Damage from blown tire & Insurance?

[BrandonH]

Quick question...if you have a tire blow and the blown tire causes body damage will auto insurance chip in?

-Brandon

[cosmiccowboy]

yes

Make sure you save the tire. They may want to see it.

I peeled the tread off a rear tire and destroyed a rear wheel well/fender. It was the new truck factory tire (Firestone) and only had 20,000 miles on it. The tire never lost air pressure and I drove it down the freeway for a couple of miles till i could get to an exit and a safe place to change it...Insurance paid to fix it, but with a $1000 deductible it still cost me...

[TxSuperDad]

I dont see why not. If you blew a tire and it damaged someone else you can be darn sure they will be paying to fix their car. Im sure it will depend on your coverage. But in the long run I guess it will weight out to how much your deductable is to the damage.

["DOC"]

A few years ago I had a rear tire blowout and damage the quarterpanel, the 2 weeks later another one blew and did more damage. The tire company paid for all body repair. Might be worth checking with them to see if they have been having problems.

[White Falcon]

I had a guy kick up a piece of 5/8"x 8 ft rebar. Came across Hwy 380 and stuck in my back RT tire. "truck had 500 miles ", Before I could stop, the rebar cut out the back rt bed, door, and side of my truck. Lucky, if it would have been the other side, It would have gotten the gas tank.
Insurance Paid!

[txrdkng]

yes

Make sure you save the tire. They may want to see it.

I peeled the tread off a rear tire and destroyed a rear wheel well/fender. It was the new truck factory tire (Firestone) and only had 20,000 miles on it. The tire never lost air pressure and I drove it down the freeway for a couple of miles till i could get to an exit and a safe place to change it...Insurance paid to fix it, but with a $1000 deductible it still cost me...

Same experience here. Insurance company will want to see the tire. And, if they can prove it was caused by a defective tire (separating) they will get the tire manufacturer to pay for the damage including your deductible.

[Shiner]

Tire Co is liable as well. Had a customer blow a rear tire on the interstate, Slamed the truck into a embankment and was totaled. Goodyear settled for a fair price. no deductable

[nrut]

It would depend on the coverages you are paying premium on. That would actually fall under the "other than collision" coverage. Now the policy would pay for the damages caused by the tire after it blew out but not the tire itself, because it caused the damage. You would have to pay the deductible you have set up on your policy. Normally the "OTC" deductibles are lower than your collision deductible because it covers everything like... animals, rockchips, hail ect. Sometimes depending on the age and mileage of the tire your insurance co. can subrogate the damages with the tire co. and TRY to get the damages back including your deductible. If you did not have the OTC coverages on the vehicle you could then file it under your collision coverages but would have to pay the deductible that applies. Oh, by the way, I am a insurance adjuster.

[BrandonH]

Thanks for all the help.

[Jerry Worley]

Be careful about filing under your insurance. Check your ded amount first, then compare to the cost to fix. If it is anywhere close, dont file the claim. If you have one of them 800# companies, they will not tell you that. If you call them they file the claim, even though you may have thought you just asked a "what if question".

The adjuster guy is right, but more than likely, if you do not have other than collision, you probably do not have collision. I am an independent agent and none of the companies I sell for allow collision without other than collision.

[shane stoe]

i would think that they would, depending on your coverage that you have.

[nrut]

Jerry W. is right. If you call just to inform them that is happened and to let them know you are going to pay out of pocket or just to find out your deductible. It will be on record even if they don't pay out anything. It doesn't take much to get the repairs up there in cost these days. With parts prices, labor prices it adds up quick.

[Hold My Beer]

A few years ago I had a rear tire blowout and damage the quarterpanel, the 2 weeks later another one blew and did more damage. The tire company paid for all body repair. Might be worth checking with them to see if they have been having problems.

x2... That's exactly what happened to my wife (General Radials), and they reimbursed us for 2 new tires and paid for all the body repairs.

[Bill]

Call your agent and file a claim. He'll say if it's covered, or not on your policy. Take lots of pictures.

[Cottonfish]

It's covered as a Comprehensive, or OTC (Other Than Collision) loss, subject to the deductible you carry for that coverage. The tire itself is not covered because of exclusion #2 in your auto policy, which states:

We will not pay for:

2. Damage due and confined to:
a. wear and tear;
b. freezing;
c. mechanical or electrical breakdown or failure; or
d. road damage to tires.

According to our company's subrogation department, their chances of recovery (including your deductible) against the tire manufacturer are pretty slim if the tire has more than 50% wear, or abnormal wear. It helps if they have a picture of the damaged tire mounted on the vehicle to present with their subrogation demand.

Good advice above about checking cost of repair against your deductible, but if there's much body damage the repair can get pretty expensive. I've seen blowouts shred bedside panels on pickups.

Stu