Strong winds, heavy rain, flooding and hail can all damage your car in autumn. To reduce the risk, avoid parking under trees in strong winds, never drive through floodwater, and check your tyres, lights and windscreen regularly.
If your car is damaged, take photos if it’s safe and contact your insurer as soon as you can. If you’re a Policy Expert customer, report the incident to us as soon as you can.
Strong winds, heavy rain, flooding and hail can all cause problems for your car in autumn. Knowing where the main risks are can help you avoid damage and know what to do if the weather does catch you out.
Take extra care in strong winds
Falling branches are one of the more obvious risks when the wind picks up. If strong winds are forecast, avoid parking under trees or close to anything that could fall onto your car where you can.
Strong gusts can also affect your car while you’re driving, particularly on exposed roads. Slow down and leave more room around cyclists, motorbikes and high-sided vehicles.If you can’t avoid driving in severe weather, before setting off check your route for road closures or areas that may be affected by fallen trees or flooding.
Avoid driving through floodwater
If flooding is expected and it’s safe to move your car, try to park away from low-lying areas or somewhere less likely to flood. If you come across floodwater while driving, turn around and find another route. It can be difficult to tell how deep the water is or what condition the road is in underneath.
There can also be insurance implications. Deliberately driving into floodwater can affect whether damage to your car is covered, so don’t take the risk. Our Bronze, Silver and Gold car insurance policies exclude deliberate or intentional damage, which may include driving through a body of water or flood.
Give your car an autumn check
Wet roads and darker journeys make it worth keeping an eye on a few parts of your car. Check that your tyres are in good condition, your lights are working and your windscreen gives you a clear view. Clear away leaves that collect around the windscreen and other drainage areas, and check your car after particularly bad weather for cracks, dents or other damage.
If something doesn’t look right, deal with it before your next journey rather than waiting for the problem to get worse.
Does car insurance cover autumn weather damage?
If autumn weather damages your car, whether you can claim will depend on what happened and the car insurance cover you have. Our Bronze, Silver and Gold policies include accidental damage cover for your car in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. You’ll usually need to pay the excess shown in your policy documents. An excess is the amount you pay towards a claim.
Silver and Gold also include windscreen and glass cover. This covers broken glass in your windscreen or windows and, where needed, the cost of recalibrating driver-assist technology linked to the windscreen. Bronze customers can choose to add windscreen cover as an upgrade. Always check your own policy documents to see the cover and excesses that apply to you.
What to do if your car is damaged
If your car is damaged by bad weather, don’t arrange repairs straight away. Take photos of the damage and what caused it, if it’s safe to do so.
If you’re a Policy Expert customer, report the incident to us as soon as you can. If your car isn’t safe to drive and the claim is covered, we can arrange for it to be collected.
If your car can be repaired through one of our approved repairers:
- you won’t need to get your own repair estimates
- we’ll agree the repair costs directly with the repairer
- we’ll provide a courtesy car while your car is being repaired, subject to availability
- approved repairs are guaranteed for 3 years
- we’ll cover recalibration of your Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) where it’s needed as part of the repair.
If you have car insurance with us and autumn weather has damaged your car, start or manage your claim online.
