I Hit My Own Car With My Other Car: Does Insurance Cover It?

If you back one of your cars into the other, the damage to each car is a collision claim on that car's own coverage, each with its own deductible. Your liability coverage will not pay for either one, because liability is written to cover damage you cause to other people's property, and both cars are yours. If you carry liability only, nothing on the policy pays, and the repair is out of pocket. Whether to file at all depends on the repair estimates against your deductibles and on what an at-fault claim does to your premium at renewal.

Why liability does not apply

Every regulator describes liability the same way. North Carolina's insurance department says property damage liability pays when you are at fault and cause damage to someone else's car or property. Texas's insurance department defines liability insurance as paying for injuries to the other party and damages to the other vehicle in an accident you caused, and California's glossary calls it insurance that helps pay for injuries and damage to others. A car titled to you, or to someone in your household, is not someone else's property. Personal auto policies are also written with an exclusion for property owned by or in the care of the insured, and that is the clause an adjuster will point to if you try to claim your second car under liability.

This holds even when the two cars are on different policies, and even when a spouse or child was driving the car that did the hitting. The question is who owns the damaged car, not who was behind the wheel. If the damaged car belongs to a roommate or a visiting friend, that is a different situation: it is their property, and your liability coverage can respond to a claim from them.

What collision coverage does

Collision is the coverage that pays here. Texas's regulator says collision pays for damage to your car without regard to who caused the accident, up to the car's actual cash value, minus your deductible. North Carolina's describes it as paying for damage to your car from a collision with another car or an object. Both of your cars qualify, as long as each one carries collision. Collision is bought per vehicle, so it is common for a household to carry it on the newer car and skip it on the older one. In that case the newer car's damage is covered and the older car's is not.

Each car's claim is its own claim with its own deductible. If both cars need work, expect to pay two deductibles. Texas's guide gives the general example: a $1,500 collision claim with a $500 deductible pays $1,000. Run that math on each car separately before you decide to file.

Both cars on the same policy

A multi-car policy does not merge the cars for claim purposes. Each vehicle is listed with its own coverages and deductibles, and a collision between two of them is two physical damage claims on the same policy. Some insurers have specific wording for one insured vehicle striking another, so ask your company how it handles the situation before you assume. What you should not expect is a liability payment from one listed car to the other; the ownership exclusion applies across the whole policy.

Should you file at all?

This is usually the real question. An at-fault collision claim, even a small one, goes on your record. Texas's insurance department says companies can raise your premium if you have had accidents, and California's says that if you are at least 51 percent at fault, your premium can go up at renewal. Washington's regulator notes that insurers look at the number of claims you have filed and could even nonrenew a policy after a claim. A crash between two of your own cars is about as clearly at-fault as it gets.

• Get a written repair estimate for each car before calling the insurer.
• Subtract each car's deductible from its estimate. If the remainder is small, paying out of pocket is often cheaper over the next few renewals.
• If one car is badly damaged, file for that one and consider paying for the other yourself, since each claim counts.
• If either car is financed, remember that the lender expects it repaired and insured; Texas's guide notes lenders require collision and comprehensive on a car with a loan.
• Treat cosmetic damage, such as a scuffed bumper or curb rash on a wheel, the way you would any small claim: it rarely clears the deductible.

If you hit your house, fence, or garage too

Liability will not pay for your own structure either, for the same ownership reason. Damage to your home from your own car is a question for your homeowners policy. Call your home insurer, describe what happened, and ask how the policy treats damage caused by a vehicle you own. Keep the house damage and the car damage as separate conversations with the right insurer for each, and do not assume one claim covers both.

Reporting the accident

A collision between two of your own cars on your own property with no injuries rarely needs a police report, though your insurer may still ask for one if you file, and some states require a report above a damage threshold regardless of where the crash happened. If you do file a claim, report it promptly, take photos of both cars and the spot where it happened, and give a straight account. Treat the driveway the same as the street: the location does not change which coverage applies, any more than it would if you hit a wall or hit a parked car that belonged to someone else.

Hitting your own car with your other car is a collision claim, or two of them, never a liability claim. Each car needs its own collision coverage and pays its own deductible, a liability-only policy pays nothing, and because the crash is plainly your fault, filing can cost you at renewal. Get estimates, do the deductible math per car, file for the damage that is worth it, and pay for the rest yourself.