Should I claim on my car insurance for a paint spillage in my car

rachelbatey

I was driving home with a tin of water based paint in the passenger footwell of my car, it fell over and the lid came off spilling almost 5 litres of paint on to the carpet and trims including a speaker.  Should I claim on my car insurance?  If I have it valeted and that doesn't restore the interior am I then too late to claim off my insurance?  Do I tell me insurance what has happened and that I intend to pay for a valet first but not actually claim?  Its such a minefield to know what to do for the best.  my car is only 4 months old so I want it to be restored to pristine condition.  Thanks I'd appreciate your comments (and please don't tell me I should have secured the paint tin better - that isn't constructive as I am devastated)

BOWFER

If it were me:

1. Ask a valeting company if it can be cleaned
2. NO WAY do I even mention the incident to insurance unless I'm 100% sure I'm going to claim from them
You probably have compulsory and voluntary excess, what do they come to?

chrisw

Get it valeted quick before it has a chance to dry.

Some good advice here:-

https://cars.newagain.co.uk/blog.asp?topic=help--i-spilled-paint-in-my-car&tag=&id=23

rachelbatey

BOWFER said:

If it were me:

1. Ask a valeting company if it can be cleaned
2. NO WAY do I even mention the incident to insurance unless I'm 100% sure I'm going to claim from them
You probably have compulsory and voluntary excess, what do they come to?

Thanks for replying.  I've tried half a dozen or more valeting companies and the earliest I can get one is Friday but they do say they can do the work.  I have excess of £150....

rachelbatey

chrisw said:

Get it valeted quick before it has a chance to dry.

Some good advice here:-

I am trying but finding a valeter who can fit me in is proving a challenge - friday is the earliest I can get.  My worry is if that doesn't work have I already invalidated making a claim on my insurance?

BOWFER

rachelbatey said:

chrisw said:

Get it valeted quick before it has a chance to dry.

Some good advice here:-

I am trying but finding a valeter who can fit me in is proving a challenge - friday is the earliest I can get.  My worry is if that doesn't work have I already invalidated making a claim on my insurance?

I'd say no.
Thinking about this from a house insurance point of view, let's say you spilled the paint on your carpet.
It's perfectly reasonable to try and clean it yourself and , if the stain doesn't clean up, you then contact your insurance for a new carpet  - that's what it's for.
Same difference, you've tried (and failed) to clean it, so insurance for replacement of the interior comes into play.
But, again, only contact them after your attempt to clean, not before.
If you contact them before and the valet is successful, the fact you've been clumsy will still be recorded in their system and held against you (potentially).

rachelbatey

Thanks Bowfer for your help!

neilmcl

Would your car insurance even cover this sort of thing?

neilmcl

rachelbatey said:

I was driving home with a tin of water based paint in the passenger footwell of my car, it fell over and the lid came off spilling almost 5 litres of paint on to the carpet and trims including a speaker.  Should I claim on my car insurance?  If I have it valeted and that doesn't restore the interior am I then too late to claim off my insurance?  Do I tell me insurance what has happened and that I intend to pay for a valet first but not actually claim?  Its such a minefield to know what to do for the best.  my car is only 4 months old so I want it to be restored to pristine condition.  Thanks I'd appreciate your comments (and please don't tell me I should have secured the paint tin better - that isn't constructive as I am devastated)

What type of paint? If water based then it should be relatively easy to clean.

BOWFER

neilmcl said:

Would your car insurance even cover this sort of thing?

Why wouldn't it (assuming fully comprehensive) ?
I suppose their 'out' could be that it was negligence.

Ectophile

There seems to be a lot of wishful thinking going on here.  Nobody is going to successfullt clean a load of paint off the inside of a car, especially if it's left until Friday, so it dries thoroughly.

The only option is going to be to rip out any carpets, speaker grilles, and the like.  Then replace with new.