Yes, comprehensive coverage will cover three slashed tires or any number of slashed tires.
Insurance will reimburse your damaged tires except when the cost of the three slashed tires exceeds your comprehensive deductible. You’d also have to explain what slashed the tires.
The popular misconception is that insurance doesn’t cover three slashed tires. Commonly, people say that you’d have to have all four slashed tires to file a slashed car tires claim.
But that’s not true.
Here, you’ll learn whether or not there’s insurance coverage for three slashed tires to debunk car tire coverage misinformation.
Does Insurance Cover Tire Damage?
Car insurance policies may cover tire damage – but partially.
Insurance (comprehensive or collision) doesn’t cover flat tires, tire damage from normal wear and tear. However, this might be covered by your manufacturer’s warranty, including other things like defects, road hazards, premature wear, and other types of damage.
Your car insurance policy covers tire damage only if you have comprehensive or collision coverage. But this coverage is only under certain conditions.
Depending on your insurer and state, your insurance policy will cover your tires and wheels from damage caused by the following:
- Theft or vandalism
- Poor roads or potholes
- Riot
- Driving under debris or tire spikes
- Other mishaps
Insurance coverage on tire damage is classified as below:
- Comprehensive coverage: protects tire damage caused to your car by circumstances other than car accidents. These circumstances can be vandalism, flood, hail, or theft.
- Collision coverage: offers protection from tire damage caused by an accident, for example, tire damage after getting hit by another car, potholes, debris, or road spikes.
You should check with your car insurance provider to learn the specifics of your comprehensive or collision coverage and ensure there’s coverage for damaged tires.
If you want coverage for more tires, you may consider a tire protection plan, usually from a tire dealer. Tire dealers and retailers offer protection plans that cover tires wear and tear up to a certain number of miles or years and damage caused by road hazards like rocks, spikes, and nails.
If you need coverage for more tires from your insurer, you can check with them for other tire protection plans.
Does Insurance Cover Slashed Tires?
Whether or not there’s insurance coverage for slashed tires depends on three things:
- The type of insurance coverage you have
- What caused the tire damage
- Your insurance company’s regulations about tire damage
Let’s talk about these three factors in detail.
The Type of Insurance Coverage You Have
Insurance coverage for slashed tires is available only under comprehensive insurance. But this depends on what caused the slashed tires and the insurer’s regulations on tire damage.
Insurers determine whether or not to pay for the slashed tires based on what happened. Your policy might have a detailed explanation as to why your claim could be denied.
So, will insurance cover your slashed tires?
Yes, insurance will cover your slashed tires as long as it falls under the covered damages.
As we’ve discussed above, insurers often classify slashed tires under vandalism and sometimes poor road conditions, which fall under comprehensive coverage.
Also, since comprehensive insurance is optional, you must have had it added to your car policy to have your insurance company pay for the replacement of your car’s slashed tires.
If you have basic car insurance coverage or minimum liability car insurance, you won’t be able to make a claim for slashed tires.
Besides, the amount of coverage that insurers put on slashed tires depends on each insurer’s policy specifics.
Is There Insurance Coverage For Three Slashed Tires?
Yes, if you have comprehensive insurance, your car insurance will cover your slashed tires – one, two, three, or all four tires.
There’s a typical insurance misconception that insurers won’t cover three slashed tires but only cover all four slashed tires. That’s not true.
You will benefit from insurance coverage for any number of slashed car tires, as long as you have the right coverage and your insurer included it in your policy.
How Does Insurance Cover Slashed Tires?
Below is how insurance coverage works for slashed tires.
- You must have comprehensive insurance, under which there’s insurance coverage for flat tires.
- Your insurers must agree to cover slashed tires and include the coverage in your policy statement.
- Unless the cost of replacing your slashed tires is more than your insurance deductible, it doesn’t make sense to file a claim for slashed tires.
How Do You File a Claim For Slashed Tires?
If you find your car tires slashed, you need to file a claim as soon as possible. First, your insurer will know that something happened, and you won’t miss the claim deadline, which can render your claim null.
Two things are involved here as well:
- What caused the damage?
- Your insurance deductible.
If your slashed tires resulted from vandalism or any other crime, you need to file a police report before filing an insurance claim.
Through the police report, you will have more information to share with the insurance company to make your claim valid and easy to approve.
You may also use the police report to file a vandalism or theft claim.
On the other hand, if the cost to replace your slashed tires is less than your insurance deductible, you wouldn’t need to file a claim. This is because it will be easier for you to pay for tire replacement out of your pocket than file an insurance claim.
But, as long as you qualify for a claim, proceed and file the claim. Never let the idea that a claim could increase your insurance premiums prevent you from claiming your slashed tires from your insurer.
It’s better to report the incident and file the claim than to leave an incident unreported. Let the insurance company tell you whether or not you qualify for the reimbursement.
Will You Get New Tires If The Insurer Funds Your Slashed Tires Claim?
Your comprehensive insurance offers coverage for new tires, but your insurance may only pay for the slashed tires’ depreciated value.
So, while you will get new tires, you may only get paid for tires of equal wear and tear to your slashed tires.
Insurance companies call this kind of payment “betterment” payment.
The intention is to return your car to the way it was before the tires were slashed. Doing this technically means replacing the tires with ones that have the same mileage and wear and tear.
But, since it’s doubtful that you’d want to replace your slashed tires with used ones, you’ll go for new ones. This way, you’ll end up with better tires than they were before the loss.
This is defined as betterment.
You may want to check with your insurer if they pay the current cash value or depreciated market value of the slashed tires. It is likely that this regulation is included in the policy statement.
Final Thoughts
Your insurer will not reimburse you for slashed tires if you don’t have the right coverage. You must have comprehensive insurance to qualify for coverage of slashed tires, and your insurance deductible must not be more than the cost of tire replacement. It doesn’t matter whether it is one slashed tire or three slashed tires. Your insurance coverage will reimburse your tires if they’re slashed.