Does Car Insurance Cover Scratches and Dents?

It might be easy for you to decide whether or not to file a claim in case your car gets damaged in a major accident. But what if it’s a minor accident with just a few dents and scratches to your vehicle? Does your insurance policy cover such damages? Is it even worth filing a claim for the same? 

Your insurance policy may cover minor damages, but it may not be cost-effective every time to get the repair expenses paid by the insurance company. Sometimes, you can choose to pay for your losses if you can get them fixed at a reasonable cost. As per experts, this is a cost-effective move. 

Does Car Insurance Cover Scratches and Dents?

Minor damages including scratches and dents may deface the paint of the vehicle or lead to flaws in the looks, but do not affect its functionality. So, damages like getting your car keyed or hit by road debris and more leave a mark on your car. These marks are not that significant that stop you from driving the vehicle or make you take your vehicle to the repair shop immediately. 

Such losses are usually covered by comprehensive or collision insurance coverage. But make sure you consider the deductibles before filing a claim to check that it benefits you. Keep reading to check the types of scratches and dents that your insurance policy covers and does not cover.

Types of Dents and Scratches Car Insurance Covers

Here are some possible types of scratches and dents covered by a car insurance policy in the UAE. 

1. Scratchy Bumper: In case you bump into another vehicle and end up scratching your own bumper, the car insurance company will cover it for you. Such damages are covered under collision coverage. Even your insurance company will pay for the damage to the other party as well. 
2. A Deer Dent: Any type of animal damages, including dents and scratches caused to a vehicle are covered under a comprehensive car insurance policy. Even a little animal can cause huge damage to your vehicle in case of an unfortunate accident. 
3. Car Wires Chewed by a Squirrel: In case your car wires are damaged and it is inoperable with minor scratches, your comprehensive car insurance policy covers it. You can easily get in touch with one of the network garages partnered with your car insurance company and get the same repaired with great ease.
4. When Your Car Gets Keyed: Comprehensive car insurance policies in the UAE cover activities like vandalism, damaging your car doors, spray painting, breaking the windows when trying to break in, and more done by an unknown third party.
5. A Car Hit by Road Debris: Comprehensive car insurance also covers damage caused by unfortunate incidents hitting a rock, cargo, or other road debris. However, damage caused by you on hitting an object lying on the road, let’s say a rock or other car’s bumper, it will be categorised as a collision loss. You can also check with your insurer to get additional glass coverage to cover damages like cracks on your windows or damaged windshield glass. The add-on is available with a lower deductible or no deductible with most insurance companies in the UAE.

Types of Dents and Scratches Car Insurance Does Not Cover

Here are some possible scenarios when scratches and dents are not covered by a car insurance policy in the UAE. 

1. Not Having a Comprehensive Car Insurance Policy: It is mandatory to have a car insurance policy for every car owner in the UAE. But what if you have a minimum liability insurance policy that does not cover your own car damages? Minimum liability insurance policies in the UAE only pay for the third-party repair and medical expenses in case their car gets hit by yours and gets damaged. It does not provide coverage for even minor scratches or dents on your car.
2. Normal Wear and Tear Damages: When your car gets old, it starts to pick up occasional dings, even if you drive it carefully. The car insurance policies in the UAE do not cover such losses and damages.
3. Intentional Cause of a Scratch or Dent: In case you get annoyed for reasons like getting a ticket, for example, you may kick your vehicle and create a dent. Car insurance companies do not approve claims raised for such damages. 
4. Claims Not Reported on Time: In case you make a delay in reporting the claim and the damage becomes old, you may not get paid by the insurance company. The car insurance companies in the UAE have set specific limits for how far back they are going to settle the claim for the damage that occurred. Even if you do not remember the exact time the damage took place, but you still should be able to provide the date and the given circumstances. 
5. Damages Caused in a Non-Covered Location: In case you are driving in a non-covered location and end up causing scratches or dents on your car. The car insurance company will not cover such losses. You would need to buy a country-specific insurance policy to pay for those damages. 

Should You Raise an Insurance Claim for a Scratch or a Dent?

Sometimes even if you have the scratches and dents covered in your insurance policy, you should not file a claim for the same. This is because filing a claim may lead you to an increase in the insurance premium. So, if the damage is minor, you must try to fix it all by yourself. It may cause you even more to pay the amount of a deductible. 

For example, you get a scratch on your car that you can get repaired in around AED 100. Reporting an insurance claim for such instances wouldn’t make any sense if your deductible costs you AED 500. However, if the expenses for the repair cost are more than the cost of the deductible, you can consider filing a claim and getting the same paid by your insurance company.

In case you have hit a third-party car or if there are any injuries in the accident, you must also report the same to the police and get an accident report created before filing an insurance claim. In case the injuries and damages caused are minor, you can try settling the matter with the other driver and avoid involving the insurance company into it at all.

The Bottom Line

We hope this article helped you find answers to your queries. To get more clarity on the types of scratches or dents your insurance policy covers, you can contact our help and support team. We are also there if you want to buy a comprehensive car insurance policy to cover all types of damages and losses. You can simply give us a call and get all things sorted at once. Our professionals will analyse your needs and advise accordingly.