PhilippinesCarInsurance

The ownership of a car may be full of confusion. Insurance is a way of safeguarding our finances and investment any time anything happens. In general, an insurance policy covers various aspects, however, there are add-ons that you can opt to guarantee more sense of security to get more protection.

By being vigilant in driving and parking our vehicles, we can minimize risks. There are nevertheless incidents outside our control sphere, such as natural disasters or calamities. In the insurance industry, these events are referred to as “Acts of Nature” or, more religiously, “Acts of God.” It is a common misunderstanding that this feature is included in a comprehensive insurance policy, but not all policies are equally represented and some firms do not always include it in the basic plans of their products. So, whether you purchase your insurance online or otherwise, consider acts of nature as a key add-on.

We think “acts of God” is a word with an ominous tone, but despite how it sounds, it doesn’t really mean to blame God for an incident. So, what does that mean?

The “Act of God” generally refers to any natural catastrophe that can not be anticipated or avoided by humans. Stuff we can not avoid include any natural disasters, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, hail, lightning, windstorms, and, of course, hurricanes. That is why “acts of God” are often called acts of nature or natural disasters.

Many insurers will cover natural disasters and other “acts of God” protected by extensive coverage. This usually also involves robbery and vandalism and can include allotments for stolen or damaged property stored inside your cars, such as clothing, valuables, or custom stereo equipment. Unless occurrences are expressly omitted, this is where payment is made for the acts of God or nature.

What Is Car Insurance And How Does It Work In The Philippines?

Car insurance is first and foremost mandated by law before you are permitted to drive your car on a public road. Secondly, your car insurance protects you financially if you have injuries or losses to your vehicle. The insurance policy is your financial arrangement with the insurance broker, covering you from substantial financial losses.

The amount of cover you receive from your car insurance policy is calculated by the annual premium you pay and the options included in your plan. At a minimum, all car owners are required to obtain a Compulsory Third Party Liability Insurance (CTPL), covering death and injury to third parties and, at a minimum, covering the driver and passengers. Many owners of a car are searching for extra cover and opt for a comprehensive policy to compensate for financial damages incurred by physical damage, bodily harm caused by a vehicle crash, robbery, fire, or other damage that may result from injuries within a vehicle.

A responsible owner of a vehicle should secure himself against maintenance costs of cars, hospitalization fees, and other vehicle owners.

Property – such as damage to or theft of your car

Liability – your legal responsibility to others for bodily injury or property damage

Medical – the cost of treating injuries, rehabilitation, and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses

What are the various car insurance types?

It is necessary to consider who offers coverage of the policy and who is responsible for financial expenses before considering various forms of insurance policy at hand.

• First Party-The owner of the vehicle, who has purchased the insurance policy
• Second Party-The insurance company providing the policy to the first party
• Third Party-Any party / person involved in an accident with the first party and is making a claim against the first party.

There are currently three major levels of auto insurance that you can get in the Philippines, all of which are very different. See below for this:

Comprehensive Insurance With The Acts Of God – This is the most covered comprehensive insurance you can get, not just for third party injuries, but also for yourself and your passengers. You can also file a lawsuit if you damage your own vehicle. With acts of nature, you will also be covered for damage caused by natural disasters.

Comprehensive Insurance Without God’s Acts Of God – Acts of nature are optional and do not require comprehensive insurance, but if your car is destroyed by floods, typhoons, or earthquakes, you will not be covered by your insurance.

Compulsory Third Party Liability – This form of insurance extends only to third party individuals who have been involved in an accident with you, and does not protect you for damage to your car or physical harm to you or to your passengers.

What are Acts of God Coverage?

Many car insurance firms use this kind of language in their policy. Most of them have changed it with new wording in this day and age. The form of coverage, nevertheless, is just the same. In general, the Acts of God are events or accidents caused by instances in nature. Among the most popular ones include the following:

• Storms, including thunderstorms and the resulting lightning
• Tsunamis
• Typhoons
• Earthquakes
• Animals
• Tornados
• Hail
• Flooding

In all these cases, the individual is not to blame. There is no way to prevent such cases. In these situations, there is no way to avoid damage to the car. Some car insurance providers understand this.

And yet, the damage caused by these types of incidents can vary widely. Not all insurance plans, however, cover such acts of God. It’s important to know exactly what your policy specifies.

Here are some things you need to take note of:

Typhoon and floods

According to a car insurance company, there must be a tropical storm declaration from PAGASA for a typhoon.

Some insurance providers will bundle typhoons and floods, so if your car gets flooded without a tropical storm declaration, you can not file claims under the AOG.

You have to be in the right place, at the right moment, in an unexpected or imminent natural disaster. Take the scenarios below.

Scenario 1: Driving with EDSA. Sudden heavy rainfall. Alert of PAGASA. Flooding. Scenario 2: Waist-deep flooding on EDSA. You decide to take the gamble and drive out. The car is destroyed. The first scenario is possible, however. The second will be viewed as negligence on the part of the owner of the car.

You must share it with your insurance provider and explore your choices if you live in a flood-prone area.

Landslide

Like typhoons and floods, official alerts or warnings from the weather departments need to be made. What if you live in an environment susceptible to landslide conditions? You must report this just like when you live in a flood-prone area.

For example, if you decide, despite landslide warnings, to drive down the Kennon Road? Possibilities are that you can not file claims on AOG, too.

Animals

You may argue that pets are our Furry friends from God as much as you want, but under Acts of God, you apparently can’t yet be able to file damages caused by dogs. In his column, Wheels of Justice, in the issue of the Top Gear of the Philippines in March 2018, the legal columnist Robby Consunji said: “In general, the liability of an insurance company for Acts of God covers only wild animals. If the owner of an animal can be identified, the clause will not apply and the owner or the person in possession of the wild animal will be liable for the damages.”  

In addition to this, the columnist cites an example in the case of animals listed under the Acts of God: “The collision of a car with a wild migratory bird (or a flock of birds) on the expressway may be compensable under the Acts of God clause. The bird involved in the collision is completely outside the control of any human beings involved. The driver of the car could not have prevented it from being near the road, nor could he have prevented it from colliding with the insured car. Neither can the expressway operator ensure that the expressway is safe from bird strikes.”

Hurricane, sinkholes, volcanic eruption, earthquake, tsunami

If this natural disaster in your region (or country) is unlikely, it is probable that the insurance agents won’t address the process of filing claims for such disasters.

If one occurs, however, the insurance providers will also use PAGASA or similar offices to announce these natural disasters officially.

Okay, so now that it’s clear which the Acts of God are covers, you may be wondering: What do I need to file a claim for Acts of God? Here is the checklist:

• Police report
• Incident report
• Official receipt and certificate of registration of the insured car
• Driver’s license
• Photo of the damaged car
• Estimated car value
• Estimated damage value

Why do I need Acts of God in my car insurance coverage?

The seventh largest nation in Asia is the Philippines. We are located on the Pacific Ring of Fire and the most typhoon-prone waters on Earth. The country is suffering from many disasters, including typhoons such as Ondoy, the recent Taal volcano eruption that covered vehicles in ash.

Divine intervention is hard to avoid, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plan for it. Having an insurance plan with this kind of coverage will save your property from the risks of a world that isn’t man-made. You can do anything to deter people, but you have only to survive on the planet Earth. Buying a car in the Philippines can be costly on its own, but keeping it tidy or shielding it from danger is different.

Less trouble can be faced when a third party is involved, which means that someone is at fault and can be tapped, but if the property has been destroyed in the event of calamity, natural occurrence, or tragic event, then without this add-on, you will be left with a heavy repair bill.

In a more contextual sense, the Philippines is suffering its fair share of disasters from time to time. There is plenty of volcanic activity, torrential rains, and flash floods during the year, so investing in a solution like this is sensible.

Such disasters can do so much damage to your car that it can cost you so much for the repairs. A premium of a couple of thousand pesos for the Acts of God is an incredibly low cost offer for peace of mind. The expense calculated for the covering of Acts of Nature for a vehicle worth PHP 1 million is around PHP 6000 to PHP 8000. This is a low cost in comparison with the expense of dealing with a car being destroyed.

In comparison with other components of a policy that are affected by human behavior, such as body damage, personal injury, and property damage, Acts of God are less predictable and can prove to be the most ravaging, not to mention costly.

What Type of Insurance Covers Acts of God?

As stated most frequently, the claim of an Act of God refers to natural events. Comprehensive auto insurance is the only form of car insurance covering this. It protects you from unintentional and inevitable claims. For many drivers, this kind of insurance is optional. Those with a lease or loan can need to retain coverage. However, for some, it is also indispensable too.

Even so, some policies restrict the coverage of these incidents. This depends on the organization and the policy that you want. For example, your car insurance can not cover earthquake damage. That is an exclusion. Many exclusion insurance plans list this policy details. You should learn what exclusion forms are relevant to your needs.

Contact your car insurance company if you suffer a fire from a lightning strike. You will also apply for coverage if you experience hail damage to your vehicle. Acts of God will cover policy to policy. To learn which particular instances are covered, contact your insurance provider. And if you live in a high-risk area for such incidents consider adding more coverage. This refers in particular to excluded elements of your policy. You may be able to get security by extra comprehensive restrictions.

How can I get this type of car insurance coverage?

Your insurance plan may not contain the added “Acts of God” or “Acts of nature.” One way to get this add-on is from the beginning. This will increase the premium by a certain amount, so plan to pay for the policy a little more. Request changes if you already have an existing plan. The method can be faster and more efficient so it would take less time to complete updates to an existing plan.

You can purchase an online insurance plan from anywhere through online features. In order to obtain this feature, simply indicate that you want to include this feature in your policy and receive an insurance supplier quote.

When you get a car insurance quote, ask your insurance provider if your premium already covers  Acts of God coverage. Ask about the unique inclusions and how much it will cost you. If you compare auto insurance quotes to Moneymax, Acts of Nature is free and is already part of the premium.

Cost Of Comprehensive Car Insurance in the Philippines

The usual range for comprehensive insurance for cars between PHP 750,000 and PHP 2 Million is usually between PHP 15,000 to  PHP 50,000 per year, depending on the car make and model and the type of comprehensive insurance policy and add-ons that you opt for.

How do I get comprehensive insurance?

The documentation you need for comprehensive insurance is the same as for your Compulsory Third Party Liability Insurance (CTPL), so if you have already bought your CTPL, you don’t have to get full insurance from the same insurance provider, you can search around and look for a policy that better fits your needs and wallet. Once again, you can check online and order your policy online, with no need for phone calls or face- to – face meetings.

Make sure to remember

It is necessary to check the draft of your plan first before it is forwarded for processing. Make sure that you understand the coverage of the add-on so that when the time comes to make a claim, you will know what the company will cover and what it likely won’t do. Each Act of Nature or Act of God add-on varies from policy to policy, so it is important that you inquire about the details of coverage.