Advice for car owners during extreme weather

Following the new flood alert issued for parts of Cumbria yesterday, Peter Gerrard, motoring expert from Moneyextra.com gives his advice to car owners to help them minimise the potential damage to their cars and how best to go about claiming should their car have been damaged by the flood waters:

Talk to your insurers: Check your policy for what you are covered for. It's likely that if you only have third party, or third party fire and theft policies, that these won't include flood damage cover. Don't be fooled into thinking that this type of cover is cheaper than a comprehensive policy. A comprehensive policy can sometimes even be cheaper than third party!

Never attempt to drive in floodwater, this can cause irreparable damage to engines, especially diesel and turbo engines which are the most susceptible.

If your car is submerged in floodwater do not attempt to start it, instead do all you can to remove the water and leave the car to dry before you do try and start it as this could cause irreversible damage to the engine.

If where you normally park is vulnerable to flooding, it may pay to park car at higher ground if you are concerned about further rain.

If you can't move the car safely then remove all personal belongings out of the vehicle to reduce the cost of any claim.

Don't assume that if the car has been in water then it is necessarily a write-off, depending on the level of water the damage may be repairable.

For advice in the event of a flood you can visit the Environment Agency's website at environment-agency.gov.uk or call 0845 988 1188 for the national advice line.