Paint damage: Does fully comprehensive insurance pay?
Paint damage is ugly and, in case of doubt, costs right Money. The question "Paint damage: Does fully comprehensive insurance pay?" is quite legitimate. A scratch on the bumper strikes with assembly, sanding and Painting costs up to 3,000 euros.
What are the effects of paint damage on fully comprehensive insurance?
As a reminder, fully comprehensive insurance covers damage caused by the driver himself or if the person who caused the damage cannot be determined or is not in a position to pay for the damage. The disadvantage of settling claims through fully comprehensive insurance is that the premium increases significantly in the next insurance year. The policyholder is classified higher in the no-claims class, with the consequence of rising premiums.
Unfortunately, damage to the paintwork cannot be regulated by partial comprehensive insurance. Even if it is vandalism damage, insurance cover only exists for glass damage.
In principle, an affected policyholder should therefore calculate whether the regulation justifies an increase in the insurance premium for the coming years, taking into account the deductible.
Paint damage: with a bit of luck just a trifle
It can happen that you leave traces in the paint with a harder object, such as the car key. Touch up pens help with such minor damage, conceal the scratch and are significantly cheaper than the increase in the price of the comprehensive insurance premium. It is precisely the minor damage that makes the inclusion of fully comprehensive insurance superfluous. The amount of the deductible exceeds the amount of damage. But this only refers to trivialities, not to bumpers or fenders that have to be removed, sanded down and completely repainted.
Paint damage by third parties: How do I behave correctly?
If the paint damage was caused by a third party, there are two possibilities:
- The perpetrator is known by name.
- The perpetrator remains "undiscovered".
In both cases, it is advisable to file a complaint with the police. This also applies if the person who caused the damage is standing directly next to the injured party. This is not about malice towards the other party, but about creating the necessary legal certainty for the injured party.
Perpetrator known
The person who caused the damage must pay for the damage. After examining the facts, his liability insurance will pay for the costs of repairing the damage to the paintwork. For the insurance company, reporting the damage to the police and documenting it is important.
Perpetrator unknown
If the cause of the damage is not known, the injured parties should also file a complaint. After all, this case is about property damage, possibly hit-and-run. With regard to the assumption of costs for the removal of the paint damage, however, the injured party only has the choice of paying for the damage himself or switching on his fully comprehensive insurance.
Paint damage caused by persons capable of committing a crime
As a rule, the term "capable of committing a crime" refers to children under the age of seven in the case of paint damage. If the parents have fulfilled their duty of supervision, there is no liability. The child is capable of committing an offence. In this case, there are again two possibilities:
- For the sake of good neighbourliness, the parents pay for the damage.
- The parents invoke the ability to commit an offence. The injured party must bear the costs of the repair themselves or, if available, use their fully comprehensive insurance.
The parents of children capable of committing a crime are only liable for damages if they have demonstrably violated their duty of supervision. However, the aggrieved vehicle owner can also be lucky. The child's parents have wisely taken out private liability insurance, which explicitly covers damages caused by persons capable of committing a crime. This then includes not only the children, but also parents who live in the household of the policyholder and can no longer weigh up the consequences of their actions, for example due to dementia.
Result
Comprehensive insurance covers the repair costs in the event of damage to the paintwork, provided that it is caused by the driver himself, by unknown third parties or by persons capable of committing an offence. The policyholder must use a calculator to determine whether the settlement by fully comprehensive insurance is worthwhile due to the future premium increase.
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