When a Bear Gets Into Your Car

People who have never seen it assume it is a campfire story. People who have seen it never leave a granola bar in the car again. Around Lake Tahoe and in the Sierra's campgrounds, trailheads and cabin neighborhoods, black bears learn that cars hold food, and a determined bear can peel a door frame back, pop a window or pull a rear seat apart to reach it.

Why bears go after cars

Bears run on their noses, and a car is a metal box with a smell coming out of it. They do not need much: a wrapper under a seat, a cooler that held lunch, a bag of trash, a child seat with crackers wedged into it. Wildlife agencies commonly add scented things that are not food at all, such as sunscreen, lip balm, toothpaste and air fresheners. A bear that has been rewarded once tends to try the same thing again, which is why break-ins cluster in the same parking areas.

Parking in bear country

• Empty the car of food and anything scented, every night, even for a short stay. "It's sealed" is not a defense.
• Take out coolers and grocery bags, even empty ones. Bears have learned what they look like.
• Use bear-resistant food lockers where campgrounds and trailheads provide them.
• Close every window fully. A cracked window is a handhold.
• Clean the child seats and floor mats before a mountain trip, not after.
• Garage the car at a cabin if there is a garage, and follow any bear rules the rental or homeowners association posts.

Which coverage pays, and which doesn't

Damage to a parked car from an animal is commonly handled under comprehensive, the coverage for losses other than a collision. You pay your comprehensive deductible and the insurer covers the rest of the repair, up to the car's value. Check your own policy wording, because how animal damage is described, and whether anything is excluded, varies by insurance company.

Collision does not come into it, since the car was not in a crash. A liability-only policy pays nothing, because liability coverage only pays for damage you cause to other people. If the car was a rental, the rental agreement, any damage waiver you bought and your own policy all play a part, and the rental company will want a report.

What a bear destroys inside the car, such as sunglasses, a camera or camping gear, is generally not an auto policy matter. Personal belongings usually fall to a homeowners or renters policy, if you have one, subject to its own deductible.

Documenting a bear claim

Bear damage is distinctive, and good records make the claim straightforward.

1. Photograph everything before you clean up: bent frames, claw marks on paint and trim, paw prints on glass, hair caught in the door seal, and the interior.
2. Report it to the campground host, ranger station or property manager if you were in a park or resort. A written record helps.
3. Get a repair estimate that includes the interior. Upholstery, headliner and odor remediation are part of the damage, not extras.
4. Do not drive with a door that will not latch or a window gone. Arrange a tow or a temporary fix first.
5. Call the claim in promptly, while the details are fresh.

The repeat-visit problem

After a break-in, the car may still smell interesting. Clean it thoroughly, including under the seats and in the trunk, before your next night in the mountains. And if your cabin or campsite had a visit, assume the bear will come back to check, because rewarded bears tend to.

Comprehensive is the coverage people drop first when money is tight and miss most when something like this happens. If you are not sure whether you still carry it, or what your deductible is, you can check your coverage before your next trip up the hill.