Would your car insurance cover superhero damage?

Saving the world requires sacrifices, for sure. And let’s face it: maximum damage in comic book movies is fun to watch. But did Superman haaaaave to sacrifice that poor bystander’s car?

If you’ve ever wondered what your ordinary life would be like if you were in a superhero movie, this is it. Figuring out if you could write off superhero battles on policy. Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it’s car insurance.

Car insurance coverage depends a lot on your provider and policy, with different tiers offering different levels of cover. 

In Australia, the minimum level of coverage is usually Compulsory Third-Party insurance (depending on where you live), which covers physical injury done to you or others when you’re at fault in a car accident. 

But this is only the bare minimum. Other types of car insurance include:

• Third Party damage insurance (middle tier)
  
• Comprehensive car insurance (top tier)
  
• Seniors car insurance
  
• Rideshare insurance
  
• Business and commercial insurance
  

Each policy will come with different inclusions and exclusions. Third Party damage Insurance is the middle ground, while comprehensive car insurance tends to offer the most coverage for the most incidents, with some tailoring available through optional extras such as natural disaster cover or having multiple drivers on one policy. 

Whenever you’re comparing car insurance quotes, make sure you read through the terms and conditions so you know you’re receiving an adequate amount of coverage. That way, if you ever have to make a claim, you could receive the financial protection you need. 

RELATED: Best car insurance policies for these 5 iconic movie characters

So where do superheroes come in with all this? Let’s consider a few different scenarios.

Unfortunately one-off damages, like parking lot dings or cracked windshields, are the most common kind of damage. While bare minimum coverage like CTP usually won’t cover these incidents, comprehensive usually will.

Same as if someone backs into you (or worse, does a hit and run), if Spider-man lands atop your car while rediscovering his powers, or if Batman zooms by on his bat-bike and polishes off your sideview mirror, most comprehensive policies should have you sorted, depending on your inclusions and extras. Otherwise, you may have to legally track the culprit down and involve the police. 

(Can you imagine Commissioner Gordon chewing out the Dark Knight about insurance? We sure can!)

RELATED: 7 things not covered by comprehensive car insurance

Here’s where it gets extremely tricky. When your car gets completely destroyed (“total loss” in insurance lingo), your cover will highly depend on the circumstances and what’s included in your product disclosure statement (PDS). So if Dr. Strange or Iron Man uses it as a personal shield, or Thor hits it with lightning, you may not have the coverage you think.

Firstly, to be eligible for replacement or any kind of reimbursement for total loss, you will need to have a comprehensive policy in place. Depending on the policy and provider, you may also want to make sure you have certain optional extras, like accident rental car hire, to make the transition period easier.

Secondly, providers generally only offer replacements if your car was bought new and has only been driven for a certain period of time OR under a certain distance limit (e.g. under two years or under 5,000km, whichever comes first). They then may place limits on the agreed upon market value of the original vehicle, though some approved claims will receive a new-for-old complete replacement.

So let’s say your car is decently new and you have adequate cover in place – but then Thor throws it at a supervillain. Will you get a replacement?

Again, it depends! Why did Thor throw your car? Generally ‘Acts of God’, or completely unpreventable, blameless, freak accidents of nature can receive cover depending on the policy.

For example, many comprehensive policies offer coverage for bushfire, flood, storm, and hail damage. So if the Space Viking crushed your car in a temper tantrum and you have pretty good evidence, you’re well placed to claim the damages. 

But if he was fighting a destructive battle against aliens? Well, that’s another matter entirely.

And now we’ve reached the endgame. Unfortunately, world-ending disasters are a blanket no-go for insurance in general, so if your car gets crushed by Thanos or blown into space by yet another sky-beam, you’re out of luck.

This is because the sheer volume and expenses of all the claims couldn’t be handled by the provider all at once. 

Other unclaimable events include:

• War
  
• Invasion
  
• Acts of foreign enemies
  
• Civil war (sorry, Captain America)
  
• Revolution
  
• Riots
  
• Insurrections
  
• Military coups
  
• Nuclear apocalypse.
  

While it’s a bummer to contemplate, at least we can be grateful superheroes will always save the world. (Just not our cars).

Looking for a heroic amount of car insurance? Browse a selection of policies below. 

You can also check out some award-winning providers or read up on how to keep your premiums cheap.