Car damaged by fireworks: who pays for the costs?
Also, this year, in the transition from old to new, a lot of fireworks will go into the air. But what if a flare goes wrong and damages your car? Who then pays for the damage? We explain which steps you can take.
Fully comprehensive
If you have fully comprehensively insured your car, then you are best off. A full comprehensive insurance policy reimburses all material damage to your car. If your car is parked in the street, the damage caused by a flare to your car will be reimbursed by your own insurer. Your mini comprehensive insurance can also cover the fire damage to your car resulting from the flare-up. In that case, it is also sufficient to file a report with your own insurer to have the damage reimbursed.
However, some mini comprehensive insurance policies list the damage caused by fireworks as an exclusion. The damage to your car caused by a flare is not covered in that case. So check the general terms and conditions of your policy carefully.
Franchise
Some comprehensive insurance policies reimburse the damage after deduction of the franchise, also known as an exemption. This exemption is the amount that you pay yourself in the event of damage.
Example: Romina is going to spend New Year’s Eve with her good friend Ellen. She parks her new car in the street in front of Ellen’s house. Since her car is still brand new, Romina has fully insured it.
When Romina wants to drive home after the party, she notices that a flare has damaged the hood of her car. She reports the damage to her insurer and has a quote made at the garage for the repair. The costs for the repair are 1000 dollars. Romina has opted for comprehensive insurance with a deductible of 350 dollars. Her insurance pays compensation of 650 dollars (1000 – 350). Romina, therefore, has to impose $350 out of her own pocket.
Liability
If you only have civil liability insurance (BA), you cannot rely on your own car insurance to have the damage repaired by a flare. After all, third-party insurance only covers the damage suffered by the other party in the event of an accident that you have caused.
Therefore, it is important to determine who is responsible for the damage to your car. In other words, who owns the rocket that damaged your car?
Family Insurance
Sometimes it is easy to find the person responsible for the damage. If your neighbor is the only one in the street who sets off fireworks, he will undoubtedly have to pay for the damage to your car. If he has a family insurance policy, he can call on it to have the damage reimbursed. The family insurance intervenes in the event of damage that the policyholder accidentally causes to a third person or to the property of a third party.
Legal counsel
Are your neighbors all fans of fireworks, and the whole street is ringing in the new year? That will undoubtedly be a nice spectacle, but it makes it much more difficult to determine which rocket damaged your car, and therefore who is responsible for the damage.
If you have a discussion about liability, you can rely on the legal expenses insurance of your car policy. Thanks to legal aid, you are entitled to legal advice for the settlement of the claim. Suppose you cannot reach a solution, the legal expenses insurance will reimburse the costs of a lawsuit. Which costs are reimbursed, and for what amount is stated in your policy.
