The Coming Cold: Car Insurance Reminders Before Icy Weather Hits

Allstate Insurance warns: winter is coming (not in the Game-of-Thrones sense).

The insurer is telling you that your car needs a checkup before icy conditions spread across the U.S.

Those conditions may already be here, with Montana meteorologist Mike Rawlins predicting that scattered snow showers will come to Big Sky Country later this week.

So Online Auto Insurance (OAI) introduces this two-parter to help you review your insurance and maintenance needs before the coming cold takes hold.

Tune in Thursday for the second part of “The Coming Cold” that will contain reminders about car maintenance when icy weather hits.

A Car Insurance Checkup

Sandy Praeger, commissioner of the Kansas Insurance Department, issued an advisory this month from her Commissioner’s Corner and said that, overall, “vehicle policies provide basic protection, but some policies provider a broader range of coverages than others.”

From her Corner, Praeger said: “It’s best to know what your individual policy contains.”

• “Vehicle coverage for winter-related accidents involving snow removal could be covered through collision coverage,” Praeger said. ”Check with your agent for details.”
• OAI says that crashes into objects (like skidding on an icy road and into a guard rail) are covered by the collision coverage part of your policy if you have it, and that deductibles apply.
• “Hail damage can occur during the winter months as well,” Praeger said. “I encourage you to talk to your agent about vehicle … policies for hail coverage.”
• OAI says that hail- and weather-related damage (like hail pock-marking your roof or tree branches breaking your windshield) is covered by the comprehensive coverage part of your policy if you have it, and that deductibles apply.

Both comprehensive and collision are add-ons when you buy auto coverage, but those who have it will be thankful when a cold-caused car crash comes around.

But it’s not just the cold that can cause a crash. During fall, drivers should also be wary of deer that are out in full force as the season peaks for deer-vehicle crashes. Drivers caught up in such crashes will rely on comprehensive coverage.

The Insurance Information Institute (III) offers this valuable guide to not being caught off-guard if you crash into the antlered critters.