[hserus]

Originally Posted by ashesh

I made the mistake of leaving a Powerbank inside the car and it exploded due to heat while it was parked. The interiors of the car were burnt.

I have sent the car to the dealer and today their claims department told me that Bharti AXA (from which the insurance is) stated this claim doesn't come under insurance.

I see the inclusion in policy "Natural calamities: Fire, explosion..." shouldn't this cover it? Any suggestions?

Fire damage by any cause is covered. My car had to go for a full repaint once because someone was lighting diwali fireworks on the terrace and the sparks fell all over the car, leaving black burn marks on the roof and doors.

The insurance company (new india) called it fire damage and paid for the repaint.

The sarkari insurers are often much better at settling claims than the private insurers are so please keep that in mind for your policies.

[ashesh]

Originally Posted by GTO

Please also share pics!

However it happened, it is still an accident / mistake and should be covered by the insurance. Don't give up so easily; take it up with the ombudsman.

Let's say I'm on a road-trip with my family and someone is carrying a powerbank in their luggage. Am I supposed to screen bags (like they do at airports) before they go in the boot? What about laptops? So many people carry their laptops in the cabin or boot. What if the battery explodes? Will the insurance company say no? What if a mobile phone explodes?

Again, no one likes a damaged car, but things happen and that's why we have insurance. Would love more clarity on this & I hope you fight them. Right now, it's just someone's words...but they haven't rejected your claim on paper.

Insurance companies basically have a ready list of incidents (e.g. road accident, theft etc.); anything off that list is first met with rejection.

Here's a case where the insurance company covered the damage (after a cellphone exploded). There are many more examples online:

Source

Thanks GTO for your input. I will update once things start rolling. Right now the chance for insurance claim is bleak.

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Hello! I see from your location that you are based in Gurgaon. Did this incident happen when the car was parked in one of the open office parking lots?

Outside car parks of major offices in Gurgaon have no tree cover whatsoever and there are hundreds of car parked under direct sunlight. I think due to the weather + reflection from the cars, the heat is so strong that it can cause such incidents. This happened to a friend of mine - she got burns when she sat inside her car.

Thanks rrsteer for your input No, it was parked in residential area but under the sun.

Originally Posted by hserus

Fire damage by any cause is covered. My car had to go for a full repaint once because someone was lighting diwali fireworks on the terrace and the sparks fell all over the car, leaving black burn marks on the roof and doors.

The insurance company (new india) called it fire damage and paid for the repaint.

The sarkari insurers are often much better at settling claims than the private insurers are so please keep that in mind for your policies.

Thanks hserus for your input. I don't think any/all kind of fire is covered. Yours case would have come under arson.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by ashesh

Thanks hserus for your input. I don't think any/all kind of fire is covered. Yours case would have come under arson.

Arson is a specific legal term which involves criminal intent to burn something down. Eg a mob goes and burns down a house that is arson. Or someone wants to claim insurance and sets fire to his own house or car that is arson.

This thing where a woman is cooking and her sari accidentally catches fire, diwali fireworks accidentally cause fire damage etc is definitely not arson.

[ashesh]

Originally Posted by hserus

Arson is a specific legal term which involves criminal intent to burn something down. Eg a mob goes and burns down a house that is arson. Or someone wants to claim insurance and sets fire to his own house or car that is arson.

This thing where a woman is cooking and her sari accidentally catches fire, diwali fireworks accidentally cause fire damage etc is definitely not arson.

I was referring to the following but then my knowledge to legal terms are limited.

someone was lighting diwali fireworks on the terrace and the sparks fell all over the car,

[hserus]

Originally Posted by ashesh

I was referring to the following but then my knowledge to legal terms are limited.

Yes of course. That is why I said it is not arson. If someone had deliberately thrown the firework onto the car (eg: because he had some enmity / quarrel or just because he thought it'd be fun) that'd be arson.

This is different, light flower pots on the terrace, the sparks fall down onto a car.

[WhiteFang]

Originally Posted by ashesh

It's Elite i20. Here is the photo of the interior.

This looks terrible.
From the moment I started reading this thread I was imagining how interior must have looked after the incident. But this one turned out to be far worser than what I pictured in my mind.

A big lesson for all of us.

[harsh79]

That does look terrible but it could've been a lot worse. I was picturing an almost trashed cabin.

Shouldn't cost a bomb as the seats can be reupholstered and the centre armrest console doesn't run north of 5k.

Was the power bank stashed inside the armrest console? If yes, was the top latched down completely?

Was the car parked under direct sun? If so, for how long?

[wrongturn]

Originally Posted by ashesh

It's Elite i20. Here is the photo of the interior.

This looks terrible, was any measure taken to control the fire or did it extinguish due to lack of oxygen in the closed cabin?
In any case this is an accident and should be covered by the insurance. If they deny it, tell them you will sue them. If they don't agree, take that into writing, get your car fixed asap and file a suit against them later.

[ashesh]

Originally Posted by harsh79

That does look terrible but it could've been a lot worse. I was picturing an almost trashed cabin.

Shouldn't cost a bomb as the seats can be reupholstered and the centre armrest console doesn't run north of 5k.

Was the power bank stashed inside the armrest console? If yes, was the top latched down completely?

Was the car parked under direct sun? If so, for how long?

Yes the power bank was kept inside armrest console and latched. I guess around 5 hours.

Originally Posted by wrongturn

This looks terrible, was any measure taken to control the fire or did it extinguish due to lack of oxygen in the closed cabin?
In any case this is an accident and should be covered by the insurance. If they deny it, tell them you will sue them. If they don't agree, take that into writing, get your car fixed asap and file a suit against them later.

The fire stopped itself most likely as you said. due to lack of oxygen.

[aim120]

Originally Posted by Fabiaous

Powerbanks made of 18650 Rechargeable Lithium ion battery are more dangerous than Li-ion Polymer. else keeping a cell phone itself in car can be a cause of worry.

Absolute false, 18650 li-on battery have a vent to release pressure build up. Where as lithium polmers (king of lithium fires) don't have such measures, since they are for the most part a prismatic/pouch cell.

I have been using lithium polymer batteries in my RC cars since 2008 and over the years all of my Lithium polymer batteries have puffed(expanded), since they cannot release the gas.

While I never had fires yet, I have always carefully disposed them off.

On the other hand genuine Li-on 18650 batteries some of which are more then 7 years old are still running strong.

I say genuine because the market, even in the supplier level is filled with fake batteries from china. Many such fake 18650 have a tiny lithium polymer battery stuffed inside a a 18650 shell.

Check the youtube link.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=JzzfzGJpUS8

The only power bank that I would trust is a genuine xiaomi bought from Mi store not the countless fake xiaomi out there. Or the more expensive branded ones like Sony and would still prefer a lithium Ion based over a Litium polymer.

[harsh79]

Originally Posted by aim120

The only power bank that I would trust is a genuine xiaomi bought from Mi store not the countless fake xiaomi out there. Or the more expensive branded ones like Sony and would still prefer a lithium Ion based over a Litium polymer.

Some Sony models come with 'Hybrid Gel technology'. I'd ordered the 8700 mAh one but it was unusually big and heavy for a 8700 mAh bank.

[AdiSinghV12]

This is real unfortunate, my leaking power bank 'caught fire' next to my laptop and I was lucky enough and since then bid goodbye to all power banks. I doubt insurance will cover this as they are anyway resilient in terms of interior damage in case of a non-accident

[sdp1975]

You can approach the Insurance Ombudsman if you have a legitimate case and your claim has been rejected. I'm not sure on the legitimacy aspects , but some posts seem to suggest that the claim should have been approved. Even sending a mail to your Insurer that you plan to approach the ombudsman may do the trick.

I don't know what the damages are , but remember that making small claims will make you lose your no claim bonus.

[VishJ]

Sad to see your car like this sir. I am an insurance professional and there is no exclusion in the usual motor policy to reject this claim. Further it can be covered under "Accident due to external perils" clause in the policy. If they don't acknowledge this, you may ask the company to give their reason for rejecting the claim in written format. That may help further to elevate the issue.

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by ashesh

Ambrane power bank but I guess any power bank would have met the same fate...

1. Was the power bank kept on top of the dash or so, where it was in direct sunlight?

I usually leave my power bank on the lowest portion of the console where sunrays can just not reach and is usually cooler compared to other surfaces exposed to sunlight.

2. How much time had it been since you locked your car and opened it later to find the problem? Did anyone inform you as soon as it exploded or you came to know as & when you unlocked the car later?

3. Would you also know the approximate ambient temperature when the issue happened? This summer, in Chennai, we had as high as 42 degrees.

Edit:: I see you have already answered some of my questions.