Does Car Insurance Cover Flood Damage?

Does car insurance cover flood damage?

With heavy rainfall and flash floods increasingly causing disruption around the UK, it’s not just homes that are at risk. Flood water can cause serious damage to cars too.

Published - 19 Apr 2024 | Updated - 21 Feb 2025

We’ve all become familiar with news footage showing not just homes and businesses flooded after storms and heavy rainfall but cars submerged by raised water levels too.

Flooding is becoming more of a risk for more people, so it’s important to know whether you can claim on your car insurance if you find yourself with a flooded vehicle.

Will car insurance pay out for flood damage?

Comprehensive car insurance policies cover damage caused to your vehicle by severe weather events such as storms and floods. However, third-party policies don’t.

The difference with flood claims is that your insurer will want to determine whether the flood damage to your car was unavoidable or avoidable before paying out to repair or replace it.

Unavoidable flood damage is damage you couldn’t have escaped, such as if your car is flooded where it’s usually parked at your home.
Avoidable flood damage is damage that occurred because you took a risk such as driving in a flooded area.

Are you covered by insurance if you drive through water?

As well as being dangerous to drive through a flooded road or ford, you may not be covered if you’ve taken a risk when there was an alternative.

If your insurer determines the water damage to your vehicle could have been avoided by taking a different course of action, it’s unlikely it will pay out for a claim.

How do I claim if my car is damaged by a flood?

As long as you have a Comprehensive car insurance policy, this will normally cover you for unavoidable damage to the engine, upholstery, entertainment systems and other parts of the vehicle that water may have found its way into.

You may also be able to claim for belongings that were in your vehicle if this is a feature of your policy.

All Saga Car Insurance Comprehensive policies include personal belongings cover – up to £400 on our Standard cover level and up to £1,000 on Select and Plus.

To start the claims process following flood damage, report the incident to your insurer as soon as possible.

Can a car be written off for water damage?

A flood damaged car can be written off if the insurer judges it to be too expensive to repair. A car that’s had an influx of flood water can be damaged in a number of different ways causing:

Engine failure if water gets into the cylinders
Damage to moving parts such as the clutch and brakes
Problems with the electrical circuits and wiring
Corrosion, rotting and mould following waterlogging

What to do if your car is flooded

If you find your parked car has been flooded or it’s stalled while driving through flood water, don’t try to restart the engine as this may cause further damage.

Call your breakdown cover provider straight away for help.

Take photos or a video at the location of the flooding, if it’s safe to do so, and record the damage to your vehicle. Then contact your insurance company to let them know if you’re looking to make a claim.

Ways to prevent your car being damaged by flood water

There are precautions you can take to protect your car, and yourself, from getting caught out by downpours and flood water:

If heavy rain and flash flooding are forecast, park your car away from areas that might flood.
Follow travelling advice and, if you must venture out in the car during a period of heavy rain, avoid areas that you know are prone to flooding.
Six inches of water is deep enough to flood some vehicles. If you come across flood water and can’t determine how deep it is, take an alternative route.

If you’ve judged that some standing water is shallow enough to drive through and you can see the road beyond it, drive through steadily in the same low gear keeping the revs up to avoid stalling.
Let any excess water drain from the chassis on the other side and test your brakes before continuing.
Never attempt to drive through fast-flowing water.

How Saga covers flood claims

At Saga, you can report a claim 24/7. If you’re a Saga Plus car insurance customer and call us from the site of the incident, we can arrange onward taxi travel to take you anywhere within the UK, weather permitting.

Saga Plus is our highest level of cover and it comes with our Claims Promise. This is a guarantee that claims for damage caused by flood, storm or fire won’t affect your No Claim Discount for as long as you stay with us. Claims for theft, animal damage and if your vehicle is hit while parked come under this promise too.

Who are Saga's car insurance policies underwritten by?

Saga’s car insurance policies, exclusively for people over 50, are unique products designed by us specifically for our customers. They are underwritten by a number of carefully selected insurers that provide high standards of quality and service.