Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Damage to Your Car?

Homeowners insurance almost never pays for damage to your car, even when the car is sitting in your own garage or driveway when the damage happens. Standard homeowners forms list motor vehicles among the property they do not cover, and state regulators consistently point car owners to the auto policy instead. The Texas Department of Insurance, asked whether a vehicle is covered for fire, smoke, or explosion damage, answers yes, if you have comprehensive coverage, and it says the same about a tree falling on your car. The homeowners policy still matters in these events: it pays for the garage, the house, and the belongings inside the car. Here is how the two policies divide a loss at home.

Why the home policy excludes the car

A homeowners policy's personal property coverage is built around household contents. Washington's insurance regulator describes it as coverage for your furnishings and personal items, such as your TV, stereo, clothing, dishes, and similar belongings. Motor vehicles are carved out of that coverage in the standard forms, with narrow exceptions for things like lawn equipment used to service the residence. The logic is that cars have their own insurance market, with coverage priced on the vehicle, the driver, and where it is kept. Insuring the same car under two policies would double-count the risk, so the home form simply leaves it out.

The practical result is that where the car was parked does not change which policy responds. A car in an attached garage is treated the same as a car on the street: look to the auto policy.

What actually pays: comprehensive coverage

Comprehensive, which some policies call other-than-collision coverage, is the part of an auto policy that pays for damage not caused by a collision while driving. Fire, falling objects, theft, vandalism, hail, flooding, and animal damage all fall under it. Texas's regulator says a vehicle is covered for fire, smoke, or explosion damage if you have comprehensive, or other than collision, coverage, and in a separate column says that if a tree falls on your car, your auto insurance will pay for damage if you have comprehensive coverage. If you carry liability-only insurance on the car, neither policy pays for the car itself.

Comprehensive claims carry the deductible shown on your auto policy's declarations page. There is no fault to argue about in most of these events, so the claim is usually straightforward: document the damage, report it to your auto insurer, and let the adjuster inspect the vehicle.

Common at-home scenarios, policy by policy

• Garage fire that damages the house and the car: the homeowners policy pays for the structure and the contents of the garage, and the auto policy's comprehensive coverage pays for the car. You will file two claims with two companies, each with its own deductible.
• Tree or branch falls on the car in your driveway: auto comprehensive. If the tree was your neighbor's, Texas's regulator notes their homeowners policy might pay only if the neighbor was somehow at fault. Otherwise it is your own auto claim.
• Belongings stolen from or destroyed in the car: this is the reverse case. Texas's regulator says a personal automobile policy generally does not cover personal property, while most homeowners policies provide coverage for personal property in your vehicle. Laptops, tools, and luggage taken from a car are a homeowners or renters claim, subject to that policy's deductible and any limits on specific items.
• Someone crashes into your garage or house: damage to the building is a homeowners claim. California's residential insurance guide lists vehicles among the perils typically covered when they cause damage to the home, and the at-fault driver's liability insurance is the other source of recovery. Damage to your own parked car in the same crash falls on the driver's liability policy if the driver is identified, or on your own collision or uninsured motorist property damage coverage if not.
• Hail, flood, or wind damage to a car at home: auto comprehensive. The homeowners policy covers the house under its own terms, and flood damage to the house is excluded from standard homeowners policies entirely.

When the auto policy does not pay either

The gap opens when a car has liability-only coverage. Owners of older vehicles often drop comprehensive to save money, which can be a reasonable choice, but it means a garage fire or a fallen tree is an uninsured loss on the car. The homeowners policy will not step in. If a third party caused the damage, such as a contractor or a neighbor whose negligence can be shown, their liability coverage is the remaining avenue. Otherwise the cost is yours.

Filing when both the home and the car are damaged

• Report to both insurers promptly, and tell each one the other claim exists. Adjusters coordinate when the cause is shared.
• Photograph the scene before cleanup, including where the car sat relative to the house, the tree, or the fire's origin.
• Keep the car available for the auto adjuster's inspection and do not authorize repairs beyond what is needed to prevent further damage.
• Expect two deductibles. Each policy applies its own, and neither insurer waives its deductible because the other policy also paid.
• If a neighbor's tree or a third party's negligence is involved, give both adjusters the details so they can pursue recovery from the responsible party.

Treat your car as a separate insured object no matter where it is parked. Damage to the car at home is a comprehensive claim on your auto policy, the house and garage are a homeowners claim, and the belongings inside the car come back around to the homeowners policy. If you own a car you would want repaired after a fire or a fallen tree, the only coverage that does that is comprehensive on the auto policy.