If I Hit My Own Car, Do I Have to Pay Two Deductibles?

Navigating auto insurance can be confusing, especially when an incident involves damage to your own vehicle or another car you own. Many individuals wonder whether such situations could result in paying multiple deductibles. Understanding how auto insurance deductibles apply in these specific scenarios can clarify financial responsibilities and help manage expectations.

Understanding Your Auto Insurance Coverages

Auto insurance policies include various types of coverage. Among these, collision and comprehensive coverages are directly relevant to damage sustained by your own vehicle. A deductible is a predetermined amount you agree to pay out-of-pocket towards a covered claim before your insurance coverage begins to pay for the remaining costs.

Collision coverage addresses damage to your own car resulting from an impact with another vehicle or an object. For instance, if you strike a pole or another car, your collision coverage would typically apply, subject to its specific deductible. The amount of this deductible is chosen when the policy is purchased and directly influences the premium.

Comprehensive coverage protects your vehicle from damage caused by events other than collisions. This includes incidents such as theft, vandalism, fire, natural disasters like floods or hail, or striking an animal. Like collision coverage, comprehensive coverage also carries a deductible, which may be a different amount than your collision deductible.

Liability coverage is another component of an auto insurance policy, but it functions differently regarding deductibles and damage to your own property. This coverage is designed to pay for bodily injury and property damage you cause to other people in an accident for which you are at fault. Liability coverage does not cover damage to your own vehicle, and it does not involve a deductible.

Applying Deductibles to Single-Car Incidents

When a driver damages their own car in a single-vehicle incident, the application of deductibles often becomes a point of inquiry. Scenarios such as backing into a garage wall, hitting a tree, or striking a stationary object like a signpost fall under collision coverage. In these situations, your collision deductible would apply to the repair costs for your vehicle.

For example, if your car sustains $3,000 in damage after you back into a light pole and your collision deductible is $500, you pay the first $500, and your insurer covers the remaining $2,500. This means that for most single-car incidents where you are responsible for the damage to your own vehicle through an impact, you pay only one deductible: your collision deductible.

Comprehensive coverage and its associated deductible would generally not apply in these collision-related single-car incidents. Comprehensive coverage is for non-impact events, such as a tree falling on your car, hail damage, or striking an animal. When you collide with an object, your collision coverage responds, not your comprehensive coverage.

When Multiple Owned Vehicles Are Involved

A more complex scenario arises when you damage another vehicle you own, such as backing one car out of a driveway and hitting a second parked car belonging to you. In this situation, the question of multiple deductibles becomes more pertinent. The vehicle you were operating, considered the “at-fault” car, would typically have its damage covered under its own collision insurance. This would be subject to the collision deductible for that specific vehicle.

The damage to the second vehicle you own, the one that was hit, is usually handled differently. Since you are considered at fault for the incident, the damage to this second vehicle would likely be covered by the property damage liability coverage of the first car’s policy. A key distinction of property damage liability coverage is that it generally does not require a deductible from the party whose property was damaged. Therefore, your liability coverage would respond to the damage to your second vehicle without an additional deductible being applied to that specific car.

However, if the property damage liability coverage limits are insufficient to cover the damage to your second vehicle, or if there are specific policy exclusions, you might then need to file a claim under the second vehicle’s own collision coverage. In such a case, the collision deductible for that second vehicle would apply. While it is possible for two deductibles to be involved—one for each vehicle if both are repaired under their respective collision coverages—this is typically one deductible per car, utilizing distinct coverages or policies. Some insurance companies might even waive one deductible if both vehicles are insured under the same policy and involved in the same incident, though this varies by insurer and policy terms.