Does Car Insurance Cover Bodily Injuries?

Caeva O'Callaghan | April 1st, 2021

A Child Got Their Hand Caught in My Car Door and Has Injured Themselves. Will My Car Insurance Cover the Costs?

You’re rushing out the door with plenty of kids in tow, ready for football practice – then you hear a yell as one of them traps their hand in the car door. It can happen to any child, but will your insurance cover the mishap?

Yes, it will. Even if the child’s parent takes action against you, the costs including the investigative and defence costs will all be covered by your car insurance.

Even if you think they won’t claim, you should notify your insurance company of the incident – they may change their minds about making a claim against you in the future. It is a condition of your insurance policy that you notify them of any incident that may give rise to a claim.

In this article, we’ll cover the following questions:

• If my child’s friend is injured in my car, am I responsible?
• Will my car insurance cover injuries in my vehicle?
• Does my car insurance cover personal injury?

Always notify your insurer of such incidents. If there is no claim, your no claims bonus will be unaffected.

Third-party only car insurance

Third party, or third party only car insurance, is the minimum level of car insurance you need to legally drive in Ireland and in the UK. This means that every driver on the road has, at a minimum, third party cover, and if they do not then they are committing an offence.

Third party car insurance covers you if somebody else makes a claim against you. So, if you cause an accident or any damage to a person or other vehicle while driving, your third party cover will pay for ensuing costs. But third party car insurance also covers injury to anyone else if they injure themselves with your vehicle, such as shutting their finger in a car door.

Third party only insurance doesn’t pay for everything you may need. It’s a good idea to get third party, fire and theft if you’re worried about other risks.

Third party car insurance will not pay you for any damage to your vehicle in an accident. It also won’t pay for any medical or legal costs for your own injuries, including physiotherapy.

Associated medical costs

On the face of it, a child getting their hand caught in a car door might not seem that expensive of a problem. But you may find the parents have a very different view. They may need to make a claim on your insurance, simply to cover their costs.

For example, if they need to take a day or several days off to care for the child, they may need compensation for loss of income. If the child misses paid events, they could need to recoup the cost of the ticket. Hospital trips, including petrol and lunches or ambulance costs, all add up.

In serious cases, the child may need ongoing physiotherapy or counselling to get over the trauma of the injury. You should never underestimate the consequences of an injury early on in life, especially to the hands.

Child vehicle safety tips

No matter if you’re driving your own kids or someone else’s, there are some simple child car safety tips to follow to keep everyone safe and happy.

For example, driving with bored and unhappy children can be very distracting and this can make it difficult for you to concentrate and drive safely. Chat while you drive if you can, point out the window, have a singalong or praise them for not wriggling or fighting.

If you need to focus more, pack plenty of magnetic games, DVD’s and a portable player, and snacks to keep your little ones occupied.

Double check to ensure that the seat belt has not been fastened too tightly which can cause discomfort to a wriggly child, and always install car seats to manufacturer’s recommendations. There are some common mistakes associated with child safety seats, and not everyone chooses the model appropriate for the child’s size and age. Additionally, it is important to place the seat facing the right direction. Using a defective or a broken child safety seat can give rise to serious accidents and compromise your little one’s safety.

If you have any questions about car insurance, call us now!

If you have had an incident and need to talk to us, please feel free to pick up the phone and chat to our car insurance experts anytime Mon-Fri between 8.30am and 5.30pm on 0818 224433 or 042 9359051.

If your insurance is up for renewal and you would like to process an immediate car insurance quote, you can use our insurance calculator to compares insurance from 13 leading car insurance providers in Ireland. We look forward to helping you!