Our insured accidentally fueled his nondiesel car with diesel fuel at a self-serve gas station. After traveling a few miles, the car stopped running and was towed to a repair shop where it was repaired. It was determined that the cause of damage was the contaminated fuel system. Would this incident, which resulted in physical damage to the automobile, be considered a comprehensive loss?

Alabama Subscriber

The ISO personal auto policy promises to pay for loss caused by "other than collision," and lists ten perils considered to be "other than collision". The policy does not, however, limit coverage for "other than collision" to those ten items. In this case the cause of loss was the accidental insertion of the wrong fuel.

The cause was not mechanical breakdown. The wrong type of fuel caused mechanical breakdown, but mechanical breakdown was not the cause of the loss. Vandalism can cause mechanical breakdown, but the loss would still be covered.

In this case, the accidental use of improper fuel would be the same thing as if the insured had accidentally started the car on fire. The loss is covered and should be paid.