FYI: Meteor Damage Likely Covered By Your Insurance
DETROIT (WWJ) - Had there been any damage from the meteor that exploded over Michigan, your home or business would likely be covered.
In case you were wondering, Lori Conarton with Insurance Alliance of Michigan says a provision in most standard insurance policies allows for payouts for this type of event.
"There's coverage for things falling out of the sky, under your homeowners or business policy," Conarton said, adding that this would include everything from tree branches, to satellites, to asteroids, meteors and other space debris.
Of course, collecting on such a claim would be an unusual occurrence.
"In Michigan, we're used to hearing about tornado damage or wind damage, that type of weather-related damage. But it's unusual to hear of a meteor, and one that was viewed by so many people," Conareton said.
While no damage has been reported, scientists do believe some debris tumbled to Earth as the meteor fell apart over metro Detroit Tuesday night, causing tremors equal to a 2.0 magnitude earthquake.
Experts at NASA have said the rock likely disintegrated into lots of smaller pebbles, called "meteorites," which would have scattered across the ground. NASA shared an image of the possible trajectory of the meteor, saying the pieces are most likely to be found in Livingston County.
"It is likely that there are meteorites on the ground near this region," read the Facebook photo caption. "One of our colleagues at [the Johnson Space Center] has found a Doppler weather radar signature characteristic of meteoritic material falling to earth."
Mike Narlock, head of astronomy at the Cranbrook Institute of Science told WWJ it's not out of the question that a metro Detroiter could find a chunk or two.
Take note, however: "It's possible that there was this cataclysmic event that the entire object blew apart and everything just sort of disintegrated or became so fine as to become indistinguishable from anything else you may find lying on the ground," Narlock said.
Scientists continue to investigate.