Every week we’ll highlight the best question sent to our resident insurance expert, Anne Marie Thomas. This week’s question, about a single vehicle parking garage collision, comes from an anonymous reader who has asked:
“I used a very busy parking garage recently. It was very narrow. And the car leaving the garage left little space for me to drive through as I was entering it and there was traffic behind me. (I was honestly worrying how I was going to be able to continue). I ended up accidentally scratching the side of my car while turning the sharp corner to continue up the garage during this moment. Can I use insurance or will I be considered at fault? I am hoping comprehensive will cover it but I doubt it. In addition even if it is possible, I did not document anything due to the situation. I would hate for my rates to go up but I figured that despite how minor it appears, it will cost a lot of money to fix so it would be nice to use my insurance if possible.”
Parking garages are notoriously tight spots to navigate. With minimal room for cars to come and go along with sharp corners and snug spaces, parking garages are a source of pain for many drivers. Even so, if you cause damage to your car because you scraped past a pole or pillar and you want to submit a claim for the damages this would likely be considered an at-fault collision, explains Anne Marie.
- Related Question: If My Car Is Sideswiped While Parked, Who Is at Fault?
“In general, anytime you strike a stationary object while your vehicle is in motion would be considered an at-fault collision. If you decide to claim the damages caused to your vehicle through your insurance, it would likely go through your collision coverage (if you have it) not your comprehensive coverage. Both coverages are optional and provide coverage under very different scenarios.
“Collision, for example, covers repairs to your vehicle resulting from an accident (like the one you described), while comprehensive coverage pays for damages caused by things like fire and theft.
“As an at-fault collision, it is likely that you will have to pay your policy’s collision deductible and you will have an at-fault accident on your record which could increase your insurance rate.”
At-fault collisions are not as uncommon as you might think. Based on the details provided by shoppers who obtained Ontario auto insurance quotes at InsuranceHotline.com, we found that almost 9 percent of Ontario drivers admit to having been in an at-fault collision in the last 10 years. That’s nearly 1 in 10!
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