Garages, Cars and Ladders

Car Covered: 1955 Porsche 356 Speedster

What Went Wrong: The insured drove his daily driver into the garage stall alongside his Porsche, then exited the garage through the side door. When the door slammed, a ladder fell onto the front of the Porsche, causing a large dent, damage to the paint, and a cracked headlight.

Damage: Front-end damage, including the broken headlight. Total cost of the claim: $3615.82.

Cause: The vehicle was stored in a home garage that was also used for a regular-use vehicle as well as storage of lawn and garden equipment. An unsecured ladder was left near the vehicle.

This type of claim is all too common, but entirely preventable. While many of us keep our collector cars in our home garages, we often don’t take the precautions we should to safeguard vehicles from accidental harm. Damage commonly occurs from bikes, falling rakes, or from traffic in and out of the garage. If the family garage is the only storage alternative for your classic, take the following steps to make it more secure:

• Clear out ample space for your vehicle.
• Don’t leave tools where they can fall on the car.
• Limit unsupervised access of children to the garage.
• Consider installing a shed outside the garage for tools, toys, and bikes.
• Keep a cloth car cover on the vehicle to prevent scratches from walking traffic and animals that can get near it.  Additionally, the cover could protect against scratches from something smaller falling onto the collector car.