With summer just around the corner, and wildfires already ablaze in British Columbia and Alberta, it is important to be prepared for the potential risks that you might be facing to your car and home, and how your insurance policy may come into play.
If your home or car is damaged during a wildfire, would you be covered? This blog will explore the potential benefits that you might have access to under your different insurance policies, and what you can do to protect yourself.
Will my home be covered in the case of a wildfire?
With the more extreme weather changes from season to season, it is important to know what your insurance policy covers and what to do in case you might need to access your policy.
All home and tenant insurance policies will cover a damage caused by a fire, unless of course you intentionally cause the fire. This coverage will typically also include the costs associated with evacuating a dangerous area under evacuation. So, as far as suffering a loss as a result of a devastating extreme weather event, your home should be covered. Of course, the amount that you are covered up until depends on the policy that you have purchased, or the specific clauses in your policy. If, for example, you have a guaranteed replacement cost coverage clause, then the insurance company will pay whatever amount is necessary, even if that amount is over the policy limits, to rebuild or replace your house.
Will my vehicle be covered if it is damaged in a fire?
You may however be wondering if insurance will cover your vehicle in these instances. When you purchase an auto policy, you would have made a decision to either accept or decline certain additional coverage. For example, many auto policies will contain comprehensive, otherwise known as “all perils”, coverage for auto insurance policies. Comprehensive coverage will typically also cover property damage to your vehicle in the instance of a fire. However, it is important to be aware that this particular part of a policy is not necessary, and so if you declined this element of the policy, then your vehicle might not be protected in the instance of a wildfire.
What if my car was parked in my garage, when my house was damaged in a fire?
You might be wondering which insurance policy would cover your vehicle in a fire if that vehicle was parked in the garage. Typically, your auto insurance policy, and not your home insurance, would cover this loss. This is why it is important to know what endorsements you have on your home and vehicle to ensure you are protected.
Can I change my insurance coverage?
If you realise that you are not covered to the degree you might want to be covered for wildfire season, you may want to look into your coverage sooner rather than later. In some instances, it may be too late to change your coverage. In areas where there is an immediate threat, limitations on the purchase and change of existing insurance coverage might be in place. The limitations may prevent you from buying new policies, increasing the limits on your existing policies, or changing what you already are covered against. Once the threat goes away, these limitations will typically be relaxed.
The basis of insurance is that you are going to be protected from any event or accident which you wouldn’t anticipate. So, it is important that you look into the coverage you have in anticipation of any events that might effect you, before it is too late.