Will Insurance Cover a Car Flooded in an Underground Parking Garage?
2 Answers
Insurance companies will not cover a car flooded in an underground parking garage. Below are the requirements for auto insurance claims: 1. Natural wear and tear: Refers to mechanical component wear caused by vehicle usage. 2. Corrosion: Refers to damage caused by contact between components and harmful gases or liquids. 3. Malfunction: Occurs when a vehicle part or system fails, affecting normal operation. 4. Tire blowout: Sudden rupture due to excessive tire wear, quality defects, overinflation, prolonged non-stop driving, or overloading that exceeds tire capacity. Losses from natural wear, corrosion, or aging and deformation of insured vehicle components are considered normal wear and tear, not caused by insurable incidents, and thus are not covered by insurance.
Last year, my own car was flooded in the garage. This matter should be considered in two steps. First, you need to check whether your insurance includes vehicle damage coverage (which now needs to include water submersion coverage). If you only have third-party liability insurance, it definitely won’t cover the damage. Second, the key factor is the cause of the flooding—if it was due to heavy rain causing garage flooding, it’s usually considered a natural disaster and can be claimed. However, if it was due to a burst drainage pipe from the property management or you forgot to close the car window and water leaked in, it becomes a dispute. In my case, it was during a typhoon, and the garage was flooded due to backflow. The insurance company sent someone to take photos and declared it a total loss. But a heads-up: if you forcibly start the engine after flooding and damage it, they won’t cover the engine part.
