What is Force Majeure and Does it Affect My Car Insurance?

Ever wondered what’s the meaning of a force majeure car insurance clause? Confusingly, not all contracts mention such a clause but ultimately they’ll have a section that describes certain situations that mean one or both parties aren’t expected to fulfil their normal contractual obligations.

Car insurance clauses can sometimes be confusing but needn’t be. Ultimately you want a buffer for when car-related incidents happen so that you aren’t left out of pocket. After an accident or theft, for example. While car insurance provides this protection, force majeure is about events bigger than the contractual agreement itself.

Let’s take a look at force majeure – both at its meaning and some key examples.

What is the meaning of a force majeure?

Force majeure is the French term for “greater force”. It basically refers to forces that are greater than you or I and could be deemed as acts of God.

Lots of English language terms, like déjà vu and cul de sac, come from the French language. Force majeure is another.

These can include catastrophes like earthquakes or pandemics and some human made situations, like nuclear bombs and terrorism.

How does force majeure affect a contract?

When a force majeure event comes into play, it can lead to various scenarios. It depends on the cause and the effect on either you, your car insurance provider or both parties. For example, if a country breaks out in civil unrest or a natural disaster wreaks havoc then a force majeure car insurance clause may come into effect.

In such a hypothesis there’d be a few different legal routes.

Here are some examples:

Pausing a contract

One outcome could include putting a pause on contractual duties for a specified time. This could be a defined limited period or it could be for as long as the force majeure event prevents either party from fulfilling their obligations.

Ending a contract

If temporarily pausing a contract doesn’t suit the situation, then another option can be terminating the car insurance contract. For example, the clause could be that the contract ends if the force majeure persists for longer than a specified period.

Redefining contractual duties

Another possible outcome is a renegotiation process. The impacted party is often excused from liability to the extent that the force majeure event hampers their performance. This means that they can have some or all their contractual obligations excused. In essence, when a force majeure event occurs, the affected party typically gets a break from their responsibilities.

Force majeure meaning in car insurance

As mentioned, events that are so serious and have consequences beyond anyone’s control can sometimes mean you or your provider have to pause, renegotiate or end a contract.

Sometimes, car insurance includes a force majeure clause that outline these events. It’s a situation where either you or the insurer are excused from your contractual obligations.

The force majeure car insurance clause essentially outlines which situations prevent you/your insurance provider from fulfilling your/their obligations under a contract.

But there are also a set of force majeure events which a car insurance policy can provide for. These tend to fall under a list of inclusions and exclusions so they aren’t always listed specifically as a force majeure car insurance clause.

How does force majeure affect a car insurance contract?

When looking at how force majeure affects your car insurance, it’s a good idea to recap what your car insurance covers.

Your car insurance cover

There are several different types of car insurance cover to choose. For example, there’s third party liability that covers you for the costs of damage you could cause to someone else’s car or other property. There’s mid range cover that also helps pay for some damage to your car then there’s comprehensive car insurance.

This type of insurance is the widest ranging level of cover because it covers you for damage you may cause to others’ property and it covers your car for all sorts of incidents. For example, damage from severe weather such as hail, storms and fire. It also covers damage or loss of your car because of a car accident or theft.

Now that you’ve recapped the basics of your car insurance cover, back to force majeure and it’s meaning as a car insurance clause.

Car insurance providers carry the risk

Car insurance providers help you recover your car more quickly after incidents that are listed in your policy by reimbursing you for costs. Sometimes these costs can hugely outweigh what you pay in premiums so how is this possible?

In any type of insurance, be in car, home, travel or other, there are teams of people working behind the scenes to ensure that the risk of each driver can be covered if things go wrong. While your car insurance provider carries this risk so you don’t have to, there is a limit to the where this cover extends.

Force majeure meaning in policy inclusions

Many superior forces that are beyond both you and your car insurance provider’s control can still be covered by car insurance policies. These will be under your list of what’s covered, rather than by a specific force majeure car insurance clause.

Here are some examples of force majeure events that can be covered:

• Floods
• Fires
• Hail
• Storms

Get to know what is and isn’t covered by each car insurance provider so you know what to expect if you need to claim.

Force majeure meaning in policy exclusions

Some types of force majeure events are beyond the limits of what’s covered – these are known as policy exclusions.

Typical policy exclusions may include things like driving an unregistered car, drunk driving and underage driving. These types of policy exclusions are common sense because they’re also simply about using one’s car within the boundaries of the law.

However, some exclusions are because of force majeure – meaning they’re beyond the realm of what can be reasonably covered.

Here are some examples:

• Nuclear activities and events
• Contaminants and pollutants
• War and terrorism
• Looting
• Communicable disease and pandemic

Always read your car insurance policy and make sure to understand each clause. This helps you know what force majeure events are excluded in your cover.

Choose award winning car insurance

Regardless of the level of car insurance cover you choose, it’s a good idea to learn about what’s covered and what isn’t. Importantly, choose a car insurance provider who’s there to help you understand the fine print and makes communication simple and streamlined.

Whether force majeure or not, knowing you have an insurance provider that communicates well means you’ll be supported well. Click below to get a car insurance quote from PD Insurance today.