Claim Scenario Explorer

Usually your own auto policy's comprehensive coverage, if you carry it, because damage from falling objects is a comprehensive claim, less your deductible. Homeowners policies typically don't cover cars. If the neighbor was negligent, such as ignoring a dead tree, your insurer may seek repayment from them, which can return your deductible.

Often not under the auto policy. Most auto policies don't cover equipment that isn't permanently installed in the car, such as a portable GPS, a dash cam or a removable roof box. Those items may be covered as personal property under a homeowners or renters policy, less its deductible, while damage to the car itself is generally a comprehensive claim.

A flooded basement is one of the more confusing claims in home insurance because coverage depends heavily on the cause. Water that backs up through a sewer or drain may be covered if you added a water backup endorsement, while groundwater or surface water entering from outside during a storm is typically excluded from standard homeowners policies and instead falls under separate flood insurance. Even then, NFIP coverage below grade is substantially restricted: finished basement walls, floors, ceilings and many personal belongings may not be covered even when the flood itself qualifies. Whether you have any coverage at all often comes down to the exact source of the water.

Theft of personal belongings, including a bike from your garage, is typically covered under the personal property part of a homeowners or renters policy, less your deductible. Whether it's worth claiming depends on the bike's value compared with the deductible, and on whether your policy pays replacement cost or actual cash value.

Damage to the structure itself from a sudden pipe burst is typically covered under the landlord's own dwelling coverage, similar to how it would work for an owner-occupied home. The tenant's personal belongings, however, are generally not covered by the landlord's policy at all, which is one of the main reasons landlords often require tenants to carry their own renters insurance.

Vehicle theft is typically covered under comprehensive coverage, not liability or collision coverage, so whether you're protected depends on whether you added comprehensive to your policy. If the vehicle isn't recovered, the insurer may eventually settle the theft as a total loss after completing its investigation and any applicable recovery period, typically paying the vehicle's actual cash value minus your deductible. Personal belongings left inside the car are often not covered under the auto policy itself.

Injuries to customers on your premises are typically what general liability insurance is designed to address, often covering medical costs and legal defense if the customer pursues a claim or lawsuit. How the claim plays out usually depends on whether the hazard was reasonably addressed beforehand, such as posting a wet floor sign, and how quickly the business documented and responded to the incident.

A data breach involving customer information is typically the kind of event cyber insurance is designed to address, often covering costs like customer notification, credit monitoring, legal fees, and sometimes regulatory fines depending on your policy and state law. A standard general liability or business owners policy usually does not cover this well, since data breaches are generally treated as a specialized risk requiring their own coverage.

Your homeowners policy may respond in two ways. Medical payments coverage can pay the injured person's medical bills up to a small limit, regardless of fault. Personal liability coverage can pay if you're legally responsible for the injury, including your defense. A delivery worker may also have workers' compensation through their employer.

Dog bite injuries are commonly covered under the personal liability portion of a standard homeowners or renters policy, which can pay for the injured person's medical expenses and legal costs if you're sued. Some insurers exclude certain dog breeds or require additional underwriting if your dog has a prior bite history, so coverage isn't automatic in every case. State laws about dog owner liability also vary and can affect how a claim is handled.

The employee's personal auto policy usually pays first. Your business can also be liable because the employee was working, and general liability policies typically exclude auto accidents. Hired and non-owned auto coverage, if you have it, is designed for this and generally pays above the employee's own limits.

Injuries employees suffer while performing their job duties are typically handled through workers compensation insurance, which most states require businesses with employees to carry. It generally covers the employee's medical treatment and a portion of lost wages regardless of who was at fault, while also limiting the business's exposure to a direct lawsuit from the employee for the same injury in most cases.

Most business property policies exclude flood, so the claim depends on whether you have separate flood insurance. NFIP commercial flood policies cover the building and contents, such as equipment and inventory, up to $500,000 each, less deductibles. Without one, the flood damage is generally your cost, though disaster assistance may be available after declared disasters.

Landlord policies, like homeowners policies, usually exclude flood. A landlord's flood policy covers the building under building coverage. The landlord's insurance doesn't cover the tenant's belongings; the tenant needs their own renters and flood coverage. Lost rent from a flood generally isn't covered by an NFIP policy.

Often not. Most home policies don't cover damage from a continuous or repeated leak, and they won't cover mold removal except to repair damage caused by a covered risk. A slow leak over months is commonly treated as excluded, while mold from a sudden, covered leak may be covered, sometimes up to a lower mold limit.

Hail damage to your car is typically covered under comprehensive coverage, if you carry it, not collision. Your comprehensive deductible generally applies, and a car with heavy hail damage can be declared a total loss if repairs cost more than it's worth. Without comprehensive, the damage is generally your own cost.

Hitting an animal like a deer is typically classified as a comprehensive claim rather than a collision claim, which matters because it usually isn't treated as an at-fault accident the way hitting another vehicle would be. This means it's often covered if you carry comprehensive coverage. Whether the claim affects future premium or renewal pricing depends on the insurer and state.

When the at-fault driver has no insurance, your own uninsured motorist coverage, if you carry it, is typically what pays for your injuries, and sometimes your vehicle damage depending on your state and policy. Without uninsured motorist coverage, you may need to rely on collision coverage for your car and pursue the other driver personally for the rest, which is often difficult if they have limited assets. Some states require uninsured motorist coverage by law, while others make it optional.

The at-fault driver's insurer pays up to their liability limit. For the rest, your own underinsured motorist coverage, if you have it, may pay up to your limit; how it's calculated depends on your state. Health insurance, PIP or medical payments coverage may also help with medical bills.

Additional living expenses, also called loss of use coverage, typically pays the extra costs of living elsewhere while a covered loss is repaired, such as a hotel or rental, extra food costs and similar expenses above what you'd normally spend. It has its own limit, and some policies also limit how long it pays, so keep all receipts.

Belongings stolen from a car are typically covered by your homeowners or renters policy, not your auto policy, because personal property coverage generally follows your belongings away from home. Your deductible applies, and some policies limit off-premises theft. The broken window is a car claim, usually under your auto policy's comprehensive coverage, with its own deductible.

Often yes, depending on the policy. Standard homeowners policies cover damage that results from a lightning strike, and some also cover damage caused by power surges. Your belongings would generally fall under personal property coverage, less your deductible. Whether they're paid at replacement cost or depreciated value depends on your policy.

Flood damage to a car is typically covered under comprehensive coverage, if you carry it. A homeowners or flood policy generally doesn't cover your car. Floodwater often damages engines and electrical systems badly enough that the car is declared a total loss and paid at actual cash value, less your deductible.

Generally yes, unless you have gap insurance. An auto policy typically pays the car's actual cash value when it's totaled, minus your deductible, and the lender is paid from that. If the loan balance is higher, you still owe the rest. Gap insurance is designed to cover that difference between the car's value and what you owe.

Personal liability coverage on a homeowners or renters policy generally pays when your household is legally responsible for damaging someone else's property, up to its limit. For a single window, though, many families simply pay directly, since the cost may be small and a claim can affect future premiums. The neighbor's own policy may also cover it.

If the grace period has passed, the policy has likely lapsed and coverage has ended. Most life policies have a 31-day grace period after a missed premium. You can usually reinstate a lapsed policy by paying the overdue premium with interest, often within five years, though the insurer may ask about your health again.

Each roommate's own renters policy generally covers their own belongings, since one person's policy usually doesn't cover an unrelated roommate unless they're named. The roommate who caused the fire may face a liability claim for damage to the landlord's property, which his renters liability coverage may pay. Without renters insurance, each person generally bears their own losses.

Often not without the right endorsement. Business income coverage typically needs physical damage at your property, and many business property policies limit coverage for power failures that start off-site. A utility services endorsement is designed for this. With it, spoiled stock and lost income may be covered, subject to its limit and waiting period.

In most rear-end collisions, the following driver is presumed at fault, since drivers are generally expected to maintain enough distance to stop safely. Your liability coverage typically pays for the other driver's vehicle damage and injuries, while your own car's damage depends on whether you carry collision coverage. Fault can shift in unusual circumstances, like sudden erratic braking or a mechanical failure, so it's not always an automatic conclusion.

Often yes, once your coverage limits are reached. Rental reimbursement typically pays a set daily amount up to a total limit, and only for the time the insurer considers reasonable for repairs. If repairs take longer, ask the insurer about the delay, since some extend for delays outside your control, but don't count on it.

An SR-22 isn't a separate insurance policy. It's a certificate your insurer files with the state to prove you carry the required liability insurance. You buy a policy from an insurer that offers SR-22 filings and keep it without a lapse for the required period, for example two years in Texas. Your premium will likely rise.

Hail damage to a roof is typically covered under a standard homeowners policy, since hail is generally treated as a covered weather peril. How much you actually receive often depends on the roof's age and condition before the storm, since older roofs may be paid out at actual cash value rather than full replacement cost unless your policy specifies otherwise. Some states and insurers also apply a separate, higher deductible specifically for wind or hail damage.

The cause matters. Wind damage, such as a torn-off roof and rain coming through it, is typically covered by a homeowners policy, or by a separate windstorm policy in some coastal areas. Rising water from storm surge or flooding is excluded from most home policies and needs flood insurance. Each policy pays its share, with its own deductible.

Detached structures such as sheds, fences and detached garages are typically covered under the other structures part of a homeowners policy, which usually has its own limit, often about 10% of the dwelling limit. Wind damage is commonly covered, but a separate wind or hail deductible may apply, and the shed's contents fall under personal property.

Fire damage to a rental property is typically covered under the landlord's own dwelling coverage, even when a tenant's negligence caused it, since that coverage generally follows the property rather than who's at fault. Whether the landlord can recover costs from the tenant afterward often depends on the lease terms and whether the tenant carries renters insurance with liability coverage of their own.

It depends on how the damage happened. A landlord policy's personal property coverage generally covers your furnishings for covered causes, like a fire or burst pipe. Wear and tear, and some damage a tenant causes through carelessness, often isn't a covered cause, so it's usually handled through the security deposit, the lease, or the tenant's liability coverage.

Injuries to tenants from a fall on the property are typically evaluated under the landlord's liability coverage, but whether the claim is paid often depends on whether the stairs were reasonably maintained and whether the landlord knew about any hazard beforehand. A single, isolated accident on well-maintained stairs is treated very differently from a fall on stairs with a known, unrepaired defect.

Not necessarily. If the damage is worse than the adjuster thought, you or your contractor can ask the adjuster to raise the estimate, ideally with photos and a line-by-line comparison. If you still can't agree, many policies include an appraisal process, where each side hires an appraiser and an umpire settles differences.

Damage to your home from a fallen tree is typically covered under the dwelling portion of a standard homeowners policy, especially when wind or a storm caused the tree to come down. Removing the tree itself is often covered too, but usually only up to a fairly small dollar limit written into the policy. Whose yard the tree originally grew in usually doesn't change who pays, since most homeowners policies respond based on which structure was damaged, not who owned the tree.

You may be. Triple-I says most states will treat an uninsured contractor, subcontractor or their employees as your employee for workers comp purposes, so the claim can fall on your business. If you carry workers comp, it may respond. Rules vary by state, so report it to your insurer and check your state's rules.

Sudden and accidental water damage from a burst pipe is typically covered under a standard homeowners policy, including the resulting damage to floors, walls, and belongings. The cost of the pipe itself, however, is often treated differently, since insurance generally pays to repair the damage the water caused rather than to fix or replace the plumbing that failed. Coverage can also depend on how long the leak went undetected and whether the home was occupied at the time.

Damage from flying gravel is typically covered under comprehensive coverage, if you carry it, not collision. Your comprehensive deductible generally applies, so compare the repair cost with the deductible before claiming. Some policies or states offer glass coverage with a lower or no deductible, so check yours.