Car fire - insurance

android-fan · 4 Feb 2022 at 07:48

My insurance company (Axa) opens at 9:00 so a quick question before they open (and I don't have access to my policy documents). In general, does fully comp insurance cover car fires?

Neighbour knocked on my door at around 4:30 p.m. yesterday, as they'd noticed smoke coming from my car, and sparks underneath. Smoke appeared to be coming from the boot so opened the boot and immediately closed as full of flames

Called 999, fire engine turns up 10 minutes later and put the fire out in the boot. They did some checks and suggested electrical fault (electrical loom running in the boot next to the location of the fire). They've disconnected the battery and there is hole in my boot where the fire was.

Car is not worth much now (15 year old BMW 520d) but wondering how my insurance will view this? Will it be covered under insurance?

teenwolf · 4 Feb 2022 at 07:49

Sounds deliberate
Yes insurance will come and investigate the car and you

android-fan · 4 Feb 2022 at 08:08

Hopefully that was tongue in cheek.

Know issue apparently

https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/fire-from-battery-lead-on-my-e60-530d.610618/
https://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/66198-e60e61-recall/
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-17514172

peterwalkley · 4 Feb 2022 at 08:09

I'd hope so ! Isn't the bare minimum insurance you need commonly referred to as "third party, fire and theft".

Good luck, this car market is not one I'd want to be needing to get a replacement in

OldKitMan · 4 Feb 2022 at 08:11

peterwalkley said:
I'd hope so ! Isn't the bare minimum insurance you need commonly referred to as "third party, fire and theft".

Good luck, this car market is not one I'd want to be needing to get a replacement in

only good thing at the moment is market value is high so you get a higer payout from the insurance co.

tom_e · 4 Feb 2022 at 08:21

OldKitMan said:
only good thing at the moment is market value is high so you get a higer payout from the insurance co.

It's only good if you don't need to buy another one.

android-fan · 4 Feb 2022 at 08:29

I spent £500 on getting it through the MOT literally a week ago which is not great timing. At that point I'd been debating scrapping it (£420 scrap value which is also ridiculously high) but last minute decided to repair as could not find another car at the right price.

teenwolf · 4 Feb 2022 at 08:31

android-fan said:
I spent £500 on getting it through the MOT literally a week ago which is not great timing. At that point I'd been debating scrapping it (£420 scrap value which is also ridiculously high) but last minute decided to repair as could not find another car at the right price.

again another red flag right there

Hagar · 4 Feb 2022 at 08:59

Is it worth the excess and the future premium hit? A wiring loom fire sounds expensive to fix.

Resident · 4 Feb 2022 at 09:06

peterwalkley said:
I'd hope so ! Isn't the bare minimum insurance you need commonly referred to as "third party, fire and theft".

Good luck, this car market is not one I'd want to be needing to get a replacement in

You can get 3rd Party without fire/theft although many insurers have now dropped this as an option.

android-fan · 4 Feb 2022 at 09:56

So the first response from Axa was that fire is not covered unless caused by an accident... She then decided to "double-check" and came back and confirmed that fire is covered unless caused by negligence. So their specialist fire department will be in touch to asses the claim. I'm sure @teenwolf will be pleased to hear that

brendy · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:07

I guess if you received a recall notice (my wife received a couple of different recall notes for her 320d regarding battery management parts in the boot), itll depend if you actioned them.

teenwolf · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:08

android-fan said:
So the first response from Axa was that fire is not covered unless caused by an accident... She then decided to "double-check" and came back and confirmed that fire is covered unless caused by negligence. So their specialist fire department will be in touch to asses the claim. I'm sure @teenwolf will be pleased to hear that

oh oh they smell a rat

bloodiedathame · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:11

Fire not covered unless caused by an accident. What a load of *********. Insurance companies really are the lowest of the low.

dlockers · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:13

As long as they don't open the boot and see a VIBE 10000W SUB and loads of random unfused wiring, you'll be fine.

muon · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:15

bloodiedathame said:
Fire not covered unless caused by an accident. What a load of *********. Insurance companies really are the lowest of the low.

Problem is it is obviously a maintenance issue or a manufacturer fault. Why would insurance cover that.

But was corrected to negligence which is basically the same thing.

Insurance is there to cover accidents and things caused by third parties.

On Holiday · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:27

It really is not safe to assume that insurance will pay out for fires caused by electrical or mechanical fault. Read your policy and you'll have your answer.

Janesy B · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:29

Edit**

You won't be covered if it's this, which sucks.

18. Loss or damage caused by any mechanical, electrical, computer breakdown, failure or
breakage.

SonicSW20 · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:33

On Holiday said:
It really is not safe to assume that insurance will pay out for fires caused by electrical or mechanical fault. Read your policy and you'll have your answer.

Read mine and it makes no distinction between various causes of a fire.

android-fan · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:40

Sent pictures to them of the damage (and the rest of the car). They'll decide if it's repairable or write off.