Coverage for Airbag Deployment

February 1, 2016

If airbags deploy because of hitting a pothole, is there coverage under a standard personal auto policy? If there is coverage, would it be collision or other than collision?

West Virginia Subscriber

The majority opinion of courts is that hitting a pothole is a collision with another object, that is, the road. So we agree with that majority opinion. As for the air bags, the coverage under the PAP is for loss (not defined) of the auto and equipment. Airbags are certainly equipment and if they are deployed, they are lost in that they have to be reset in order for them to be usable again. So, we are of the opinion, that this was a direct and accidental loss of auto equipment and since there is no applicable exclusion, the PAP should apply.