Property and Casualty Insurance · Casualty Insurance · 6 min read
Damage to Covered Vehicles
- Distinguish between collision and other than collision coverages under the standard personal auto policy.
- Explain commercial auto physical damage options, including the perils covered under specified causes of loss.
- Apply valuation rules, deductibles, exclusions, and transportation expense provisions to first-party physical damage claims.
Personal Auto Physical Damage: Collision vs. Other Than Collision
Under the standard personal auto policy, physical damage coverage pays for direct and accidental loss to your covered auto or a non-owned auto, including covered equipment, subject to policy terms. This coverage applies to first-party property losses regardless of who is at fault for the accident. When you purchase physical damage protection for a personal auto, the policy divides coverage into two primary categories: collision and other than collision.
Under the personal auto policy, collision is defined as the upset of a covered auto or its impact with another vehicle or object. An overturn or rollover is a collision loss and is covered if collision coverage applies to that vehicle. Striking a guardrail, telephone pole, tree, or building is treated as a collision loss. In addition, driving into a deep pothole or striking a curb is generally adjusted as a collision loss.
Other than collision coverage, also known as comprehensive coverage, protects against physical damage losses not caused by collision. The standard personal auto policy explicitly lists missiles and falling objects as other than collision perils. Contact with a bird or an animal is specifically defined as an other than collision loss in the standard policy. Additional listed perils include explosion, earthquake, windstorm, hail, water, flood, malicious mischief, vandalism, riot, civil commotion, and theft or larceny. Breakage of glass is also covered under other than collision, though the insured may elect to have it treated as a collision loss if the breakage is caused by a collision.
Consider how this distinction applies in real situations. If a driver swerves to miss a deer and hits a tree, the impact with the tree is adjusted as a collision loss. However, if a driver strikes a deer directly on the roadway, the resulting vehicle damage is paid under other than collision coverage. Similarly, a falling tree branch that crushes a parked vehicle, hail dents across the hood and roof of a car, or flood damage that submerges a parked vehicle are all paid under other than collision coverage.
| Loss Scenario | Coverage Category | Policy Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicle rolls over on an icy highway | Collision | Covered as an upset or rollover |
| Striking a guardrail or telephone pole | Collision | Covered as an impact with an object |
| Driving into a deep pothole | Collision | Generally adjusted as an impact with an object |
| Striking a deer directly on the road | Other Than Collision | Specifically defined as an animal strike |
| Swerving to avoid a deer and hitting a tree | Collision | Adjusted as an impact with an object |
| Hail dents or falling tree branch on vehicle | Other Than Collision | Covered under weather perils or falling objects |
| Theft or vandalism of the vehicle | Other Than Collision | Specifically listed non-collision perils |
Common mistakes
- Assuming theft is covered under collision because a vehicle was driven away; the standard personal auto policy classifies theft as other than collision, while commercial auto specified causes of loss also lists theft.
- Believing that an animal strike is classified as a collision loss; striking an animal directly is explicitly defined as other than collision.
- Assuming specified causes of loss covers falling tree limbs or deer strikes; these perils are excluded under that commercial form unless added by endorsement.
- Thinking all mechanical or tire damage is excluded; damage caused by a covered collision is not excluded merely because mechanical parts or tires are affected, and the standard personal auto policy makes an exception for loss resulting from total theft.
Key points
- Physical damage coverage pays for direct and accidental first-party property loss to a covered auto or its equipment regardless of fault.
- Collision covers vehicle upset, overturn, or impact with another vehicle or object such as a tree, guardrail, or pothole.
- Under the standard personal auto policy, other than collision covers direct and accidental physical damage that is not classified as collision, subject to exclusions; the listed causes are examples, not an exhaustive list of covered perils.
- Commercial specified causes of loss is a named-perils option covering fire, lightning, explosion, theft, windstorm, hail, earthquake, flood, vandalism, and transport conveyances, but not falling objects or animal strikes.
- The standard limit of liability is the lesser of actual cash value or repair/replacement cost, and settlements reflect the deduction of the applicable deductible.
- Standard exclusions include wear and tear, mechanical breakdown, road damage to tires, and sound media, though breakdown and tire damage caused by collision or total theft may be covered.
- Transportation expenses following a total theft typically begin after a forty-eight hour waiting period, whereas for other covered losses the standard policy applies a 24-hour waiting period.
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