Thread: Insurance and fire

Its the same as if your brakes fail and you crash, its it mechanical?

Originally Posted by lewy

On another thread here there is talk around insurance and fires.What is the go.
If i am driving down the road and a fuel hose blows off and the car burns is it claimable on insurance.After all it is a mechanical failure.

I assume so, unless the insurer can prove some kind of deliberate stuffup on your part.

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something i have never given any thought to.I guess the question should be .At what stage does a mechanical failure become an insurance claim?

As suggested, it will be covered by insurance, but the insurer will try to find someone they can recover the cost from. In a two car accident it would be the other car, but in the scenario suggested, it might be a repairer or a manufacturer, although I can't think of any such successful case that I have heard of. But they would certainly think about it.

But as far as you as the owner is concerned, you would be covered unless they have reason to think it is deliberate (and they can prove it if you took it to the FSO!).

John

In most cases, if an external agent causes a part to break or be damaged, then it's covered. That's why bad fuel is covered by most unless excluded. A fire is regarded as an external agent as long as it starts by accident. The fuel line has to break and the fuel get accidently ignited. Water getting sucked into the cylinders is often covered. Things like rocks hitting the car are covered.

I wonder how you would go claiming insurance if you drove across a slightly flooded causeway on a legit road, got water in your diff and had it blow an hour up the road?