While it’s certainly not a common accident, having a car crash into your house can be devastating to both the driver and the homeowner. Even as uncommon as it seems, there is still 20,000 vehicle to building car accidents per year in the United States!
What to do If a Vehicle Damages your Property
If a car crashes against something on your property, such as your home, mailbox, or fence, and the driver is responsible, they’re liable for the damage caused. Most states require drivers to carry at least some form of property damage liability coverage on their auto policies.
This coverage may help pay for any damage to your home or property.
However, if their insurance doesn’t cover everything they need to repair the damage, your homeowner’s insurance may cover the cost of repairing the damage beyond the coverage limits of the driver’s or vehicle owners’ auto liability policy. Standard homeowners insurance policies usually list vehicle damage on them.
What Happens if a Car Crashes into your House
If a car hits your house, it can be a scary and dangerous situation. The impact of the car can cause severe property damage to your home, which may include walls cracking, windows shattering and roof structures becoming unstable.
Depending on the speed at which the car was travelling and where it impacted your house – walls, windows, roof – this could affect how much damage is done. Aside from physical property damage that results from a car hitting your house, you should also take into consideration any potential injuries and liability claims as well.
It is important to contact emergency services right away and document as much information about the car that hit your house for insurance purposes.
What Repairs Do I Need After a Car Runs into My House?
Before Jenkins Restorations can restore your home to its original condition, we’d like to help you understand the different insurance company policies that may come into play if a car hits your house.
Primarily, there is both car insurance and home insurance to consider. To help ease any confusion on the steps to take regarding policies, coverage, claims and personal property repairs, here’s some advice on where to start. Below are steps to what happens with a car running into your house.
Auto Insurance Policy
In most cases, if a car crashes into your house, mailbox, fence, or causes damage to anything on your property, the driver that caused the accident is liable for the damages. On an insurance claim, the driver at fault would be responsible for the damages in the event they crash into your house. Most states require drivers to have a minimum amount of property damage liability coverage that comes with their auto policy. Auto insurance should cover property damage up to a given limit.
For example, if the damages amount to $10,000 and the collision coverage has a limit of $20,000, the insurance will pay fully. Yet, what would happen if the damages are more than the limit of $20,000?
Homeowners Insurance Coverage
If the damages cost more than the property damage can cover, your homeowners insurance policy will cover the additional damages. A standard home insurance policy may include vehicles among the things that may cause damages to your home.
In this case, it would be important to verify with an insurance professional exactly what your policy covers and if vehicles are included in your policy.
What if You Are The Driver?
If you are the one driving the car at the time of the accident, the same rules should apply. However, in this case, your auto insurance policy may cover the damages to your car, while the homeowner’s policy may be used to cover for the damages on your house.
It is important to read your policies carefully so that you can be sure of what is covered. We recommend contacting your insurance agent immediately after the accident.
Deductibles on Claims
In cases where homeowner’s policies have very high deductibles, a professional Jenkins estimator will assess the level of damage to determine if the cost would exceed the deductible. In high insurance deductible cases, if the damages to your home are insignificant, it may not be worth filing a claim.
If your vehicle has caused the damage, you will be claiming from both policies, which will mean more deductibles. If you have the same insurer for car and home, you may not have to fulfill both deductibles. It is important to weigh all the options before making a decision on whether to file a claim or pay for repairs out of pocket.
What if the Driver is Uninsured?
If a car crashes into your home and the driver does not have any insurance at all, you may have no choice but to file a claim with your own insurer. This also means the repairs will default to your homeowner’s insurance. As mentioned above, this is often covered in your homeowner’s insurance policy. However, you will still be responsible for the deductible on your repairs.
If this happens, consider calling a lawyer to see if suing the driver is the best course of action.
Contact us
Now that you know more about what happens if a car crashes into your house, contact Jenkins Restorations for repair and restoration services. We offer 24/7 emergency services and can start with tarping and boarding right away. Call us asap at 1-888-450-6580 or hit the button below.
Frequently Asked Questions
What to do if someone hits your mailbox?
As the homeowner, you will have to pay for the damages to your mailbox unless it is covered by your homeowner’s insurance policy. If someone hits your mailbox and leaves without saying anything, this is considered a “hit and run.” You should file a report with the police immediately so they can start investigating and find out who is responsible.
Does homeowners insurance cover mailbox damage?
If someone hits your mailbox, depending on your homeowners insurance, that could qualify as a covered loss under your policy. If you’re in a situation like this, you’d usually try to file a police complaint and force whoever is at fault to replace the mailbox.
