Our policyholder drove through some wet paint on the road, which caused damage to his vehicle. Our question is whether this is a comp or a collision claim or if this would be covered at all?

Iowa Subscriber

Interestingly, this question came up at a recent claims association meeting attended by the FC&S editors. The consensus of the claims adjusters there was that this type of loss can be considered as covered under either scenario. The damage was caused by an impact with another object, that is, paint as an object impacting with the auto. Or, this could be a comprehensive loss with paint falling across the auto. The answer should be one that is in the best interests of the insured; in other words, if the insured has a lower deductible with a collision claim, then this would be considered a collision loss; if the insured has a lower deductible with a comprehensive claim, then this would be considered a comprehensive loss. The insured should get the benefit of the doubt here since both a collision loss and a comprehensive loss are understandable and reasonable explanations for the claim.