicle damage insurance coverage, and will contact the owner Negotiate directly to apply for the exemption of repairs and remove the vehicle scrapping procedures, and pay the owner's car damage insurance coverage.
Q: What kind of insurance may be used if the vehicle is flooded?
Answer: Motor vehicle loss insurance, referred to as car damage insurance.
During the insurance period, insurance will be caused due to collisions, overturns, fires, explosions, falling of external objects, collapses, lightning strikes, storms, tornadoes, rainstorms, floods, subsidence, ice subsidence, cliffs, avalanches, hailstorms, mudslides, landslides, etc. For vehicle losses, the insurer shall be responsible for compensation in accordance with the provisions of the insurance contract.
Therefore, the rescue costs, cleaning costs, loss of electrical appliances, loss of interior parts, etc. incurred after the vehicle is flooded are all covered by the car damage insurance liability, and the insurance company should pay for it.
Damage to the wheel alone, broken glass alone, scratches on the body without obvious collision marks, loss of new equipment, and engine damage caused by water in the engine are not covered by the car damage insurance.
Engine wading loss insurance refers to the additional insurance purchased by the car owner for the engine. This insurance can only be insured after the car damage insurance has been insured.
During the insurance period, the insurer shall be responsible for compensation for the direct damage to the engine caused by the water entering the engine during the use of the insured vehicle.
The scope of compensation for wading insurance includes engine damage caused by the insured vehicle driving on the wading section or after being submerged in water, and the compensation clause of wading insurance is applicable.
At the same time, there are two issues that should be noted: First, water insurance only compensates for damage to the engine of the vehicle. Vehicle damage caused by water in other parts will be compensated according to the terms of the car damage insurance; in addition, only the engine is caused by flooding. The damage is within the scope of compensation for wading insurance. If the engine is damaged due to broken belts, valve tops, etc., it does not fall into the scope of wading insurance claims.
Question: Heavy rain caused the vehicle to stall, and restarting the vehicle caused engine damage. Does the insurance company settle the claim?
Answer: Whether it is rainwater entering the air inlet of the vehicle during driving and causing the engine to stall, or a vehicle parked in a residential area, basement, street, etc., is covered by rainwater, as long as the vehicle is fired again, it is likely to cause damage to the engine. damage.
This situation belongs to the "expansion of loss" in Article 10 (3) of the exemption of liability in car damage insurance.
Therefore, in this case, even if the engine is insured against water damage insurance, compensation cannot be made.
If the vehicle is not started a second time, the claim can be made through car damage insurance.
Before applying for a claim, you can use the insurance company's towing service to transport the vehicle to the nearest damage point of the relevant insurance company.
Q: How to apply for insurance after the vehicle is soaked in water?
Answer: First of all, you must call the insurance company in time to report the case, and it must be within 24 hours.
At the same time, take pictures of when the car was flooded.
It is best to keep a newspaper covering the heavy rain that day or a certificate that can explain the weather of the day.
The third step is to prepare relevant documents. The personnel of the insurance company will be required to show them during the on-site inspection, including ID cards, driving permits, driving licenses, bank cards, etc., and ensure that the documents are within the validity period.
In the follow-up, we must cooperate with the insurance company to determine the damage and claim, check the repair and damage list, and finally repair the car according to the confirmed maintenance items.
Question: How to settle the compensation for a parked vehicle that floats off the ground due to rain and hits other vehicles or objects?
Answer: A vehicle that is actively or forced to stop, without starting the vehicle again, drifts off the ground due to the buoyancy of the water, and is forced to hit other vehicles along with the current. You should contact the traffic police to determine the responsibility first. The insurance company of the responsible party settles claims through car damage insurance.
Correspondingly, if the vehicle hits static objects such as houses, telephone poles, trees, etc. after floating, the loss of the vehicle can also be covered by car damage insurance.
Q: How is the claims for pure electric vehicles different from traditional fuel vehicles?
Answer: The pure electric vehicle does not require air intake and exhaust for the engine of a petrol vehicle, and it will easily cause flameout when water enters. Therefore, its wading performance is better than that of a petrol vehicle.
On the other hand, pure electric vehicles have a heavier battery under the vehicle, the vehicle has a low center of gravity, and it is not easy to be washed away by heavy water, and wading in water is more stable.
However, it is impossible for a pure electric vehicle to be absolutely safe, especially when the pure electric vehicle is severely immersed for a long time or encounters a serious external collision, the battery pack may also be damaged.
Owners still need to do certain insulation measures during operation, or find professionals to carry out rescue operations.
In terms of claims, new energy vehicles still use insurance under the traditional fuel vehicle structure, and there is no separate insurance for the power battery. Therefore, the cost of replacing the battery due to soaking in water is not within the scope of insurance company claims.
Moreover, due to the high cost of replacing the battery, according to the current cost of replacing the battery, it basically reaches one-third of the body price. Once the battery pack is damaged, it can basically be scrapped.
Therefore, the phenomenon of high insurance premiums and low price claims is widespread.
Comprehensive finishing/Liang Chengdong