New York Subscriber

This is a collision loss if the insured cannot establish facts showing some sort of wind event.

The main problem with claims involving windstorm damage is establishing the facts, as you alluded to in your question. In the majority of cases in which courts have held that auto damage was caused by the force of the wind, losses were held covered by comprehensive insurance, or some other form of insurance protecting against windstorm.

In a case similar to the facts you described, the insured maintained that his auto had been damaged by the wind, which rolled the car out of a carport and down a hill into a tree. However, the wind on the day of the incident was described as a moderate breeze (between 18 and 23 miles per hour) – there was no unusual wind event. Thus, the court held this was a collision loss and not due to the windstorm. This case is McCelland v. Northwestern Fire and Marine Ins. Co., 86 S.E.2d 729 (Ga. App. 1955).

Accordingly, it is our interpretation of the facts you presented that this claim should not be set up under wind, unless the insured can show that the damage did result from some unusual wind force. If the insured cannot, then this claim should be covered under collision.