I know I can call State Farm to find out, but I have never filed a claim or heck gotten a ticket before. My question is this say my daughter grabbed a piece of gravel and drew artwork on a newish Cadillac* and did quite a number in a minute or two while we thought she was being watched closer by the other parent (100% parents fault no doubt) would the parents full coverage auto insurance cover this?
All this occurred on a private residence (In Pennsylvania) of another person while the daughter son and parents where there to purchase the Caddie owners other car.
*All this did just occur, luckily the residence is a cousin who is a mechanic and is going to be able to fix it relatively cheaply but it got me thinking. We are now trying to figure out a method to teach her that it was totally unacceptable to do it!
I don’t think so. Full coverage would cover damage to your car, liability covers damage done by your car. Damage done by a child with a rock is a different matter. If it’s covered at all, it would be more likely on your homeowner’s insurance or umbrella policy if you have one.
We do have home owners insurance, didn’t even cross my mind since it wasn’t at our home nor involve a home. Insurance is complicated isn’t it
Thanks for your information!
ETA: Our daughter is now a10 years old beautiful non verbal autistic child. We can watch her 99% of the time with no problem but life isn’t always perfect and she does manage to sneak something like this artwork in. My SO hasn’t stopped crying since this happened not because the car but because she managed to do it while we where both within 10 feet of her.
If the kids had been laying ball in the yard, and a ball hit and broke a window, it would be covered (I think) as an ordinary risk. , Owing to her medical history, I think the argument could be made that this was a misadventure without intent to do damage, occasioned by a circumstance against which reasonable precautions had been taken. Coverage should be good.
If you believe them get a quote to get it buffed out, if might just be a few hundred dollars and cheaper to keep the insurance companies out of it.
If you don’t or they’re being jerks about it, tell them to file a claim with their insurance company, who will deal with your insurance company and it may very well all get settled without much more than a few phone calls for you to deal with.
ETA, I see they said they can fix it themselves. Again, if you believe them, a simple ‘hey, what did it cost? Oh, $100, here ya go, sorry’ is probably the best thing you can do. Neighbor wars get really ugly really quickly. OTOH, if they want $3,000, tell them to take a hike.
I am okay with him doing it, he is fair and a really nice guy… To be honest I am more worried about what can happen not just cars but anything I cannot even think about right now. Much like this never crossed my mind as a possibility if that makes any sense. I wish I could find a “cover all” insurance if that makes sense.
Do homeowner’s liability policies generally cover intentional acts by the insured? The daughter didn’t accidentally damage the car.
Yes, the car owner’s comprehensive coverage should cover it. (The daughter isn’t an insured on their policy.) But it’s not obvious to me that the homeowner’s policy would.
