Expert: Richard Hixenbaugh - 4/5/2010

Question
QUESTION: I was driving in a bad storm on a major interstate when tree branches began flying in to the roadway making it impossible to avoid them I had ran some over, during this I had pierced a hole in my oil pan causing my engine to fail. Am I able to claim this on my Full Coverage auto ins. policy?

ANSWER: Hi Paul,

Yes you can make a claim. Your insurance should cover the claim with out any issues. They may try to say that you caused the problem by continuing to drive, but should should simply say that you had no reason not to drive since you did not know that the oil pan had been damaged.

If they do cover the claim, you should be aware that they will require you to pay part of the cost in addition to your deductible. This amount is called betterment. If they replace your engine with a new one they will charge you for the portion of your engine that you have already used. For example; if the average life of an engine is 150,000 miles and your car has 75,000 miles, they will require you to pay half of the cost of the engine.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Richard I had one more question about this? I s it true that if this was unavoidable that they will cover 100% of the cost as well as the deductible?
Thanks
Paul

Answer
Hi Paul,

No. Regardless of the cause, you always have to pay your deductible. The insurance company will almost always charge you with any betterment. You can request that they use an engine from a salvage yard in which case there would be no betterment.

If you have an older car, it is also possible that the insurance company may declare your vehicle to be a total loss. This will happen if the cost of repairs is more than 70% of the value of your car. If that happens, the insurance company will pay you the fair market value of your vehicle plus sales tax less your deductible.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh