Occasionally, the UAE’s infrequent rainfall gets unusually heavy and causes flood and hail damage to cars: will your insurance cover you in such situations?
Most people love the UAE’s pleasant winter climate: and with an average daytime temperature of 25°C, it’s a top destination for people escaping freezing weather and snows to enjoy the beaches and desert camps. Whilst torrential rainfall is rare, sometimes it’s accompanied by thunderstorms and hail and causes external or flood damage to cars. And when that happens, will your insurance help?
First: Type of your insurance
The first thing to highlight is that with Third-Party Liability insurance you won’t be covered for your own damage: the clue is in the name. But that doesn’t necessarily mean all Comprehensive insurance policies cover storm damages. Like many insurance situations, cover can vary from insurer to insurer so it is important to check any related terms and conditions. However, in general, storm damage is covered to a certain degree under a Comprehensive policy. So what do you look for?.
Second: Natural Peril Cover
Is the name of the additional cover your Comprehensive insurance policy should state you have in order to be covered for any storm damage. But would that mean that you are covered under any circumstances if the car is damaged by weather conditions?
Quite the opposite actually, In fact, some insurance provider would say that in order for you to utilize this cover, you might need a police report stating that the damage happened to the car while parked and was not being driven, and some would limit paying for damages under this cover only for situations where official authorities have declared the weather to be a natural calamity.
Of course, as with all insurance matters, there is no white or black, and each situation will hugely be impacted by the specific circumstances of that situation and rely on the guidelines of your insurance and the fine print of your insurance policy. But the Chairman of the Federal Insurance Authority declared that UAE motorists will be compensated for the recent-then flood damages, as the damages were hugely unanticipated and affected cars even within parking lots and villas.
Third: Should you buy the Natural Perils or Calamities Cover?
Although usually this cover is included within most Comprehensive insurance policies by major insurance providers, sometimes the choice is left to you to splurge a little to get this cover. And do we think you should? Well, it all depends on the specifics of your own circumstances.
Does your job require spending a lot of time driving between locations? Do you have a reserved parking spot within your villa or flat building that is not usually affected by rainwater or floods? If your job requires a lot of driving and your car might get damaged even when parked nearby, then as always it’s better to be safe than sorry, and a couple of hundred dirhams may be the reason to not pay a couple of thousands later!
If you have any queries on what should be done to claim for storm damages, or if you want to know the most valuable Comprehensive insurance policy you can get for your budget, and that will have your back when a storm hits. Reach out to our insurance advisors at InsuranceMarket.ae they would be delighted to help! Happy motoring!
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