Any time a driver pays attention to anything that’s not the road in front of them, they increase their likelihood of causing an accident. However, not all vehicle damage is due to driver negligence.
Car claims data compiled by QBE Personal Lines claims for car insurance in 20211 (from 1 January to 31 Oct 2021), reveals the top 3 car claims:
- Vehicle collision
- Windscreen damage
- Storm or hail damage
Assistant Director George Pipertzis at DSH Insurance says car accidents are an unfortunate but common occurrence and not all claims lodged are the result of vehicle collisions.
‘As per the QBE car insurance claims data, it seems this year so far collision was the major cause of claims, representing 63.2% of all motor claims with windscreen claims at 25.8% and vehicle damage due to storm and hail at 4.7%.’
‘Generally bumper-to-bumper nose-to-tail crashes are the most common type of fender bender on Australian roads but according to the QBE car insurance claims report, the major causes of collision claims were vehicle damaged whilst parked and insured vehicle colliding with fixed property.’ says Pipertzis.
There has been an increase of car claims in recent years due to extreme weather events specifically along large parts of the east coast of Australia.
‘The last 12- 14 months have seen an increase in the frequency and severity of weather events, and one only has to look at the recent flooding and the hailstorm all occurring close together.’
Is hail damage covered by car insurance?
This depends on the level of car insurance one has. If you have comprehensive car insurance, it's very likely that you'll be able to claim for damage as a result of hail.
“Comprehensive* car insurance generally will cover for any damage that comes as a result of a hail storm, this can be smashed windows or dented bodywork but it could even be a total loss, if the damage is bad enough.” says Pipertzis.
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References
1Based on QBE Personal Lines claims for car insurance 1/1/2020 – 31/10/2021
2DSH internal reporting
*Any damage that occurred prior to the policy being incepted will not be covered
Disclaimer
The Motor insurance products are issued and underwritten by QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited (ABN 78 003 191 035, AFSL 239545) (QBE). Defence Service Homes Insurance Scheme ABN 97 191 187 638, Authorised Representative number 269008 (DSHI) is an authorised Representative of QBE and is authorised to distribute the Motor insurance product on behalf of QBE acting under its own AFSL. Any advice provided is general only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs and may not be right for you. To decide if any of these products are right for you, please read the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), Target Market Determination (TMD) and Financial Services Guide (FSG) relating to either the Motor insurance products available on our website.