Am i responsible to pay for damage to a car when a piece of my roof damaged it?

It depends, MAYBE you are if the roof was in a state of disrepair & you were aware of the problem & did nothing about it. If there was a windstorm that blew a piece of your roof off & it damages a vehicle, then no, you are not. If the owner of the vehicle wants the damaged covered, they should have comprehensive (other than collision) coverage on their vehicle, this is what it is for - flying objects are covered. If they file a claim & their insurance feels you are at fault for the damage, their insurance will subrogate against your homeowners insurance & try to collect what they paid & their policyholder's deductible.

I think your home owners insurance might cover it.

Try to call a different company first to see how they cover it.

If you do not get your story just right, they will find a way not to pay.

For example, the wind blowing shingles off your roof, may be considered an "act of god" and not faulty workmanship or defect.

As with most things, the devil is in the details.

As others have stated, it depends. If you own the car, you can't be liable to yourself, period; though you may have comprehensive coverage on the vehicle that would take care of it. (Incidentally, if someone else owns the car and has comprehensive coverage, their comprehensive coverage would take care of it. I'll come back to that in a minute.)

It also depends on how the damage occurred. If it was an "act of God", as someone else mentioned, then there's no liability. But if your roof was, in the view of a reasonable person, in need of repair and/or maintenance, it's likely that you will be responsible.

Now, this is a VERY important point. If you think that there's ANY possibility that you may be held responsible for the damage to someone else's property, you need to consider your options. And you do have options.

There was a suggestion to let them take you to small claims court (and assuming the damages were below a certain threshold, which varies by state, that's one option.) However, I'm going to make a couple of other suggestions. Remember how I mentioned that the other party's comprehensive coverage would take care of it (if they had comprehensive coverage, of course)? Well, if they do and they're willing to turn it in that way, even if you have to pay their deductible, this is probably your best option. (Incidentally, as far as I know, insurance companies do NOT charge claims points on comprehensive claims; however, you could suggest that they ask their insurance provider about that before proceeding.) Since there are no claims points, the other party's insurance company may not choose to subrogate against you. (However, you'd want to check that out first, too; get their answer in writing.)

Before I'd let my Homeowners insurance pay for it, or put myself in a position that the other party's insurance company could subrogate against me, I'd pay for the damages out of my own pocket.

That's not a popular suggestion, but here's why I make it: If it's someone elses' property that was damaged and not as a result of an "act of God", assuming the amount of the damages exceeds your Homeowners policy deductible, under most circumstances, the Homeowners policy would pay. However, if they do, this claim will be considered a liability claim. Liability claims are assigned the highest number of points in the claims rating systems. Every insurer, not just your current one, would show this claim and you can expect your insurance rates to increase by 30-50% for the next three years. In fact, some insurance companies would flat out cancel you as a result of it. And you may have to get a high-risk policy as a result. Depending on the condition of the roof (and the rest of the property in general), you may still be able to get coverage through your state's FAIR plan (states require that some insurance coverage be available on any property; however, they make no stipulations on the price.) That kind of coverage comes at a premium price. And they may refuse to offer you liability coverage. This is the worst-case scenario, of course. Still, something to consider while you're looking at your options.

It seemed like such a simple question, didn't it?

This is a complicated case and need to have the complete scenario to judge, but if it is proven that the damage to the third party is from your negligence then, yes your are liable for that loss exposure, otherwise arguable in the court!!

You own the car and the house? Then the comprehensive coverage on your auto policy would cover it, less whatever the deductible is.

Your homeowners insurance will not cover damage to your personal vehicle. Motorized vehicles are excluded under the personal property portion of a homeowners policy.

NOTE: If you own the house, your homeowners insurance EXCLUDES your cars. All these people that keep telling you the building insurance will cover it are dead wrong. If this is some other persons car then you would have coverage under your homeowners policy under the liability portion of the coverage. Call your insurance agent.

put the case to your insurace at a guess i would say so

no/ but refer the matter to your insurance company

Yes you are but you should be covered by your buildings insurance.

The key word here is 'negligence' and, as someone has already pointed out, you're only liable if through negligence you allowed the damage to occur.

Payment for the damage would come from your buildings insurance.

Yes, if it's not your car. You are responsible for any damages that occur while you are in ownership of the property. Same holds true if the mail carrier falls on your steps from ice. And, if a child trespasses on your property and hurts him/herself in your pool, you are liable.

If you roof failed through lack of proper maintenance you certainly are. If the car was parked on private land without permission no.

I'm assuming you don't own the car, here.

Technically, only if a judge says you were negligent.

Here's the scoop - if the roof was in poor repair and you knew it, and part fell off, and hit someone else's car, you will probably be held liable for the damage - and your homeowners liability policy will pay.

If there was a storm, and it blew shingles off the roof, which flew around and damaged the car, or a tree trunk or other object hit your roof, knocking part of it off, damaging the car, you are NOT responsible for it.

The owner of the car should file the claim under their "comprehensive" coverage, if they have it (which covers damage from falling objects!), and their insurance company may or may not subrogate (depending on why roof parts hit your car).

They could also choose to bring you to small claims court, but they have to PROVE that you KNEW your roof was in disrepair, and that a weather incident didn't cause the damage, and that's pretty darned hard to do.

If it's YOUR car, then yes, one way or another you'll have to pay for it - as the damage to the car is likely under your comprehensive deductible, and the homeowners policy won't pay at all.

Since it was a piece of YOUR roof that damaged YOUR car (depending on the state you live in) --- your insurance will cover your damages, but not how you might think.

Obviously you cannot be liable for yourself, so the coverage would not come from your Homeowners policy. For example, if your roof hit my car, then your liability would extend to cover my damages. But since it is your car.. your coverage will extend from your auto policy and should fall under your Comprhensive coverage. Sometimes this coverage may or may not have a deductible... it will depend on what you chose when you took out the policy... if you included comprehensive coverage in your package.

In Ohio.. with my company, your loss would be "Comprehensive, and covered as a loss by falling object" ---- typically when explaing coverages to my policyholders I define "Comp as fire, theft, vandalism, glass breakage, deer/dog (hitting them), malicious mischief, riot, civil commotion, falling object and flood"

Good luck with your claim!

Yes, if you had kept your roof in order this wouldn't have happened. Is this your house roof that damaged it or your car roof. If it was during a storm and your house roof fell on someones car then your insurance may cover this. As an act of God, you may not be totally responsible, as the other person may have property insurance of their own to cover it. You may want to consider settling out of court, as it may be cheaper, if your insurance rates go up after it is all said and done.

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