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-   -   Insurance claim after Powerbank explodes inside a car? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-loans-insurance/187837-insurance-claim-after-powerbank-explodes-inside-car.html)

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?

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

I don't think the power bank would count as a natural calamity, and more due to carelessness.
Also, as it is not a car accessory that was also insured as part of the car insurance - I doubt they will be able to do much.

I don't think anything other than a lightning strike would qualify as a natural calamity under the fire/explosion clause.

Don't really see any favourable recourse here.

Which power bank?

Wow! and just today I was thinking of running my dashcam with powerbank.

This is a real risk today. Dashcams, gps loggers etc have low quality batteries built-in, and they will react badly to high temperatures in closed vehicles.

If a member has a good connect with someone into insurance, perhaps this topic can be broached in general and explored.

One of the reasons I opted for dashcam with capacitor and not a battery and plan a hardware diy once I have it delivered. Extra caution needs to be taken when using such devices specially with batteries in our country where temperatures can sore up to wrong side of 40's easily.

Don't see this being entertained by the insurance guys. Take care mate. Sad to hear about the damage.

Out here in the US, you are asked if the vehicle has any additional after-market accessories; I remember seeing similar question for insurance quotations (atleast for Tata-AIG). While our regulations are nowhere close to those seen in developed countries like US, from a theoretical standpoint if you had mentioned your powerbank in your insurance policy, you might have a base to fight back.

I've left two cameras running off a lithium-polymer power bank while parked under direct sun on several occasions and usually leave the power bank inside the car.

In view of this incident, plan on giving it a rest during summer months, unless parking in an extremely sketchy spot.

32° C = 54° after an hour of exposure

Which car and can you share some photos? Thankfully no one was hurt.

As fellow members have said, it might be tough to get the claim. Try and push as much as you can though.

Sorry to hear, and best wishes.

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

Thanks everyone for the opinion and well wishes. Fortunately no one was hurt and that's the biggest relief.

Thanks for sharing! This is such an important lesson for all us; given how common power banks and other Li-ion battery run devices we have in our cars.

I have a dashcam in the car that is always fixed on the windshield; wonder if I should stow it in the glovebox when the car is parked. Carrying these devices: GPS, dashcam, is not really practical so there's no true perfect solution.

Hope things work out, as much as possible for you.

Question: would including an add-on for electrical accessories in the insurance policy have helped?

Thanks for the well wishes. Don't know about electrical accessories insurance if this is offered. We usually look into these things only when its too late :)

This is scary. Thanks for pointing this out. We should be careful to avoid keeping battery devices in the car when parked in the sun for long.
On some other thread, a BHPian had posted about how he had stored a Pepper Spray container in his glove compartment and forgotten about it. A few days later, he took something from the glove compartment and by mistake touched his eyes. He had hell to pay,as the container had burst due to the intense heat and had spread the liquid chilly in the glove compartment. This is true for all aerosols.

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

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.