Property Claim – When a Car Hits Your Building.
We have seen a small spike in which a car’s driver hits the accelerator instead of the brake and slams into a building. Extensive damage can be done when a 4,500 (or larger) pound car does hit a building.
Rental property owners have some peace of mind, as all car insurance policies in New York have a “property damage” piece to them. We typically see $25,000 or $50,000 of property damage on an auto insurance policy but the bare minimum is $10,000 in New York.
Property Claim – When a Car Hits Your Building.
In all claims involving your building, the claim goes against the car driver’s insurance policy. In the case of a minimum coverage policy for a New York driver, you may need to get your own property insurance involved too.
Example, let’s say your building was hit by a minimum insurance coverage driver and caused $20,000 of damage (not hard to imagine this much damage to a building). Your property insurance policy would pay out the $20,000 – $1,000 deductible = $19,000. Then they would subrogate against the auto insurance company that hit your building and recoup $10,000 of the $19,000 claims. So your loss would amount to $9,000 on your real property insurance policy.
Property insurance policies are NOT like car insurance, where they can now surcharge you for this accident. Property policies cannot be surcharged (that car driver’s insurance will be surcharged), so your building premium would not go up. The only recourse a property insurance company has, is if you have excessive claims experience and they non-renew your policy. This 1 claim in our example would not necessarily trigger a non-renewal notice, depends on the insurance company and your lengthy relationship with them.
Property Claim – When a Car Hits Your Building.
Have any claims questions? email me: tom@larseninsurance.com
Tom Larsen, President
Larsen Insurance Agency