With natural perils, there's typically no at-fault party whose MTPL would pay – though in some cases (a neglected tree, a falling piece of building, a road-surface defect) the tree's or building's owner, or the road authority, may bear liability for the damage, backed by their own liability insurance. Where no such liable party exists, without casco the loss stays the owner's. Hail can dent a whole bodywork's worth of damage into a car in a few minutes, and the summer storm season brings flash floods that sweep cars away, year after year.
- The typical scope: storm (wind, a fallen branch), hail, flooding, lightning, fire, explosion – the exact list depends on the policy.
- Definitions matter: "storm" typically comes with a wind-speed threshold, and flooding may have geographic limits.
- Natural-perils damage is often preventable: covered parking when a storm's forecast, a hail cover, a considered route – care pays off here.
What do the terms include here?
The typical list: storm damage (objects moved by wind, a fallen tree, a broken branch), hailstorms, lightning and its secondary effects, flooding, landslides, snow and ice loading, fire and explosion. The boundaries depend on definitions: storms are often tied to a wind-speed threshold, and flooding may carry geographic or location limits – for parking in a floodplain, for example. In your own policy, the list of insured events together with the definitions section gives you the full picture: here's how to read it.
The two big seasons: summer hail, winter snow
The two peak seasons for natural-perils claims are the summer storm season (hail, flash floods, gale-force wind) and winter (snow loading, secondary collision damage from icy roads). Documenting hail damage is an art: photographing dents depends heavily on the light – we've written a separate guide for it: hail-damage photo guide, and how to report it is covered here: reporting hail and storm damage.
Prevention: worth more than the premium
The best defence against natural-perils damage is often a matter of habit, not insurance: covered or tree-free parking when a storm's forecast, a hail cover kept in the boot during storm season, awareness around underground car parks in flash-flood-prone areas, and rethinking long-term parking under trees in autumn. The winter-summer checklist pulls this together – and casco is there for whatever risk remains after all that care.
Park somewhere prone to hail, or just want to know what to expect? book a free 20-minute consultation →
