With standards for safety inspections getting increasingly tougher many drivers often wonder what exactly does happen should their vehicle fail this inspection. How long do they have to get the car repaired if necessary? And what happens to their insurance coverage in the event that the automobile does fail its safety inspection? The reason for these inspections is of course to ensure that cars on the road are completely safe and consequently will not cause any problems due to faulty lights bad brakes or sub par tires for instance. The question of insurance coverage in the event of such a failure will depend on the circumstances involved.
What Happens When a Car Fails a Safety Inspection?
For whatever reason if your car fails its safety inspection you will generally have ten days to get the problem fixed. This could be something as simple as a defunct taillight or more serious such as an emissions failure. Regardless of the issue it is your responsibility to fix it. Once the issue has been fixed you must provide proof of repairs along with the original inspection to your insurance company. So what happens then if you get into an accident during that ten-day interim and you have yet to rectify the problem cited?
An Accident Occurs Before You Get a Problem Fixed
Depending on what caused the accident and who is at fault your insurer may or may not cover the damage. They may also opt to cover some of the costs associated but not all. Again this is circumstance specific. For instance if the accident was your fault and it resulted because of a broken taillight which incidentally was the reason you failed your safety inspection your insurer may not cover the damages incurred or they might only cover a small part of the expenses associated.
Then again if the accident is not your fault and had nothing to do with any of the reasons your car failed its inspection the insurance company may simply treat it as they normally would regardless of inspection status.
The best way to know what might happen in the event that your vehicle does not pass the safety inspection is to talk to your insurance broker and find out their policy on this issue. Your broker would be more than happy to review the various scenarios with you so that you have a better idea of what to expect.
