JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – As drivers began to collect their vehicles on Tuesday from the hourly garage that caught fire at the Jacksonville International Airport, many car owners were left wondering about the safety of retrieving their vehicles and whether auto insurance would help cover the potential damage.
News4JAX spoke with two experts who explained how car owners can navigate the process.
“It’s a big pain. It is a headache. The best thing you could do to minimize the headache is to talk to your insurance company and see what’s covered,” Rob Bhatt, auto insurance analyst at Lending Tree, said.
On Tuesday, car owners were notified by the airport if their vehicle was safe to retrieve. However, experts said cars could still be damaged and drivers may have racked up some charges they can be reimbursed for.
“Number one, just document any additional transportation expenses you’ve had during this time. You know, if your car is damaged and you need to rent a car. For example, you can for certain losses. You can get compensated from your insurance company for that,” Bhatt said.
As for whether or not car insurance will cover the damages from the fire, that will depend on what kind of coverage the car owner is paying for, according to Bhatt.
“Usually, what happens in a case like this is, your insurance company, if you have comprehensive, your insurance company will pay to replace your car. It’ll be at your car’s market value, which is going to be less than what you paid for it. It’s going to be its resale value. And so you’ll have some money to buy a newer car or buy a different car,” Bhatt said.
Some people have also expressed concerns about the safety of retrieving their cars.
Structural Engineer Andres Lopera said it is safe for people to get in and get out.
“The areas where it’s already started collapsing, what they can do is they’ve already sectioned off that area, so that’s the only part of the garage that has the potential to collapse is in basically in that area where the fire was at its highest intensity,” Lopera said. “So by this point, they will see where the edge of that collapse zone is going to be, because anything outside of that is probably going to be smoky and dark, but smoke is not it’s not structural damage.”
If an insurance claim is denied or delayed as we wait to learn the cause of the fire, experts suggested filing a complaint with the State Insurance Commissioner.