The weather looks like it is shaping up to give us another cold Winter this year, and like last, this could spell further disaster for our roads, in terms of the damage they sustain. And it’s all down to something as simple as ice.
Most people learn at school that the warmer a substance gets, the bigger it gets, then as it gets colder again, it contracts. For most chemicals this holds true, but the chemistry of water is a little more complex, in that, water in it’s solid form (ice), is actually less dense than it is in it’s liquid phase. Or simply put – it’s bigger.
This causes problems with road surfaces because, when water gets into a crack in the road and turns to ice, it expands. This causes the crack to open up further and the tarmac to crumble, destroying the road’s surfacing. When warmer weather comes along, the ice turns back into water, but the damage is now done. On top of this, if the weather takes another turn for the worse, exactly the same thing can happen yet again.
A damaged road can also damage vehicles too. The jolt of the sudden change in road surface transmits a huge force through all the components of the suspension, including the wheels, which have been known to fail on some cars, Audis and BMWs would you believe. In the case of Audi, their high performance RS series of cars use particularly light weight wheels which are prone to buckling if a pothole is big enough. Unfortunately, many owners’ claims for new wheels have fallen on deaf ears at the manufacturer.
Just like private vehicles, vans have been falling foul of potholes too. Nowadays, vans have handling that was only a dream as little as 20 years ago, and it’s down to the advances in chassis design, coupled with lighter alloy wheels and stiffer more controlled suspension which modern tyres can handle. Let’s not forget that in general vans carry heavier loads than cars too. The unfortunate side effect is that greater stress is put upon components possibly causing failure.
More importantly, what should you do if you are unlucky and your vehicle becomes damaged? Can you make a claim against your van insurance?
First things first, a claim for your own vehicle, can only be made on a commercial van insurance policy, but only if that policy has comprehensive cover. If the cover is just third party, you’re out of luck. However, it’s not straight forward if you do have fully comp cover either. You need to bear in mind that claiming off your own insurer will count against you and your no claims discount come the following renewal, so it’s a balance between whether the damage is worth claiming or not.
In cases such as damaged tyres, your insurance is unlikely to provide cover, as items like this are “consumables”, i.e. they are replaced regularly due to wear anyway. It’s also worth remembering that replacing the tyre yourself would probably be cheaper than your excess too, so again your insurer wouldn’t pay out, however it could well be worthwhile if damage is significant, and the bill significantly higher.
I am the marketing and commercial manager for Coversure, an insurance broker who specialise in Van Insurance. Visit our site for a van insurance quote, or read our FAQs if you have any van insurance related questions.