Damage to parked car: what does my car insurance cover?

If you are lucky, whoever damages your parked car will leave a bill or you will be able to track down the perpetrator by other means. The damage can then be recovered from that perpetrator's insurance company. If the perpetrator caused the damage with a vehicle, the damage can be recovered from the insurance of this vehicle. If the damage was caused in any other way, then the damage can be recovered from the perpetrator's liability insurance.

Chances are considerable that if you have damage to your parked car, you will not be able to identify the culprit right away. In this case, it is important that you always report it to the police and try to track down the perpetrator by, for example, searching for witnesses or requesting surveillance footage. To recover damages without a known perpetrator, there are two things you can do. First, you can turn to the Motor Traffic Guarantee Fund. This fund compensates car damage for which there is no known perpetrator. The condition is that it must be established that the damage was caused by another motor vehicle. It can also happen that it cannot be established that the damage was caused by another vehicle. In this case, the damage can often be recovered from your car insurance.

As discussed above, if you want to recover damages from the Motor Traffic Guarantee Fund, it must be proven that the damage was caused by another motor vehicle. This can be done by proving paint traces of another vehicle on the car, or by calling in an expert. It often happens that a damage expert doubts whether the damage was caused by another vehicle. Previously, a second expert had to be called in. But recently this is no longer necessary because damage experts use Spurfix to find out. Spurfix is an adhesive film that absorbs invisible paint traces. Even though Spurfix costs 300 euros, it is still cheaper than a second expert who would have to be called in.

Damage to a parked car is also frequently caused by cyclists. Again, the damage to your parked car caused by a bicycle cannot be recovered from your car insurance with third-party or limited liability coverage. Do you have an all-risk car insurance? In this case the damage is recoverable.

The law protects cyclists in traffic. This protection does not apply when a cyclist collides with a parked car. In this case, the car is not participating in traffic, so the damage can be recovered from the cyclist.

The moment the cyclist has left his information, you can hold the cyclist liable and thus recover damages from him. Perpetrator unknown? Then report it as soon as possible so that the police can, if necessary, use camera images to establish the identity. Unfortunately, you cannot appeal to the guarantee fund in this case. This is only when the damage is caused by another motor vehicle. You cannot recover damage to the parked car caused by a cyclist from the Guarantee Fund.

Do you have damage to your parked car? Then there are a number of things you need to do. Here we assume for a moment that the perpetrator is known to you.

• Take photos of the damage
• Note the date, time and registration number
• Fill in the claim form together
• Are there any witnesses? Write down their telephone numbers
• Send the completed claim form to your intermediary or insurer

Do you find damage when you return to your parked car, but the culprit is nowhere to be seen? Always report this to the police. You can also look for witnesses who may have seen something. That way you may be able to find the culprit.

Alpina cooperates with 112schade.nl to recover non-covered damage from the other party. Has someone caused damage to you, but you have no coverage on your own policy? 112schade.nl can help you recover damage from the other party completely free of charge.