Our insured has both collision and other than collision coverage on his auto. The facts of the incident are that the insured opened the car door as a big truck was speeding by. The breeze from the passing truck caused the car door to go out of his hand and smash into the front fender of the auto; the car door, the fender, and the door hinge were all damaged. The insurance company has taken the position that this was a collision loss because the wind that tore the insured's grip off the door was not caused by the weather, but by the passing truck. The insurer is saying that windstorm is an other than collision peril, but that the wind damage must be caused by natural weather conditions. What is your opinion on this matter?
Wisconsin Subscriber
We believe that this is an other than collision loss for two reasons.
Under the terms of the standard personal auto policy, collision is defined as the upset of the covered auto, or its impact with another vehicle or object. In the incident you describe, the door of the car swung wide and hit the fender. While the insurer could say a collision occurred between the door and the fender, the definition on the policy requires an impact of the auto with another vehicle or object. A car door cannot be said to be another vehicle or object while it is attached to the car. The door is part of the car and the covered auto cannot collide with itself.
As for the second reason, the other than collision categories are not all-inclusive. Just because the word windstorm is used as opposed to wind does not mean damage caused by wind is not an other than collision loss. Any cause of loss other than collision is in that category. Furthermore, the policy itself does not say wind damage has to be caused by weather conditions. Wind is wind, no matter how it is caused.
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