Will insurance cover the car swallowed up by sinkhole in Mumbai?

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A bizarre video of a Hyundai Venue car sinking into a caved-in portion of a parking lot went viral on social media on Sunday. The car got vanished in just few seconds while it was parked in the premises of a Ghatkopar residential society in Mumbai, which has been facing incessant rains for the last few days. The video has left many wondering whether such incidences get covered under the motor insurance policy?

The good news is your insurance policy covers such incidences under the own-damage component of the motor insurance policy.

“Any accidental damage is covered under an insurance policy. If the car is not retrieved then a claim can be made under Total Loss.  If it is retrieved then claim can be made to cover partial losses,” said Sanjay Datta, Chief – Underwriting & Claims of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company.

Maharashtra: A viral video shows a car sinking in a sinkhole in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar

Traffic Police says,”There was a well at the place. Some people covered it with concrete slab&started parking cars over it. Incident occurred due to land subsidence following rain. No one injured” pic.twitter.com/N8Tys2BrUY

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2021

The motor insurance policy has two components- own damage and third-party cover. While own damage is for the protection of your car, the third-party cover is for covering third-party losses. In case of an accident or due to any natural calamities like thunderstorms, cyclones, and hurricanes your own damage part of the motor insurance policy covers your vehicle.

Dr Kiran Doshi, the 67-year-old car owner, shot the video on Sunday morning when he was informed by Mahadev Shigwan, a car washer, that a portion of the compound was caving in.“He raised an alarm, after which I rushed to the spot and saw that the car was sinking into the well. Then I shot the video,” Doshi told The Indian Express.

The BMC officials managed to retrieve the car late at night from the well after they started pumping water out of the collapsed portion of the parking space to locate the car.

#WATCH | A crane pulls out a car that sunk in a sinkhole in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar#Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/ZFn0ODsUu9

— ANI (@ANI) June 13, 2021

According to the report, the building was more than 80 years old and the concrete portion where the car was parked was around 40 years ago. It was built over a well that supplies water to the residents of Ramnivas building.

“Other than Act of God, most of the cases happen due to some sort of negligence. If the case is not deliberate it is paid by the insurance company,” said Datta.