Car Insurance In Mississippi

Reader’s Question:

My girlfriend’s place here in Mississippi is often flooded when it rains hard and I’m worried that if I fetch her, my car would break down. In case this happens, would my insurance coverage pay for the damages in my car?

Bob

Jackson, MS

One of the factors that determine what your auto insurance premium should be is the risk that there is in the environment where you “regularly” go to or park your vehicle. If you and your girlfriend go out together before you got your car insurance, you may have to inform your car insurance agent about it. You have to know that small details like this matter much to insurance companies since it puts your vehicle to a situation wherein you may make a claim because your vehicle might suffer damages. However, normally, insurance companies cover claims like yours only if you have what they call a “comprehensive coverage.” This means that your insurance covers your vehicle for losses that may result from incidents other than collision. Such incidents may include falling objects, explosion or missiles, fire, earthquake, storms and hails, theft, malicious mischief, riot or civil commotion, collision with animals, and in your case flooding. In case any of these happens to your car while it is under a comprehensive coverage, the insurance company would pay you an amount equivalent to how much you need to get your car fixed. However, if your insurance company arrives in the decision of “totaling” your car, it would pay you your car’s cash value instead. Of course, the company would have to take into consideration your car’s depreciation and thus deduct it to what you declared as its initial actual value.