Water damage

Recently there was an article in Times of India about damage to a car by flood water. One of the private insurer have stated of negligence of a car driver, who drove the car in a water where by engine got damage. Accordingly this insurer have consider this as a negligence and hence in their opinion claim can not be consider.

 

Another private insurer wrote to a client who had a similar loss stating there is no accident to a car but its engine got damage due to flood water and hence according to this insurer such claim can not be consider as there is no accident.

Third private insurer have stated to a client that this being a consequential loss we can pay only labour charges to dismantle and repair to engine and can not pay for any engine parts.

Way back in the year 2005, there was a heavy rain fall in Mumbai resulted into flood. More than 3000 cars were affected due to flood. Some of the car parked in low level area were totally submerged into water while the car moving on road had a damage to engine and other parts as these cars were on the road and were moving through flooded area.

At the initial stage most of the private insurers were of the opinion. Not to entertain such claims for cars which got damage while moving in a flooded water along with many other cars to reach destination. It was a public sector Insurance company, who took a Lid and after having a discussion with Sr. Surveyor they decided to pay such claims. This was followed by most of the private insurer including the one whose chief of motor claim whose statement appeared in Times of India.

Fact remains that most of the chief of motor claims are not having Automobile knowledge and they wasn’t every policy holder to know Automobile engineering to avoid such losses. At the same time such officers also think that out of ten such repudiated losses, it is very likely three of them will move the court of which one will win the case to whom we will pay and save money of nine claims. This is how the people looses faith in Insurance.

One should not forget that only nine percentage of motor policy holder are claimant and balance ninety one percentage policy holder do not claim. Seventy percentages of motor claims are due to negligence of a person driving motor cars. If any Insurance officer is of the opinion that driving a car in flooded area is a negligence and should not be paid then as mentioned above 70% of negligence accident claims also should not be paid. None of the policy holder have an intension of damaging a car or its engine and for such reason car is driven in flooded area.

Before driving a car in flooded area one will think twice and noticing other cars, motor cycles moving in flooded area it is a human tendency to follow other and hence the car is driven in such area.

My main objective for this article is make them to understand as how engine get damage along with other parts. The importance is given only to engine damage and not to other parts.

There are mainly two types of flood damage to engine, one of a kind while the car is parked in low level area and due to heavy rain fall, mainly during night, the area gets flooded resulted into water entering into engine through air cleaner and exhaust-pipe. This water drained out as soon as the rain stops but some water remains in the air cleaner and in the engine.

In normal case, the owner or driver would not know about such accumulation of water and will try to start the engine. In normal case the starter will not function as due to water starter gets short circuit and damage. By any chance if the starter function for a while it will damage the engine parts. Can this be treated as a negligence or it is an ignorance? Do not expect car owner to know all above! Although in such cases damage to engine may not be of a serious nature.

In another case when the car is moving in a flooded water, it has been observed that due to air cleaner open mouth, which is at lower level, water enter into air cleaner and then it move into engine combustion chamber through open inlet value.

All four wheeler vehicle operation of engine is on the basic principle of four stroke cycle. Since water have entered into Air cleaner, Air and fuel mixture along with water will enter into combustion chamber.

As per four stroke cycle the said cylinder in which Air-water and petrol have entered, piston of that particular cylinder will move from bottom to top, but the water into combustion chamber will not allow piston to reach, top Dead centre. (TDC).

Liquid (water)being incompressible, the pressure of liquid in the engine cylinder during compression stroke generate high cylinder pressure leading to bending or breaking of a connecting rod, piston and other engine parts.

Damage to engine due to above mainly depends on at what speed engine is rotating and how much have quantity of water have entered. Small volume of water may pass through an engine cycle without any damage or at the most will bent connecting rod and engine will stop running. This type of damage is known as “Hydrostatic lock” and is covered under the insurance cover of a flood.

It has been also observed that many a time water level is very low where entry of water from air cleaner is ruled out but it so happened that another vehicle driving from apposite side splashes water which results into entry of water through Air – cleaner, and due to this engine will stop.

In such circumstances it is expected from the person who is driving the car should not try to crank the engine, but how far it is possible! It is a human nature to restart the engine by cracking the same.

While passing through flooded area the starter also gets short circuited and will not crank the engine. As especially in a parked car when water have entered up to Air cleaner level, it is evident to have damage to starter and other electrical parts.

After some time although the water will drained out but some quantity of water remained in the engine. The starter may not function but some people have a habit of making attempt to start the car by pushing. This will result into damage to engine.

Every year we have a flood like situation at some place where by many vehicles are damage. It is a duty of surveyor/Insurer to educate policy holder not to make any attempt to re-start the engine to save such losses and also ill-feelings when this types of losses prejudice.

Let us work together for “Loss Control” movement. Insurance and surveyor should have positive attitude towards such claims. For consumer such approach will create a more faith in non-life insurance.

By : Mahendra Dhruva, Former President – IIISL, Published in The Insurance Times, January, 2011