State road crews are hustling to patch a deluge of potholes left in the wake of the recent winter storms. Potholes are all around and they are probably more dangerous or expensive to you than you imagine. Vehicles that ram potholes can have damage that can run into the thousands. They’re also deadly! A motorcycle rider hit a pothole in our town last week and was killed when he was thrown from his cycle.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation is using all of its available manpower to repair the damage done to interstates and state highways as quickly as it can. TDOT spokeswoman Heather Jensen said the weather created a “worst-case scenario” for road conditions, and crews are already being called to make emergency repairs.

“We had two prolonged events with not just snow, but ice as well, which cakes on the roadway and then, of course, it’s a combination of freeze/thaw cycles, the chemicals that we use to get the ice and snow off the roads and then, of course, traffic,” Jensen said.

Question: Does my insurance cover my car if I had damage from hitting a pothole!?

Answer: In the auto insurance industry, a road hazard can be anything in or on the surface of the road dangerous to you as a driver or cause you to have an auto accident. That could be a pothole, a nail, oil, a tree, construction debris , a deer running into the roadway or myriad other foreign objects that you can hit, or that can hit you.

Certainly, car insurance companies want you to be a safe, defensive driver who is observant and on the lookout for dangers on the roadway that may cause damage to your vehicle and avoid these perils if possible. Your auto insurance provider knows that avoidance isn’t always possible and that you may need to make a claim under your physical damage coverage if you hit a road hazard.

For instance, potholes aren’t always seen or unavoidable, but you can easily end up with a punctured tire, misaligned steering or damage to the underside of your vehicle. Car insurance policies will cover such damages under your collision coverage if the damage is more than your collision deductible amount.

Whether a road hazard accident will fall under your collision or comprehensive coverage depends upon how the incident occurred.

If you hit a fallen tree or big rock in the road, then it’s a collision claim because you collided with the object. Instead, if the tree fell on your vehicle or a boulder rolled onto the hood of your vehicle, then most auto insurers would find the accident to be a comprehensive claim.

Whatever the damage, if the cost of repairs is minimal, it might not be worth filing a claim with your auto insurance provider, either because it doesn’t reach your deductible amount or is barely above it.

While comprehensive claims don’t typically raise your rates, collision claims can, and either type of claim may get you surcharged by your insurer if you have accumulated several claims (of any type) within a short period of time.

At Benton White Insurance, we are always ready to help with information like this either from this blog or when you contact us by email or phone call. Education is important and knowing these types of answers in advance might save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in deductible or other claim expenses. EMAIL us at info@BentonWhite.com or call any of our staff at 615.377.1212 We’re here to help!

(a small segment of this blog post came from an article written by Holly Meyer with The Tennessean)