The devastation of the ongoing wildfires in Southern California it is expected to break records for property losses, with some 12,000 structures already burned.

With thousands of victims losing their homes, home owners insurance in state has been a major focus since the disaster began last week. But what about those who lost their vehicles in the fires?

Burnt cars and burned homes destroyed by the Palisades Fire are seen along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu, California on January 10, 2025. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

It all depends on the type of policy the owner has on the vehicle.

Robert Passmore, vice president of auto and claims at the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), said FOX business in an interview that there are two types of coverage for damage to a vehicle.

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“That’s collision coverage, for when you hit something or another object or another car, and then there’s comprehensive coverage, which is for pretty much everything else that can happen to your car—things like floods or a tree that falls on it, or that gets struck by lightning, burns in a fire,” he explained. “So if you have full coverage on your car, your loss would be covered by your auto policy.”

Passmore said most of the vehicles damaged by the fires that have burned in Los Angeles over the past week will be total losses, noting, “Typically, you can’t repair a car that’s been in one of these fires.” .

He said people with comprehensive coverage whose vehicles are totaled by fires will be paid the market value of the vehicle at the time of loss, before it burned.

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Passmore said that typically when disasters such as floods or wildfires occur, most people use their cars to escape, but some vehicles are often left behind, as many households own more vehicles than drivers.

Chimneys stand amid debris after the Palisades Fire broke out in Pacific Palisades, California on January 8, 2025. (AGUSTIN PAULLIER/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)

He said one issue that can hold up a fire claim is whether the vehicle’s title is destroyed, because that documentation is necessary for processing. However, if he loses his title to the property, for example, because his house burned down, the insurance company can help them apply for a duplicate degree.

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Passmore said many people keep their titles in a safe deposit box at a bank, or in a safe in their home that they can take with them if they have to flee.