What to do if your car suffers flood damage

What to do if your car is flooded

Misjudging the depth of floodwater can happen to anyone. If your car is stuck in floodwater, your first priority should be ensuring the safety of you and any passengers.

However, if you manage to drive away from a flooded road, your vehicle could still be impacted.

If you're stuck in floodwater, you should turn off your car, get to a safe place and call for help. Immediately turn off your engine, disconnect the vehicle's battery and do not use any of its electronic features.

Keeping the engine running could cause major damage if water enters the combustion chambers. This is known as hydrolock and can cause the engine to seize up and stop running.

Once you're safe, it's important to take photos and videos of the damage as evidence.

Then call your breakdown cover provider (if you have it). They can help tow your car out of the flooded area. If not, a local garage may be able to help tow you for a fee.

Driving through a flooded area not only poses a risk to your own safety, but to those around you. If you enter a large body of water, you could be swept away. Doing so could land you with a significant fine if you're deemed to be driving negligently.

Will car insurance cover flood damage?

If you have a fully comprehensive car insurance policy, you should typically have some form of flood damage cover. Other car insurance policy types, like third-party, or third-party, fire and theft, don't tend to include this type of cover.

If you're unsure, check your car insurance policy documents.

Whether a car insurance policy can cover you for flood damage largely depends on whether damage to your vehicle was 'avoidable' or 'unavoidable'.

Let's say, for example, your car is affected by a flood while parked in your usual space outside your home. In this instance, your policy would still cover you.

However, if you knowingly attempt to drive through a flooded stretch of road and break down, this can be deemed as avoidable by your insurer. As a result, your insurer might reject aany claim you make for flood damage.

What damage can flooding cause to a car?

Flooding can cause significant damage to your vehicle. Issues can arise immediately, but some aren't awlays apparent straight away.

Hydrolock and damage to a fuel tank aren't visible unless they impact how you drive and create unusual noise. But they can cause further problems if left unaddressed.

In addition, flood damage can result in:

• Rusted suspension joints

• Mould or rust

• Malfunctioning brakes

• Damaged lights, parking sensors and cameras

• Rot on door seals

• Contaminated oils, petrol and other fluids

• Indicators and sensors not working properly

Some of these issues may only affect the appearance of the car, whereas others affect the normal function of your vehicle.

In any case, it's important to have your vehicle assessed by a mechanic. Even minor problems can put your safety at risk and those around you on the road.

How to file a flood insurance claim for your car

You should contact your insurer immediately if you suspect your vehicle has been damaged by flooding. In the meantime, do not attempt to fix any issues. Doing so could put your claim at risk.

Typically, your insurer should arrange an appointment with an approved mechanic to assess the vehicle for any damage.

Following the assessment, your insurer should contact you with a decision. They may provide you with a report from a loss adjuster outlining the issues and decide to repair the vehicle, but they could write it off.

Before you contact your insurer to make a claim, make sure to have the following on hand:

• Your car insurance policy details

• The registration of your vehicle

• A location of where the incident occurred

• Photos and videos of the incident and any damage

Once you've provided the above details, your insurer will outline the next steps of your claim. If your car was towed, or you have any expenses relating to the emergency, make sure you keep your receipts.

You could claim for any personal possessions in your car when it was damaged by a flood, too. But this depends on whether you have personal possessions cover through your car insurance, home insurance or a standalone policy.

Your personal possessions insurance policy may contain exclusions, so be sure to read through your policy documents. It's sometimes included as a car insurance add-on, so it's worth checking whether you have cover.

Will my flood-damaged car be a write-off?

Before you jump to conclusions, a car affected by flood damage isn't automatically written off. Insurers typically assess the cost of repairs against a vehicle's market value.

If a vehicle is too expensive to repair based on its value, it can be classed as a write-off. If this happens, the insurer may pay out an agreed amount to the owner.

Written-off vehicles are assessed and categorised based on the damage they've suffered. Your vehicle may fall into one of the following categories:

Category A (cannot be salvaged): The vehicle is too damaged or too old to be repaired and cannot be salvaged. The vehicle has suffered extensive damage, and its parts cannot be reused. The whole vehicle should be crushed.

Category B (cannot be repaired): The vehicle is too damaged or old to be repaired and returned to roadworthy condition for use. Some parts may be recycled and reused if they're removed by a qualified expert.

Category N (non-structural damage): Most flood-damaged cars fall into Category N. These vehicles have suffered non-structural damage and can be repaired. However, the insurer has deemed the cost of repairs may exceed the car's current market value.

category S (structural damage): These vehicles have sustained structural damage but can be repaired. The insurer has decided that the cost of repairs may exceed the car's market value.

All of the above categories are examples of an insurer declaring your vehicle as a total loss. As a result, your car insurance provider will pay out an agreed fee minus your car insurance excess amounts.

You may have the option of maintaining your existing policy but transferring it to a new vehicle.

However, if you decide to cancel your policy, it's unlikely that you'll receive a refund for any remaining months of cover. That's because a claim will have already been processed and completed with a payout.