Dropping the optional comprehensive insurance coverage on an older automobile may sound like a good way to save a few bucks. But you might want to reconsider if you live in a coastal region.
If your car is damaged or destroyed in a storm, you’ll be footing the bill for its repair or replacement when the cost of buying another car has gone through the roof. That’s because severe storms total thousands — sometimes hundreds of thousands — of cars.
So, prices will likely rise on the undamaged cars up for sale as drivers scramble to purchase vehicles to replace the ones they lost.
What kind of car insurance applies to hurricanes?
Comprehensive car insurance covers weather events like hurricanes. Comprehensive insurance pays out up to the actual cash value of your car, minus your deductible, to replace stolen cars and for damage caused by the following:
- Flooding
- Falling objects
- Hail
- Fire
- Vandalism
- Animal strikes
Auto insurance and hurricanes
Comprehensive insurance plays a key role in paying for hurricane damage. And you don’t need to live near the coast to be affected. As anyone who lives in the South or East knows, hurricanes and tropical storms can often take a toll hundreds of miles inland, bringing fierce winds and torrential rains, and spinning off tornadoes.
While comprehensive coverage is a good starting point, it’s not the only insurance you should have if a hurricane strikes.
Comprehensive covers your vehicle if it sustains damage from things like wind, flooding, and flying objects, but if there are any valuables in your car, you need to have homeowners or renters insurance, or those losses won’t be covered.
Other types of insurance that come into play with hurricanes
Another consideration is whether your auto insurance policy provides for a rental car if your vehicle is knocked out of commission. Even with rental reimbursement coverage, there can be limits on the amount you’re reimbursed per day.
Other types of insurance to consider are gap coverage, which pays off your vehicle loan if your car is destroyed and the amount you owe is greater than the car’s value; or new car replacement insurance, which will provide you with a new car if your car is totaled during the first year or two you own it.
The key is to figure out in advance the range of auto insurance options available from your car insurance company that will best meet your needs. Otherwise, there’s a good chance your insurer won’t allow you to make changes if you wait till a hurricane is about to make landfall.
What if it hails during a hurricane?
Thankfully, hail during hurricanes is extremely rare, though it is certainly possible. Our guide to hail damage claims provides all the details you need should you experience hail damage.
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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.
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John McCormick
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Executive 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.
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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.