Slashed tires are covered by comprehensive insurance. However, comprehensive insurance is optional, so you must have this type of coverage for your insurer to replace your tires.
Remember, comprehensive coverage comes with a deductible, which is the amount you must pay before your insurance kicks in to cover the cost of replacement. Unless the cost to replace your slashed tires is several hundred dollars more than your deductible, it doesn’t make sense to file a claim.
For example, if you have two tires slashed, each costing $175 to replace, the total claim would be $350. If you have a comprehensive deductible of $500, you will wind up paying for the replacement since the deductible amount exceeds the repair cost.
- Comprehensive insurance replaces slashed tires on vehicles that have this type of insurance on their policy. But drivers must pay the deductible before this type of insurance kicks in.
- Insurers are only required to pay for the depreciated value of the tires to return things to the condition they were in before the damage occurred.
- Comprehensive insurance also pays up to the actual cash value of the card if it’s stolen, vandalized or damaged due to flooding, fire, hail and animal strikes.
Does car insurance cover slashed tires and replace them with new tires?
Your comprehensive insurance will cover new tires, but it’s possible that your insurance company may only pay for the depreciated value of the tires that were slashed. So, the bottom line is you get new tires, but your insurer only pays out for the amount of what it would have cost to replace them with tires of equal wear and tear.
Typically, you can’t receive “betterment” due to an auto insurance claim. The intention of the insurance policy is to return things to the way they were before the loss or damage occurred. Sometimes, when items are repaired or replaced, the policyholder will end up with something better than before the loss. This is defined as betterment.
To return your vehicle to the way it was before your tires were slashed would technically mean replacing the tires with ones that had the same mileage and wear and tear on them — or returning the vehicle to its state before the damage occurred. But it is doubtful that you would want used tires as replacements.
So, the insurance company will consider the mileage and the wear and tear of the tires and may require you to pay the difference between what they were worth and the price of new tires. So, you might get the depreciated value of the tires instead of the cost of new tires when you make this type of claim.
In addition to covering slashed tires, comprehensive insurance also pays for damage due to animal collisions, flooding, fire, hail and theft.
Does insurance cover three slashed tires?
Yes, your comprehensive coverage will cover three slashed tires, or any amount of slashed tires, whether it is one or four. It is a popular misconception that insurance companies won’t cover three slashed tires — that it would have to be all four for the car owner to file a claim — but that’s not true.
Related articles and guides
- Compare car insurance now
- Best car insurance companies
- Cheapest car insurance companies
- Car insurance rates by states
- Compare car insurance rates by ZIP code
— Michelle Megna contributed to this story.
Ask the Insurance Expert
Laura Longero
Executive Editor
Laura is an award-winning editor with experience in content and communications covering auto insurance and personal finance. She has written for several media outlets, including the USA Today Network. She most recently worked in the public sector for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
Ask the Insurance Expert
John McCormick
Editorial Director
John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology.
Ask the Insurance Expert
Leslie Kasperowicz
Managing Editor
Leslie Kasperowicz is an insurance educator and content creation professional with nearly two decades of experience first directly in the insurance industry at Farmers Insurance and then as a writer, researcher, and educator for insurance shoppers writing for sites like ExpertInsuranceReviews.com and InsuranceHotline.com and managing content, now at CarInsurance.com.
Ask the Insurance Expert
Nupur Gambhir
Managing Editor
Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.
