Will Car Insurance Cover Hail Damage if You Specify You Park in a Garage but The Car Is Parked on The Driveway or Street?

gyrex on 27/12/2023 - 08:34

Will an insurer cover damage to a car if you specify that you park your car in a garage but actually park your car in the driveway or street and subsequently a large storm causes your car to be significantly damaged by hail?

I ask because a neighbour told me that they tick the "garaged" option because it's cheaper but they actually park their cars on the driveway and street and recently both of his cars were significantly damaged by hail. I know this might seem silly but it's quite irritating to know that all other insurance customers are effectively paying for this lie through higher premiums each year.

Automotive Car Insurance Insurance

Comments

  • apsilon on 27/12/2023 - 08:37
    +39

    IIRC the policy asks where the car is usually kept so it'll be covered "oh I usually keep it in the garage but just my luck, the one time I don't and it hails."

    • HeWhoKnows on 28/12/2023 - 14:10
      -2

      Where the car was parked is irrelevant because its a car and cars do get moved around
      Thats what they are for.
      They are not always in the garage

      So no worries OP

      Sleep easy

      • Tleyx on 28/12/2023 - 17:03
        +3

        My friends insurance didnt pay

        • HeWhoKnows on 28/12/2023 - 21:05
          +2

          We dont know the circumstances

        • Brianqpr on 29/12/2023 - 08:37

          For what reasons?

          • Tleyx on 29/12/2023 - 12:49

            @Brianqpr: Was not in garage at home location as per contract

            They would of paid if it wqsnt at his house

        • TiredKitty78 on 30/12/2023 - 17:31
          +1

          Seems like a slam dunk for them to say you said you park it in the garage, so you must have had a space available.

          Oh, you didn't this time, because you were only going to make a quick stop at home, but had a nap? Oh, you usually do, but you filled your garage with crap your, that you were going to clean out so you could go back to parking undercover? Yeah, sure, you and 10,000 other people /s

  • AngoraFish on 27/12/2023 - 08:45
    +12

    Well, sure. Sometimes people commit fraud and get away with it. Your neighbour is running the risk of getting nothing if they do get caught out though.

    Not sure why apsilon is down voted. It's absolutely correct that for the most part there's no easy way for an insurance company to know either way, short of you not actually having a garage at all. There are all sorts of reasons why a car might be parked on the street during an unexpected hail storm even though it might normally be parked in a garage.

    • gyrex on 27/12/2023 - 08:50
      +2

      Your neighbour is running the risk of getting nothing if they do get caught out though

      Yep, and in the meantime everyone else pays for his deceit - it's pretty infuriating.

      • bobbified on 27/12/2023 - 09:21
        +20

        it's pretty infuriating.

        I think you're directing your anger at the wrong thing. Your neighbour not being entirely honest about where they park their car at night should be the least of your concerns. There are plenty of other ways insurance companies are ripping us off that you should be angry at!

        • gyrex on 27/12/2023 - 09:29
          -7

          How are they "ripping us off"? They sell a product in an open and competitive marketplace and we choose to buy it or not. Insurance fraud bears a cost to all other customers through higher insurance premiums.

          • bobbified on 27/12/2023 - 09:34
            +3

            @gyrex:

            They sell a product in an open and competitive marketplace and we choose to buy it or not.

            Insurance premiums go up for all sorts of reasons.

            Have you ever heard of the "loyalty tax"? The one that is often tacked onto the renewal notices because the companies know that some people will simply pay it (instead of doing a whole new quote and realising it's hundreds cheaper than the renewal notice?) This "tax" is easily many more times than any indirect amount of increase in your premium that your neighbour can cause. Why aren't you directing your anger at something like that?

            • gyrex on 27/12/2023 - 09:44
              -3

              @bobbified:

              Have you ever heard of the "loyalty tax"

              I'm on OzB and a tight ass so this isn't a trap I've fallen into.

              This "tax" is easily many more times than any indirect amount of increase in your premium that your neighbour can cause

              That might be true for him alone but if this and other examples of insurance fraud is pervasive, it has a cumulative effect and therefore affects everyone else.

              Why aren't you directing your anger at something like that?

              Because I abhor the notion that I'm paying higher premiums because of dishonest people.

              • fantombloo on 27/12/2023 - 10:14
                +16

                @gyrex: The insurance company gets away with they can. So does your neighbor. This is the system we find ourselves in, the checks and balances supposed to keep things "open and competitive" aren't necessarily there all the time, sometimes not ever, and they're never perfect.

                You seem to show contempt for your neighbor trying to save a buck but almost adoration for a corporation who's sole purpose is to extract as much money as they can from you. Check each one's balance sheet at the end of the year and you might feel differently.

              • bobbified on 27/12/2023 - 10:50
                +7

                @gyrex: The insurers factor in a certain level of fraud into their payout figures (that they use to calculate their premiums). When the fraud doesn't happen to the level they predict, they don't exactly refund the portion they've overestimated.

                I work for an insurance company and see, every day, what may be fraud. It's just a part of this business. Then there's plenty of cases where there's no fraud and claims still get declined.

                I'm not defending fraud - I'm just saying there's plenty of other things to direct your attention to. The company itself is a good place to start.

                There's a reason insurance companies almost always announces record profits each year.

            • Morphio25 on 28/12/2023 - 15:46

              @bobbified:

              Have you ever heard of the "loyalty tax"? The one that is often tacked onto the renewal notices because the companies know that some people will simply pay it (instead of doing a whole new quote and realising it's hundreds cheaper than the renewal notice?)

              Ironically my latest renewal notice was actually a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than what I could have quoted for the same level of insurance through the same company.

          • Sinnerator on 29/12/2023 - 08:48

            @gyrex: they cheat and scratch and bite NOT TO PAY OUT CLAIMS

          • tedzr on 29/12/2023 - 09:53

            @gyrex: How are they not? The way it works currently is the fewer garages you have and the more ‘poorer’ your suburb, the higher your premiums are.

        • ddilrat on 27/12/2023 - 12:16
          +1

          Disagree, I know so many people committing insurance fraud to save a couple hundred a year who can easily afford the premiums. Its pretty annoying I subsidise wealthy peoples insurance

          • Euphemistic on 28/12/2023 - 07:50
            +1

            @ddilrat: If those people have saved ‘couple of hundred per year’ and have not made any claims, like most people don’t, then what’s the problem?

            It only becomes a problem when either their claim gets approved when it goes against something they’ve used to reduce premiums.

      • cktftw on 27/12/2023 - 09:33
        +1

        dob him in

    • conant on 27/12/2023 - 08:52
      +1

      The downvote may be from an insurance company owner?

    • HeWhoKnows on 28/12/2023 - 21:07
      +2

      The question asked is:

      "Where is the car usually parked?"

      Not: "where is the car always parked."

  • AndyC1 on 27/12/2023 - 08:58
    +1

    Yes.

  • Euphemistic on 27/12/2023 - 09:04
    +9

    I’m sure there was a post here a while back about an insurance claim that was being denied because the car was hit while on the street parked outside the property but the policy said it would be parked in a driveway. .

    IMO not answering truthfully when they ask where it’s normally parked is a recipe for headaches.

  • stunspore on 27/12/2023 - 09:06
    +1

    If the car was at a friend's place over night after big party - hence not usually parked at home, do you think your car would be covered?
    I think the insurance company would need to establish, has the car been stored "usually" overnight. Not every night.

  • GordonD on 27/12/2023 - 09:08
    +9

    If the insurance company has evidence that any statement relevant to the claim was made fraudulently they will deny the claim. So if you say your car is garaged, and you don't have a garage, or your garage is used for some other purpose, or you have multiple cars you claim are garaged but you only have one garage, then you may not be covered for hail damage. But they have to have some reason to look for evidence, and they have to find it. They don't send someone out to check your house and quiz your neighbors on the off-chance.

    Whether my car is "garaged" is one I have trouble being totally honest about. Because the definition of a garage is a bit rubbery. My "garage" is under the house roof, so its not a "carport". But it is only fully enclosed at the front. It only has a fence along the side, and is open at the rear into my yard. So maybe it is a "carport" in that it is not a fully enclosed and secured structure. I'd be happier that I was giving an honest answer that wouldn't prejudice a claim if they said what they mean - like asking wehether the car was kept in a fully enclosed locked structure - rather than using a word that has a spectrum of meanings, like "garage".

    • Davo1111 on 27/12/2023 - 20:33
      +3

      It's not fully enclosed - therefore that's a carport.

      If it had a roller door on the back, it would be a garage.

  • ihfree on 27/12/2023 - 09:33
    +4

    Probably fine, however there is this old thread

  • JimmyF on 27/12/2023 - 09:57
    +4

    Will car insurance cover hail damage if you specify you park in a garage but the car is parked on the driveway or street?

    It will depend on insurance company. Some might question it, others won't.

    Most become unstuck when they say it lives in the garage, but then the garage is filled with crap.

  • JIMB0 on 27/12/2023 - 10:08
    +16

    Nearmap takes aerial photographs every month. Wouldn't be hard for them to establish that the cars were regularly parked on the street.

    • bohn on 27/12/2023 - 10:15

      hadn't heard of that - quite interesting.

      • JIMB0 on 28/12/2023 - 13:13

        The council also use it to check you haven't built any illegal structures or removed a large tree without a permit. Obviously they wouldn't look unless someone dobbed you in, but with AI technology they'd be able to automatically flag changes.

        • ribze1 on 28/12/2023 - 21:04
          -1

          This is great

  • m0tyrider on 27/12/2023 - 10:11
    -1

    So you are irritated because your neighbor lies on their insurance policy? You must be an awesome neighbor.

    • gyrex on 27/12/2023 - 12:29
      +4

      It has nothing to do with the neighbour personally, it's a matter of annoyance in general because people committing insurance fraud costs other insurance policy holders in the form of increased premiums.

      • treekangagaroo on 27/12/2023 - 14:07
        +7

        You should be more worried about how politicians spend our tax money

        • gyrex on 27/12/2023 - 15:21
          +3

          This also concerns/worries me. "billion" just rolls off the tongue these days so easily for these scumbags and their constant self agreed pay increases despite the private workforce having to save their pennies is ludicrous.

      • eckorock on 28/12/2023 - 11:12

        I think you need to look up the definition of what "insurance fraud" actually is.

        Your neighbour didn't intentionally damage his car and pretend that it was hail, for a financial benefit. That would be fraud.

        • gyrex on 28/12/2023 - 14:22

          Fraud: Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain

          Providing deceptive answers on a contract about the circumstances of a vehicle thereby resulting in a financial gain would constitute fraud.

  • Porker on 27/12/2023 - 10:15
    +10

    Could they not just say they were hailed on while driving home to their garage?

    • joelmuzz on 29/12/2023 - 07:33
      +1

      They have to explain two cars.
      And will be asked the exact location where they were stopped in the hail.

      Easy to lie, but also easy to screw up. Hail is usually very localised so the insurance instantly knows if they were in the bulk claim streets or magically the only damaged car in a street.

      In most cases they will get away with it. But insurance knows how to ask questions to get people to slip up.

      • apsilon on 29/12/2023 - 07:37

        But insurance knows how to ask questions to get people to slip up.

        In my somewhat limited experience, they don't ask questions at all in this type of claim. I'm sure they would for a really high value claim or where details clearly don't line up but something simple like hail damage won't get any attention.

        • gyrex on 30/12/2023 - 11:36

          My wife got stuck in a hail storm about 4 years ago and the insurer asked a lot of questions about the location of where the hail storm hit her as well as a lot of other questions about the event itself.

          • apsilon on 30/12/2023 - 14:45

            @gyrex: Budget insurer? Only question I was asked, and the only other person I know that's put in a hail claim, was "which repairer are you dropping it off at?" which is the exact same question that was asked when my car was hit while parked on the street at a mates.

  • brad1-8tsi on 27/12/2023 - 11:05
    +1

    Look at it from the other point of view.

    I park my car in a garage and say so on my insurance policy. Up until recently when council spent $2m on flood mitigation measures in my street (not a flood plain, just bad urban drainage), our garage had high potential for flooding.

    Which is better during a storm? That I leave the car in the garage so that I comply with a statement on my policy or park it on the street during storms with less risk of major damage?

  • meowsers on 27/12/2023 - 12:54

    What used to be a duty of disclosure has now changed to "an insured must take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer".

    Some insurers have added very specific clauses like "we are supplied, at all times, with true and complete information regarding the car, drivers, use of the car, ownership, the place where the car is normally kept, and any incidents which may lead to claims under this policy" in that case, you'd need to comply.

    I think Auto & General got hit with a broader requirement as unfair a while back, so companies have toned it down: https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/news-centre/find-a-media-rele…

  • 82norm on 28/12/2023 - 08:15
    +3

    Usually parked doesn’t void you of a claim. Just a stupid question. You visit a friend and park on the street and get caught in a storm and damages are incurred (tree branch falls on car, drunk swipes it, hail)…. Insurance will pay for it.

    • joelmuzz on 29/12/2023 - 08:04

      Your own street is a different situation. They ask why the garage/driveway wasn't being used at that moment and if your reason makes them sus that the car doesn't live in the garage most nights then things might escalate to their fraud team who will go looking for proof that the garaging was a lie.

  • 2esc on 28/12/2023 - 10:32
    +1

    I normally garage my cars but currently have a project taking up that space for a few days so one car is out in the open. Hadn't thought about the insurance side of things.

    • gyrex on 28/12/2023 - 10:59
      +1

      If you're only parking out in the open for a few days but parked in your garage for the rest of the year then your car is 'usually parked' in the garage.

      • joelmuzz on 29/12/2023 - 08:14

        For "a few days" it's ok, but a few weeks would not be. It isn't a 51% of the year = mostly type thing.

        If conditions change then the contract requires you to notify the insurer. So for example if renovations for a few weeks block the driveway with a skip bin the insurer could challenge a claim on the grounds that it was reasonable to notify them that the car would not be garaged for a few weeks.

  • mding on 28/12/2023 - 13:21
    +3

    Do your neighbours also identify as Non-Binary?

    • gyrex on 28/12/2023 - 14:24

      What a joke!

  • AustriaBargain on 28/12/2023 - 14:37
    +1

    Why wouldn't you park in your garage if it was going to rain or hail anyway?

    • Brianqpr on 29/12/2023 - 08:40

      Lots of reasons such as going out again soon etc.

      I'm not sure predicting hail is that simple, its often pretty unexpected and sudden. And are we expected to be constantly monitoring weather apps?

  • Windows98 on 28/12/2023 - 18:11
    +2

    When the insurance company does a review and asks why the car wasn't parked in the garage and they have a valid excuse that matches what the inspector sees when they check the car and house. Then no problems.

    If on the other hand they find that there is no garage because they lied. Then good luck to them

  • joelmuzz on 29/12/2023 - 07:25
    +2

    You are allowed to be out of the garage on a rare occasion.
    However if they find a way to prove you lied about "mostly garaged" then they can deny the claim.

    For example if he has two "garaged" cars but only a single garage.
    Or streetview and survey photos (there are a lot more available via commerical subscription than Google) expose the driveway is obstructed, by a boat for example or it captures the door open full of boxes or a gym.
    And he might put his own foot in his mouth when they ask him why the cars weren't garaged that day.

  • Brianqpr on 29/12/2023 - 08:38
    +1

    Is garage vs driveway really that much different in terms of premium cost?

  • Dreamcast on 29/12/2023 - 09:58

    I've done quotes through multiple insurers with
    garaged or not and different suburbs and the whole garage thing has not made any quote cheaper.

  • imurgod on 29/12/2023 - 10:15

    It depends on the policy.

    Some policies don't have a condition surrounding it and others do.

    The condition will stipulate something like "The vehicle must be parked in a garage between the hours of XXX and XXX…." and there'll usually be a radius within the car must be parked in the garage.

    If that's not on your policy, you maybe ok.

    Don't lie to insurers though, because they can be pretty good at finding things out these days and can deny a claim.

  • blueyez on 13/01/2024 - 00:47

    Wonder how this works if I have a car port (behind a gate, which has to be opened via the back yard - so need to go through the house to go open it) but if I chose to park in my driveway instead, as it's less hassle?

    One side of the car port is exposed to the elements too.

    Might need to contact the insurer to ask! But food for thought.

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