Sudden and Accidental impacts that come in the form of cars, trucks, tractors, or other motorized vehicle are covered under structure or Coverage A insurance under most policies.
Often, we encounter with weather related perils, but for policyholders who have suffered a claim loss of property damage caused by a vehicle that runs off the highway there are many additional concerns that are not as common place in other losses.

Here are a few things to consider.

  1. The first concern in these claims will be injury or death losses of the persons in the vehicle and the persons in the house. There will likely be little to no warning and no time to prepare if you are in the structure. You can have a fire and severe weather plan in place but there is not a drill you can run that will help you be prepared if this type of loss happens. Instant reaction is needed. Call 911.
  2. Crashes and Impacts of this nature can result in fires. Gas lines could be ruptured. Call 911.
  3. In these types of claims, the insurance company will be less likely to dispute the date of loss but timely notice to the building’s insurer is still required.
  4. You have a duty to mitigate your damages but don’t try to move the vehicle too quickly. Wait until 911 and fire rescue assess and put the carrier on notice first.
  5. Sometimes these claims are incredibly damaging—lives are lost or severely injured and there can be extensive structure damage.
  6. Sometimes these claims are minor. Sometimes the car or truck makes contact into a garage or building because the driver was attempted to leave the premises but uses forward instead of reverse. Or in my family, we had the time where my uncle turned the sports car around inside of the car to try to leave because the driveway was partially blocked. This happened before my time but the story is told often to give my uncle a hard time about his dumb idea on how to exit the garage. Damage to the home type is still covered where contact was accidental.
  7. It is important to note that, what might appear as a slight impact, may more damaging that you can see with the naked eye. You will need a professional adjuster, structural engineer, or general contractor to help you depending on the claim.
  8. Don’t drive distracted. The facts leading to crashes of this nature can range. We represent a business where the vehicle owner had a medical condition and ran off the side of the road and into the building but missed a school bus. This driver was severely ill but others are just losing control because of distractions. Put your phone away and concentrate on driving. Follow and Like www.EndDD.org on Twitter and Facebook so you can have more reminders about how precious life is and why we need to focus and drive.

This post focuses on the insurance coverage of the building only. These claims will often have other issues with claims under the auto policy. Insurance matters of this nature can be complicated and take time and dedication that a professional can offer you but the key is getting the right help and making sure your claim is paid in full.

If you think these types of claims are once in a blue moon, sadly they are not: