What To Do If Someone Crashes Into Your Garage Door
No matter how “smart” they are, garage doors can’t get out of the way, so it is a miracle that they don’t get crashed into more often. With all the ‘wrong way drivers’ you hear about in the news these days, distracted drivers who are too in love with their smart phone to pay attention to what is going on, and just plain lousy drivers out there, a crashed-in garage door, while rare, is still a serious possibility worthy of insurance coverage. Lucky for you, most San Antonio garage door installers will remove a damaged garage door for you when installing a new one. If you’ve had your door crashed into, here are some helpful tips to guide you through the process of putting your garage back together.
Will Insurance Pay for a Garage Door Crash?
In a best-case scenario, both the car and the home are insured. If the driver of the offending vehicle is not also the homeowner, then their car insurance should be expected to cover the total cost. Lots of car insurance policies cover up to twenty-thousand dollars’ worth of damage to property while driving, and most garage doors cost much less than that. Still, if the car insurance coverage can’t cover the entire bill, your home insurance can take care of the balance.
Of course, everyone, homeowners and motorists, should check their insurance policies as soon as possible. You do not really want to learn the inconvenient particulars of a policy after something bad has happened!
What if You are at Fault for the Crashed Garage Door?
This is going to be very embarrassing, for sure, but hey, you are not alone. You will be able to get your car insurance company to pay for damage to your vehicle, but not your house. It is the homeowner’s insurance that covers the garage door in this situation.
High Deductibles
Your deductible is likely to go up if you have filed a different claim recently. Because of this, you should do the math and decide if it is better to handle your costs out of pocket and refrain from filing a claim.
Keep it Simple
- Know both your car and home insurance policies before anything happens
- Document everything
- Assess the value in filing a claim versus paying out of pocket to prevent premiums from rising
- File the claim if the benefits outweigh the negatives
- See if there is anything that can be done to prevent this from happening again (add a fence or bushes to perimeter, pay more attention when driving, etc.)
When an accident with your garage door happens, Helotes Overhead Garage Doors is here to provide emergency garage door repair and installation services across the greater San Antonio area. Our team is experienced in dealing with just about every garage door issue imaginable, and has some of the best doors available to get your garage looking good as new in no time. Call our team today to get a free quote, or use our contact form to reach out to us today.
