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5 Lightning Myths Debunked

Lightning Actually Does Strike the Same Place Twice and It Might Just Total Your Car

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By Susan Meyer
Updated July 25, 2025
Reviewed By Beth Swanson
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Susan Meyer

Senior Editorial Manager

Susan is a licensed insurance agent and has worked as a writer and editor for over 10 years across a number of industries. She has worked at The Zebr…

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  • Licensed Insurance Agent — Property and Casualty
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Beth Swanson

Insurance Analyst

Beth joined The Zebra in 2022 as an Associate Content Strategist. A licensed insurance agent, she specializes in creating clear, accessible content t…

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  • Licensed Insurance Agent — Property and Casualty
  • Associate in Insurance
  • Professional Risk Consultant
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  1. Myth: Stay out of your car
  2. Myth: Lay down and stay low to the ground
  3. Myths: EVs are dangerous
  4. Myth: You're 100% safe inside
  5. Myth: Home/car insurance and lightning
  6. Protecting your home

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When someone wants to emphasize the rarity of an event, they’ll often say, “You’re more likely to be struck by lightning.” 

And while it is rare for a person to be struck by lightning (which accounts for approximately 20 fatalities a year), lightning caused around $1.35 billion in property damages in the U.S. last year. In fact, the overall amount paid for lightning claims has increased almost 13% since 2017.[1]

Lightning storms occur in all 50 states, but there are definitely parts of the country that are more prone to this particular peril. The Central Florida peninsula, from Tampa Bay to Cape Canaveral, has some of the highest lightning concentration in the United States. Florida is where nearly half of the fatal lightning strikes appeared last year, and it also had the greatest number of insurance property claims related to lightning.[2]

Let’s look at a few myths about this electric menace and the real facts for how to stay safe and protected when lightning strikes.

Myth: It’s Safer to Be Outside Your Car Than In It During a Lightning Storm

You may have heard some conflicting advice on what to do if you’re driving through a lightning storm. Should you stay in your car, which is essentially a metal box? Do the rubber tires protect against lightning? 

Lightning may strike your car, but it will likely provide protection to those inside in what’s called a Faraday cage effect. This has nothing to do with the rubber tires, though. While rubber is an effective insulator, it’s only effective up to a point. 

However, the metal of your car is a good conductor of electricity, and that can help guide the lightning around you. (This only works if you’re in the car, not if you’re standing outside it and touching it.) The lightning will pass through the vehicle’s outer metal shell and then through the tires to the ground. The good news is that means you will likely be safe…but the bad news is your car may not be. The heat of a lightning strike and sudden discharge of electricity can damage electrical systems and even shatter windows.[3]

Myth: If You're Outside During a Lightning Storm, Lay on the Ground

Laying on the ground was once thought to be a good strategy for avoiding lightning. People think of things sticking up out of the ground, like trees, as attracting lightning strikes. So it stands to reason that if you’re lower to the ground, you’ll be safer.

Actually, the opposite is true. When lightning strikes the ground, it doesn’t only affect that exact point. Electric currents branch out along the ground in a tendril pattern and can be fatal up to 100 feet away from the strike point. The best way to avoid being affected is to minimize your body’s contact with the Earth’s surface. 

At one time, it was also recommended that you get into a crouch position to minimize your height while not increasing your body contact with the ground (as you would do lying down). However, experts now say that even crouching doesn’t really improve your chances of survival. Your best bet is to seek shelter and avoid open areas during a lightning storm.[4]

Myth: Electric Vehicles Are More Dangerous Than Gas Vehicles if You’re Struck by Lightning

Driving an electric vehicle in a thunderstorm poses no greater risk than driving a gas-powered vehicle. As long as the car has a hard top, the same Faraday cage principle will protect you if you’re inside the vehicle and it's struck by lightning.[5]

That said, while it’s safe to charge your electric vehicle in the rain, as outdoor charging stations are designed to work in all weather conditions, you might want to avoid charging your car outdoors in a lightning storm. Then again, this would also be true of filling up a car at a gas station. As a general rule, if lightning is happening, it’s safer to be on the inside of your vehicle than outside it, and especially making physical contact with the outside of it.

Myth: You are completely safe from lightning inside your house

Being inside during a storm is one of the safest places to be. However, it’s not 100% safe unless you don’t touch anything that conducts electricity. This includes: corded phones (cell phones are safe to use), electric appliances, wires, computers, plumbing, metal doors and windows.

These concerns are higher in older homes. If you have a corded phone and a lightning strike hits the phone line outside your home, and you’re holding a phone inside, lightning now has a path to you. Or if your home has metal pipes (many modern homes now use PVC instead), those can conduct electricity, and again provide a path to you. 

Even using your TV, computer or A/C during a storm can provide a potential pathway.

Myth: Insurance Won’t Cover Lightning Damage to Your Home or Vehicle

In fact, a standard homeowners policy does cover damage if lightning strikes your house, other structures on your property or trees on your property (which can then fall and damage the property or lead to fires). You will want to take photos and document the damage as much as possible when filing a claim.

If lightning strikes your house and starts a fire, your policy’s dwelling coverage will pay to repair or rebuild the structure, while personal property coverage helps replace belongings damaged by the fire. If the home becomes uninhabitable, loss of use coverage may also pay for temporary living expenses. Be sure to review your policy details, as coverage limits and deductibles will apply.

For auto insurance, you will only be covered for lightning damage if you have comprehensive coverage. If you have collision coverage or liability only, you won’t be protected from environmental perils like lightning.

Is your car totaled if it’s struck by lightning?

This really depends on a number of factors, including the age and make of your vehicle. Some cars might be struck by lightning and come away with minimal damage. Others might be totalled. This is especially likely if the lightning causes a fire. 

If your vehicle is struck by lightning while you are driving, pull over and turn it off. Try to avoid touching any electronics for at least 30 minutes. Examine the car for damage before restarting.[6]

Protecting Your Home from Lightning

If you live in an area that is particularly prone to thunderstorms, it might be a good idea to take steps to protect your home.

  1. Install a lightning protection system: These systems don’t actually prevent your home from being struck by lightning, but they can mitigate lightning damage by giving the lightning a preferred pathway to the ground and away from the structure of your home. 
  2. Use UL-listed surge protectors to guard against power surges: Lightning that enters your home through electrical wiring can hurt you, damage your electronics and potentially start a fire. Surge protection can help prevent the harmful effects of electrical surges. 
  3. Improve your yard and exterior: Make sure all exterior wiring and plumbing are appropriately grounded. If trees are close to your house (within 10 feet), prune them back or install lighting protection.  
  4. Review your home insurance: Make sure your home insurance has adequate protection for your home’s current value. 

Lightning storms can be beautiful to watch. Luckily, lightning deaths to humans are still rare. But if you live in an area with frequent storm activity, it’s good to take steps to protect your personal property.

Source

  1. Facts and Statistics: Lightning. [Insurance Information Institute]

  2. Lightning FAQs. [NOAA]

  3. Lightning and cars. [Weather.gov]

  4. The National Weather Service (NWS) stopped recommending the crouch in 2008. [National Weather Service]

  5. Driving an electric vehicle in a thunderstorm or heavy rain. [Electromaps]

  6. Here’s What Happens When Lightning Strikes a Car. [Motortrend]