It depends upon both state laws and the terms of an insurance policy whether a vehicle would be covered if it fell through the ice while the driver was ice fishing. In general the damages to a vehicle which had an ice fishing accident (fell through the ice) are covered by the owner's Comprehensive coverage.
Some policies may come with exclusions for events such as ice fishing while most do not and in that case the actual damages to the car or truck would be covered. Some policies will also pay for the extraction or recovery of the vehicle from the ice while others do not and thus getting the vehicle out of the ice would be paid for by the owner. The Comprehensive claim for the vehicle that fell into body of water while out ice fishing would of course be subject to the deductible the policyholder has chosen for this coverage. Also personal items lost when the car or truck fell into the water may not be covered by auto insurance though may be by the person's homeowner's policy.
We have previously spoken with the New York Department of Insurance who told us in NYS a person's truck falling through the ice and accidents of this type should generally fall under the Comprehensive portion of a person's policy. And just as we mentioned earlier they said an insurance policy could have exclusions though to such an activity so one needs to read carefully through their policy to see if a vehicle sitting on ice on a lake or other body of water is specifically excluded. Some insurers may also have certain restrictions such as they will cover removal of an insured vehicle from the ice ONCE in a lifetime. If you or your friends enjoy ice fishing than make sure that before going on such an adventure to first read through your policy and then speak to your insurance agent to make sure your vehicle will be covered in the unfortunate event that it would fall through the ice while you are out ice fishing. Ask to if the recovery of the car would be covered or just the damages from the water. Get low cost car insurance quotes for all 50 states here.
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