As Seen On The Big Screen: How To Make Sure You’re Covered When You Need It Most

We’ve seen it all before; it’s what makes a movie memorable: destruction that looks like it would cost a fortune to fix. Whether it’s a house party that gets out of control, a home invasion gone awry, or a minor who decides to try out a shiny red convertible that’s on display, you watched these films and sincerely hoped that those people had really good homeowners insurance coverage.

Ferris Buller’s Day Off (1986)

Any kid who was alive in 1986 has likely seen Ferris Bueler skip school for a day and convince his goody-two-shoes friend Cameron to rebel with him. After their day of debauchery, including taking Cameron’s father’s prized possession – a 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider – out for a spin, Cameron and Ferris return the car to Cameron’s father’s garage, only to discover that hundreds of miles have been added to the odometer. Ferris comes up with the idea to run the car in reverse with the wheels jacked up to turn back the odometer. Upon realizing that’s not working, Cameron unleashes his anger toward his father on the Ferrari. Once Cameron calms down, he rests against the car, knocking it off the jack and onto the floor where it proceeds to race in reverse, crash through a glass wall, and land in a ravine, creating one of the most iconic scenes in movie history.

The gasps and scrunched faces that manifest in response to this scene lead to one question: How much of that will Cameron’s dad have to pay for?

Well, because the car was garaged at the time of the incident, and therefore counts as a home-bound item, it can be covered under the Frye’s homeowners insurance policy. Mr. Frye may have also had his Ferrari insured under an auto insurance policy, but that may not cover everything. Mr. Frye would also want to make sure to have Replacement Cost Coverage, insuring all property in his home and garage to at least 80 percent of the total replacement cost. This may not get him to be completely covered, so insuring an item to 100 percent will certainly protect him in the case of a total loss like this. His homeowners insurance policy will cover the cost of replacing the glass window, after his deductibe, and of potentially getting the area around the garage cleaned up and the remnants of the Ferrari recovered.

Project X (2012)

The epitome of teenage mayhem, the birthday party in this film results in several housefires and a Mercedes Benz in a swimming pool. One teenager can cause a lot of damage, let alone over a thousand teenagers. The party, thrown by four teenagers, Costa, Thomas, J.B., and Dax, was supposed to be a small get-together when news of the rager spread like wildfire, much like the real fire would spread across the neighborhood on the night of the party in question when a man with a flamethrower torches the party house and then the rest of the neighborhood.

Similar to Mr. Frye’s Ferrari, you would hope that the Mercedes in question (Thomas’ father’s) was insured to 100 percent. You would also hope that Thomas’ parents’ homeowners insurance policy contained liability coverage that would help pay for damage to their neighbors’ property so they’re not drowning in legal fees for the rest of their lives. Surprisingly, some homeowners insurance policies cover legal fees and other costs of lawsuits.

The likelihood of these incidents actually occurring in or near your home is not very high, but no one ever expects an accident. Because people don’t expect accidents (like the ones mentioned above) to happen, they can’t afford to pay for them. Before you’re left to foot the bill, look for homeowners and auto insurance policies that suit your needs with CoverHound.