AS SEEN ON TV
Car trouble
One of the reasons why I did not risk life and limb to move my car to safety at the height of Typhoon Ondoy was overflowing confidence, that my auto insurance covered “Acts of God”. Being a new car, I presumed that it was covered by default, just as it was for theft or accidents.
I was wrong. So wrong.
The realization came a day after the floodwaters subsided. While I was being turned down by towing services due to the sheer number of cars (in worse condition than mine) waiting to be served, I skimmed through my insurance policy and there it was… the bad news in fine print: Force Majeur, not covered.
Car owners are now learning to appreciate the extra insurance premium for “Acts of God”. Thanks to Typhoon Ondoy, we are finally reviewing car insurance policies that have long gathered dust and mildew inside the glove compartment. I confess that if not for Ondoy I would not have known that I should pay extra for “Acts of God”. I thought all insurance policies cover damage by any event, natural or otherwise.
And I really have no excuse for not knowing.
Unlike my fellow victims in Manila (who fairly have no experience with flooded cars) I have friends in Iloilo who only a year ago experienced Typhoon Frank’s wrath which also damaged their vehicles. Ironically, I have inquired about the costs, the long lines at service centers, the painstaking wait for repairs, and the unsightly mud left by the floods. But I failed to ask the one question that mattered: Did insurance cover it?
I forgot. I presumed. I now learn my lesson.
So with a heavy heart (and a lighter pocket), I had to personally shell out for repairs which thankfully did not run to the hundreds of thousands that I had earlier anticipated, because the floodwaters did not reach the computer box. That alone would cost 50 to 80 grand.
It is perhaps one of the redeeming features of Mazda 3 whose computer box is encased behind the dashboard, a little higher than where the computer boxes of its Toyota or Honda counterparts are located, in the transmission panel.
All I had done were oil and filter change, engine wash and a major detailing job to dry out and deodorize the carpet and seats that smelled like an old gym bag someone forgot in the locker. Some of the panel indicators such as the SRS airbag and seatbelt alarms are also grounded but these can still be fixed. Later.
A friend who lives in Marikina was not as fortunate. Muddy waters submerged his CRV and Mazda 3 but only the latter had “Act of God” coverage. He’d have to pay for repairs on the CRV which could take months and cost a fortune. A colleague also lost a brand new CRV to floods (also in Marikina). She is lucky to have “Act of God” on her side and she may get a replacement soon. A former boss was not able to bring his vehicle to safety when flashfloods inundated the basement parking of his condo unit in Quezon City. The casualty was a brand new Volvo SUV which I hope is well insured.
At the ABS CBN main lobby parking over the weekend, I caught up with Financial Freedom guru Francisco Colayco, author of self-help best seller “Pera Mo Palaguin Mo” and head of Colayco Foundation for Education Incorporated. He told me that Typhoon Ondoy had indeed opened many Filipino eyes to the value of insurance. We do invest on a lot of things (even pyramiding schemes) but miss out on more intangible yet essential financial tools like good insurance.
“We need to invest (on insurance) to safeguard our other investments such as cars and houses, which to many, took a lifetime to acquire”, Colayco said. “And these insurance policies need to cover ‘Acts of God’, no matter how unlikely one thinks he would become a victim of floods or earthquakes,” he added.
In the age of global warming where the threat of fiercer natural calamities is more imminent, comprehensive car insurance is as essential as survival or first aid kits. We have always counted on insurance to protect our cars from careless drivers. It is time we also pay premium to cover natural calamity which I now reckon to be the more mindless, reckless destroyer.