If you get hurt from a car accident, do not expect that the insurance company for the driver who hit you will make it easy for you to receive compensation. There could be a variety of reasons used to deny your claim, such as claiming your accident resulted from an act of God.
This rationale might cost you compensation since the insurer is asserting that outside events caused your crash. However, you may still have options to proceed.
The definition of an act of God
An “act of God” is an unexpected natural disaster or event that human beings cannot control. Common examples are earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes. Insurance companies use this term to describe these catastrophic events that cause damage or loss that policyholders are not able to prevent.
Acts of God as coverage exclusions
Car insurance policies describe different events that do not qualify for coverage. These may include a refusal to cover damage stemming from something out of human control.
For example, if a tree branch breaks off during a windstorm and falls on a parked car, the owner could not have prevented that. So the insurance company may deny a claim under the act of God exclusion. This logic can also extend to acts of God causing auto accidents.
Comprehensive policies may provide coverage
Some drivers carry optional comprehensive coverage as part of their auto insurance policy, which may include protection against acts of God. Comprehensive coverage pays for damage to a policyholder’s vehicle that results from events other than a collision, including falling objects, fire, theft, vandalism and weather events.
Therefore, even if the at-fault driver has liability coverage that excludes acts of God, their comprehensive insurance may cover the damage. When you file a claim after an accident, find out if the at-fault driver carries comprehensive coverage. This policy provision may provide you the compensation you deserve even if unforeseeable causes played a part in the crash.
Statistics from the state of Alabama showed that every 13 minutes and 50 seconds in the year 2020, someone incurred injuries from a traffic collision. So any driver in the state should understand how an insurer might try to argue against fulfilling a claim and what strategies may be available to secure damages.
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