Driver in a storm wins payout over leaky car

By Xu Fang  |   2008-10-30  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

A car owner had a win in court over an insurance company yesterday when the company was ordered to pay more than 200,000 yuan (US$29,232) compensation for a BMW damaged in a sudden rain storm - because the driver could not be expected to predict the weather.

The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court heard the BMW owner, surnamed Xia, paid for a 1 million-yuan insurance package from Alltrust Property Insurance Co Ltd in January 2007.

At 5pm on August 5, 2007, Xia was caught in a storm when he drove the car home from the office. The heavy rain caused a traffic jam and the road was flooded with rain water, the court heard.

The water made the BMW break down and Xia had to report to the police and the insurance company.

The car was assessed to be damaged as water leaked into the engine, the city's vehicle quality supervision and inspection center said. Xia, as a result, paid 216,694 yuan for car maintenance, car inspection fee and the car drawing fee.

The court heard Alltrust only agreed to compensate Xia about 20,000 yuan and would not pay for the engine damage to the car.

The insurance company said the contract stipulated that the company would not take responsibility if the engine was destroyed because the vehicle was flooded or driven in water.

However, Xia filed a lawsuit asking for full compensation for his loss.

The court ruled that the insurance company should cover Xia's compensation and that the contract term should refer to driving the car in water on purpose.

Xia couldn't predict the storm and the rainfall amount, it said. As he was not a car mechanic, he also couldn't judge when water would leak into the engine, the court said.