Most people don’t realize that they need to have a fully comprehensive policy in order to be covered. If you want vandalism protection, you need to make sure that you are paying extra for the comprehensive cover.

Common Types of Car Vandalism

What are some common types of vandalism that vehicles endure? Some of the most common types of vandalism include (but are not limited to):

1. Broken Windshields – If you have ever seen a smashed or broken windshield, it does not look pretty. Big spider web cracks, chipped glass everywhere. It will end up looking like something out of a horror film.
2. Dented sides – Gangs and vandals may take baseball bats, golf clubs, or other hard objects and bang the side of your vehicle to put large dents in the side panels. Not only do they look bad, but they could cause problems.
3. Scratched Paint – Scratched and peeling paint is another way people target vehicles to vandalize. There are various oils and chemicals that people may put on another car in order to cause the pain to peel.  If someone “keys your car” – they are scratching the paint with their key.
4. Smashed windows – In addition to a shattered windshield, you may realize that all of your side windows have also been broken.
5. Slashed tires – You may find out that your tires have been slashed and/or popped. The slashing of tires is a very common form of vandalism.
6. Spray-paint – Another terrible crime is when people spray-paint another vehicle. In this case, you need to get the paint removed and it makes for one ugly situation.

Someone Caught Their Neighbor Keying their Car on Camera (Video)

The importance of buying a fully comprehensive insurance policy

Every single state in the U.S. requires you to purchase a comprehensive policy in order to be protected from vandalism. Most people understand that in a basic public liability and property damage policy, you are only covered for damages that you cause to other vehicles. Anything vandalism (or other damage) that is inflicted upon your vehicle will need to be paid for by you – nobody else… unless you have already upgraded your car insurance to a comprehensive cover.

The most unfortunate scenarios occur when there is a lot of vandalism damage inflicted upon a valuable vehicle, and the driver did not purchase the extra coverage for it to be insured. The reason that this is devastating is that the costs to repair the work done by a serious vandal could cost in excess of $10,000 or even more depending on the type of vehicle.

Will my rates go up if I file a vandalism claim?

Many people that have already purchased vandalism coverage want to know whether their insurance rates will increase if they file an insurance claim for vandalism to their vehicle. In most cases, your insurance rates will not increase because you had no control or direct influence over the vandalism. It really wouldn’t be fair to increase your rates for something that you had no control over.

The reason that your rates will probably not increase much after filing a vandalism claim is because you are already paying a rate in accordance to your level of risk. If you live in a location where vandalism is high, your insurance company knows about it – and they give you a price to compensate for this risk. Although not every insurance company treats customers the same way when they file a vandalism claim, most will not raise your rates significantly postmortem.

Conclusion: It’s usually best to pay the extra money for vandalism insurance

Hopefully you never have to deal with anyone vandalizing your vehicle. Even though most people think that they are going to be okay and won’t need insurance for vandalism, the statistics show that crime does occur. Most drivers don’t expect anything to happen to their vehicle so they avoid paying for the extra coverage – this is a big mistake.

If you can afford paying the extra money and do a lot of driving, it is probably a smart idea to pay for vandalism coverage. If some ruthless vandals come around your vehicle and do $5,000 worth of damages – you would probably rather have your insurance company pick up the tab, right? If you would like a free quote for a comprehensive policy that includes vandalism coverage – be sure to use the tool at the top of the page, as it is 100% free and customized based on your location!

If you avoided purchasing a fully comprehensive policy, you will very likely end up having to pay money out of your own pocket for the tire replacement. If you managed to pop more than one tire, you will be responsible for paying them off in full. If you haven’t blown a tire yet, but are planning a long trip and want to take precautionary measures, I would seriously recommend getting comprehensive coverage – at least temporarily – so that if something crazy does happen to your vehicle, you aren’t out a lot of money.

Is blowing out your tire really much of a problem?

Absolutely, it definitely is a big problem. Not only do tire blow outs kill hundreds of people each year, they lead to over 20,000 accidents on an annual basis in the U.S. In other words, there are over 50 tire blow outs each day that lead to accidents. Not to mention the fact that blowout tires have potential to cause death. Upon checking the data, it seems as though that there is at least one death each day from blown tires – a fact that not many people know about.

How To Handle A Tire Blowout (Howcast Video)

What could cause my tires to blowout?

There are plenty of crazy things that could cause your tires to go flat or blowout.  Some common causes include:

Punctures – There are a number of objects that can puncture your tire. Obviously if you already have a nail in your tire, it could slowly flatten. Additionally, hitting a curb or running over a decent sized rock could pop your tire. If you are involved in an accident, there are many things that could pop your tire.

Dry & Hot Conditions – Oddly enough, driving in hot conditions for an extended period of time could pop your tires. It is important to frequently check on your tires when driving in hot conditions. Make sure that they can handle the conditions.

Worn treads – If your tires are completely worn out, there will usually be some warning signs such as squealing and a glazed or smooth appearance. Make sure you get tires replaced as soon as possible if this is the case.

Pressure level – Make sure that the pressure in your tires isn’t too low. Most people that experience tire problems forget to check the pressure and find out that they are significantly lower in pressure than they should be.

Is there a good way to prevent tire blowouts?

There are certainly steps you can take if you want to prevent a tire blowout. The best way to prevent your tire from blowing out is to always be aware of the status of your tire. You need to maintain your tires, have them inspected, and check their pressure levels whenever possible. Some good tips to prevent a blowout and/or flat tire include:

• Inspection – Have your tires professionally inspected periodically. If they look worn out or you suspect that they might have problems, you should get them checked. Go to a trusted mechanic because they have a trained eye for damages.
• Inflation levels – Make sure that your tires are inflated to the proper pressure and not over-inflated or under-inflated. Both over and under inflation can cause problems. Most people tend to have their tires under-inflated, but not always.
• Rotation – Most drivers understand that from time to time, their tires need to be rotated to maximize performance. You can take your vehicle into a reputable mechanic and have him rotate the tires for you if necessary.
• Observe – Always take note and observe anything that seems unusual with your tires. Are they squealing often? Are the treads completely worn down? Are you burning rubber on a daily basis? These are all things to think about and check out if you suspect there could be a problem.

What if my tire blows out and it leads to an accident?

Anytime you are involved in an accident, you need to have insurance to cover for the damages. If you are “at fault” your insurance company will support you based on the type of policy you purchased. If you have comprehensive coverage, you will likely get replacements for your blown tires. If you are driving a new car and your tire went out and caused an accident, you may want to “lawyer up” and go after the company that manufactured the tires.

If there was another party involved in the accident that your blown tire caused, you will still need to compensate them if you live in a state where fault is assigned. Hopefully you never have to deal with a blown out tire because it’s really a lose-lose situation. But if you do, hopefully you already purchased comprehensive insurance so that you don’t have to pay out of pocket for a replacement.

If you want to see the leading companies in your area offering comprehensive policies, I would encourage you to enter your zip code into the tool at the top of the page – it’s totally free – and you’ll see only the companies offering the best rates.

In bigger cities, many gangs and hustlers target high priced vehicles in order to steal parts. They will often have toolkits that allow them to strip the most expensive parts off of a car within minutes. If they are working with an entire team, your rims and tires could be missing by the time you get out of the grocery store from 15 minutes worth of shopping. Since the theft rate is fairly high in certain areas of large high-crime cities (i.e. Detroit, Michigan), it is important to have the appropriate type of insurance in case your rims are stolen – or in street slang, “jacked.”

Do you have comprehensive coverage?

If you have a fully comprehensive cover, you will likely be insured.

In the event that you get customized rims and tires, and both end up being stolen, it is important to make sure that you have adequate insurance coverage. There are certain types of insurance policies that will NOT provide protection for stolen rims and tires. If you do not have comprehensive car insurance a.k.a. insurance for anything other than collisions including: animal damage, Acts of God, weather damage, fires, theft, and vandalism – then you probably aren’t going to get reimbursed for stolen rims and tires. However, if you know with 100% certainty that you paid for a fully comprehensive policy, you should be able to get full compensation for replacement rims and tires.

What if you don’t have comprehensive insurance?

If you declined to get comprehensive insurance for your vehicle, it is highly unlikely that you will be reimbursed for stolen rims and tires. The basic car insurance requirements for your state will generally only cover you for liability and property damage in an accident but will NOT cover you when items are stolen from your vehicle. Really the only way to get reimbursed from any theft is by purchasing the right coverage – in this case you need comprehensive.

How to get reimbursed for stolen rims and tires

If you know that you purchased the right type of policy to get reimbursed for any theft, you will need to do a few things before you collect money for replacement rims and tires. The process is pretty simple if you are working with a quality insurance company. If you think your insurance company isn’t very good, it is recommended to use the tool at the top of the page to enter your zip code for free quotes and an insurance analysis.

1. File a police report – As soon as your rims and tires are stolen, you will want to make sure that you file a police report. The police will be on the lookout for any criminals with stolen rims. Additionally, your insurance company will need to review the police report before they issue you insurance money on your claim. So make sure the first thing you do is call the police and report the problem.

2. File an insurance claim – The next step in the process of getting your tires and rims replaced is to file a car insurance claim. Most companies will allow you to file the claim either online, in-person at an office, or via phone. Filing a detailed claim telling your insurance company exactly what happened regarding the theft is extremely important.

3. Proof of purchase – If you still have the receipts or can find a way to show proof of purchase for your rims, it is important. Your insurance company may need this information so that they can properly reimburse you for the customized rims. Most people show their receipts and payment information with their insurers immediately after buying new rims because if they lose it, they’ll already have had it on file. If you have rims customized, insurance companies need to know how much you were charged so that they give you the appropriate amount. In this case a receipt will always help.

Why is it so expensive to insure customized cars and custom parts?

The reason that insuring customized vehicles is more expensive than average is because the cost to replace such vehicles is greater for insurance companies. So anytime you get into an accident with a customized car, the cost to replace damaged accessories is going to be significantly more in comparison to a standard vehicle. When we start talking about rims and tires, generally the bigger the size of the rim as well as the type of metal it was made from will determine the value.

If you have 26 inch rims on your Cadillac Escalade, you also have to buy even bigger tires to accommodate for the large rims. You may also need to have customization work done so that they fit on your vehicle. All of this comes at an expensive price – especially when replacement work needs to be done. Your insurance company knows the value of your vehicle and will adjust your insurance price accordingly.

What if my entire car is stolen with customized parts?

Anytime your car is stolen, you had better hope that you purchased comprehensive insurance. If you didn’t buy comprehensive coverage – which reimburses you if your vehicle is stolen – you are out of luck. It may seem unfair, but that’s the way it works – if you wanted more coverage, you could have purchased it in advance. That’s why it is extremely important to make sure that you aren’t settling for coverage that isn’t up to your standards.

I recommend that every vehicle owner with customized parts not even think twice about getting a comprehensive insurance policy. If you are spending money on customized rims and large tires, you had better make sure that if they do get stolen, that you don’t have to pay in full (out of your own pocket) to replace them. For a quick comprehensive insurance quote comparison from all of the leading insurers, simply enter your zip code into the quote form at the top of the page!