SARASOTA, Fla. — Sarasota is still reeling after historic rain Tuesday night. Now many people are having car trouble; not just those who drove through floodwaters.
Are you covered by your auto insurance? You may want to double-check your auto policy as hurricane season ramps up.
Car insurance in Florida is more expensive than just about any other state and the rising cost may have you considering getting a basic liability policy. But if you don't have comprehensive coverage, and your car gets flood damage, you won't be covered.
At Jesse’s Garage European Auto Repair in Sarasota, they're still drying out from Tuesday’s flash flood.
“We had inches and inches of water in here,” says service advisor, Peter Tromboni. “It took us a couple hours to get all the water out. It was bad.”
The next morning, the calls came in from drivers with flooded cars. When four inches of rain fell in an hour, cars were quickly submerged. Many frantically (and foolishly) tried to ford the floodwaters.
“I mean, we started seeing them right away,” Tromboni says. “We had a couple cars get towed in. Some people were able to drive them, but there's more still coming.”
Landon Cassidy is an agent for HH Insurance and says going with the cheapest policy when living by the coast is a major risk.
“To have coverage for flooding, you need to have comprehensive coverage on your auto policy,” he says. “Comprehensive coverage is something we recommend to all of our clients to have on their policy. We do see clients sometimes like to go without that and kind of self-insure that aspect of it.”
That said, comprehensive coverage can be much pricier than a basic liability policy. According to MarketWatch, in Florida, it can be more than a hundred extra dollars per month added to your premium.
So what happens if your car stalls out in a flood?
Experts say don't try to start your engine — that could make the damage worse. Try to take pictures of the high water line and all the damage you see. But only if it's safe; and call your insurance company immediately.