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Common insurance exclusions to keep in mind
If you aren’t quite new to the concept of insuring own vehicle then you are definitely well aware that there are different kinds of coverage that protect your car against different perils for your money. And as much you can spend on insurance as far the extent of coverage will be. One might assume that with such an approach it’s possible to cover own car against just any type of perils and get paid for virtually any insurance situation. The presence of so-called “full coverage” policies doesn’t do the belief any favor as people buying such policies tend to assume that they are literally fully covered and can do whatever they want. And get really mad when they discover that there are actually many exclusions from any policy and you have to pay attention to what’s included and what’s not.
Let’s take a look at some of the most widespread exclusions people confront with on a regular basis. First of all there are general exclusions that you will typically find in just any policy with any provider out there. These exclusions deal with situations of wear and tear, poor condition, production defects and additional equipment malfunction. Each of the situations is pretty self-explicative but let’s make a short recap in order to make sure that everybody understands the meaning.
Wear and tear mostly refers to tires (since it’s the part that gets the most wear in a car), however not limited to, since there are many other parts subjected to wear and tear. Say, if you end up in an accident because you got a flat tire or your breaks have worn off it’s pretty much pointless to file a claim since the insurer will classify this situation as wear and tear.
Poor condition is somewhat similar to wear and tear as one results from the other. If you aren’t running regular checks and maintenance with your vehicle then you have a much higher chance of having malfunctions on the road that can lead to an accident. And there’s no point in claiming for insurance coverage in such a case since the company will suggest reading your policy more carefully.
Production defects can be very tricky and lead to problems in moths after the car has been purchased. We all remember the recent Toyota and other Japanese car make scandals regarding malfunctioning of certain parts due to production defects. Auto insurance companies are pretty strict on this, noting that it’s a matter of producer warranty not the insurance company to deal with any loss caused by such mishaps.
Installing additional equipment or changing original parts with different or custom ones is something a lot of drivers that a lot of drivers tend to perform with their cars. However, even when getting auto insurance quotes you should keep in mind that insurers require you to inform them about any additional equipment you install in your car in order to keep the policy valid. If you change a factory part with a custom one, do not inform your insurer and end up in a car crash, your insurance provider may deny you coverage altogether in case the crash was caused by this very custom part. And it will be all back to comparing auto insurance quotes from the start.