Will Auto Insurance Cover Tire Damage?

Auto insurance provides financial protection to you when accidental and unavoidable instances occur. Tire damage may have some coverage, depending on the specific cause of it. It’s clear that a flat tire from a pothole or damage to your car from an accident can be costly. Learn more about when car insurance helps cover these losses.

Stolen Tires? Vandalized Tires?

If you have comprehensive auto insurance, it may cover some of the damage in this situation. If someone steals your tires or slashes them, your policy may help cover the repairs or replacements. Stolen tires can prove to be somewhat hard to prove. Make sure you file a police report and take pictures of what happened for your agent to see.

Damaged Tires from Potholes

Will car insurance cover pothole damage to your vehicle? That depends on whether or not you have collision insurance. Collison insurance applies to damage to your vehicle from running into something. It may help with dented rims, slashed tires, and misalignments. Some policies may have provisions that limit this type of coverage, though.

Also, note that you may be able to file a claim for your tire damage from potholes to the city. Whether or not they cover it depends on if they knew the pothole was there and had time to react to it. This might involve a complicated legal process, however.

Worn Out Tires

Auto insurance never covers tires that burst due to normal wear and tear. That means that if a sharp object penetrates the tire, your auto insurance policy isn’t likely to cover this type of loss. Now, if you are in an accident that causes damage to another vehicle when a tire blows out, your liability insurance may cover the damage to the other party’s car.

Remember Your Deductible Applies

Before anything else, keep in mind that you have a deductible, in most cases. This is the amount of money you need to pay for the incident before your insurance company will cover any of the remaining amount of the claim. With tire damage, your costs must be higher than the deductible to make filing a claim worthwhile. This tends to be a big factor in determining whether or not you file a claim for tire damage.

To minimize your risks in being unable to file a claim, keep your car insurance deductible low. This may increase your costs, but it gives you more protection for claims like these. Contact an insurance agent today for more information.