You can usually add animal liability insurance to your home insurance policy to cover bodily injuries or property damage your pets cause folks who aren’t residents of your home. For example, if your very defensive Pomeranian bites the mailman, this coverage can help pay for:
Those costs aren’t small, either. The average dog bite claim costs $50,425 as of 2020, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
If you’re a proud pet parent, make sure your home insurance protects your critters, too. Be aware that not all homeowners insurance policies offer animal liability coverage as part of the standard policy.
If your homeowners insurance policy provides personal liability coverage and does not exclude animal liability, your personal liability coverage extends to your pets. Personal liability insurance can cover damages and lawsuits for property damage or bodily injuries you cause another person.
So if your pet is the one who causes the damage and your policy doesn’t exclude animal liability, your homeowners insurance would help pay for medical bills and legal costs if your furry friend hurts a visitor, up to your policy limits.
However, if your home insurance has an animal liability exclusion, you do not have protection for incidents like dog bites. In this case, you may want to consider purchasing a separate animal liability insurance policy or an animal liability endorsement (an add-on to your home insurance policy). This option usually offers $25,000 to $50,000 in animal liability protection.
Some insurance providers only offer animal liability coverage if your dog is on your property, not off your property. That means any incidents that happen on walks or at the dog park would have to be paid for out of pocket.
Animal liability typically doesn’t cover:
Animal liability usually only covers small domestic animals, not “commercial” animals (such as ones used for breeding or farm animals).
Some insurance providers may not offer this coverage for certain breeds of dogs. Others may charge more for breeds on the “restricted” list.
If you have questions about whether your Kin policy covers your fluffy friend, give us a call.
Displaying post 1 / 3