Sometimes understanding what your insurance covers is cut and dry. If your house is damaged by a hailstorm, your home insurance could help you cover the damage. If you hit a deer with your car, your car insurance could cover the damage. However, sometimes the line between what your home insurance covers and what your car insurance covers gets a little blurry. For instance, which insurance plan covers your car if your house catches fire and the fire spreads to your garage – a garage where you expected your car to sit, safe and sound? Here’s the deal.
Will my home insurance cover my car if my garage burns down?
Well, the fire did start in your home and then spread to another, attached part of your home, right? However, just because your car was sitting under that attached part of your home doesn’t mean your home insurance covers the damages to the vehicle.
Your home insurance is only built to handle the damages to the home itself. Actually most homeowners’ policies will say outright that they don’t cover vehicles. So, while your home insurance can help you cover the costs of rebuilding your home and the garage that housed your car, it most likely won’t help you cover replacing the vehicle itself. But it’s important to read your policy carefully to see what it says about this sort of situation.
Will my car insurance cover my vehicle if my garage burns down?
Well, it depends.
If you have the right auto insurance, it can help you cover the damages to your vehicle. However, the “right” coverage doesn’t necessarily mean the minimum amount of coverage you’re required to have.
The state of Georgia only requires you to have bodily injury liability and property damage liability for your car insurance. These coverages are only to cover your legal duty to another driver if you’re at fault in an accident. So, if you only have the minimum requirement for auto insurance, you’ll have to foot the bill when it comes to repairing your car, whether it’s damaged by an accident or in a fire.
So, what is the “right” insurance coverage to help cover your car in a fire? Comprehensive coverage.
Comprehensive car insurance coverage can help you cover damages to your car due to:
- Animal strikes (i.e., if you hit a deer with your car)
- Falling objects (i.e., if a tree falls on your car)
- Theft
- Vandalism
- And fire!
If you’re worried that you only have the state minimum insurance requirement, you may still be in luck. Although the state of Georgia doesn’t require you to have comprehensive coverage, your car loan company may. After all, your car is also their investment.
However, you’ll still want to look at your car insurance declarations page to know for sure that you have the comprehensive coverage you need and that you have a high enough limit to cover your car.
There’s still one small issue, though. Comprehensive coverage still doesn’t cover the damage done to your car in an accident. So, what does?
Collision & comprehensive coverage go hand in hand.
Collision coverage is going to be the saving grace in your car insurance policy if you’re in an accident. It’s the part of your auto insurance that can help you cover the damages to your car if you collide with something, like a tree or another car.
Usually, collision coverage comes with comprehensive coverage, for good reason. Think of it like this: if collision coverage is what covers your car hitting something, comprehensive coverage can help you cover things that hit your car. So, having both types of coverages are key to making sure your car is completely protected.
So, to answer the overall question: If your garage burns down with your car in it, your auto insurance plan would be the one to help you cover the costs of replacing the vehicle, but only if you have comprehensive coverage. As far as the garage itself, that would be a job for your home insurance to help you with.
An easy way to save money on both home and auto insurance is to fill out our online form! You’ll get to talk to an insurance professional who knows exactly how to get the rates and coverage you need. To start getting free, customized quotes, just give us a call, fill out our online form, or click the chat bubble in the bottom right-hand corner.