Like the Mississippi Squirrel Revival by Ray Stevens, but perhaps not quite as dramatic
(THe day the squirrel went berserk, in the First Self righteous church….)
That happened to a client of mine. It got in the house somehow and damaged several windows and the seal around the refrigerator. The clients are missionaries and the neighbor found the damage when checking on the house one day. Their insurance company denied the claim due to the “rodent”.
This is a good example of why you should research company’s and the coverage’s that are included in in their property policies before making a purchasing decision. This includes the agent you choose to work with. Its these unusual events that tend bite folks, although small animal damage to homes is not all that unusual.
Today people don’t care about coverage when purchasing insurance. All they want to know is what company has the lowest rate. For years most policies were the same but today I see some difference in policies. A company can eliminate a coverage and lower their rates. There is one popular company that has a clause in their policy that states your roof goes from replacement cost to actual cash value after 15 years. Agents sell this policy everyday and don’t know about this. People don’t care about coverage until they have a claim.
“ohhh, you need your roof replaced? Sure, we’ll have someone out there to take a look at it.”
The next day:
“MAN, those squirrels are nasty little buggers, eh? Look at all the damage they’ve caused. I’ve never seen so many acorns before, and I could be mistaken but I’m pretty sure that one squirrel is wielding a machete. Hey, great news! Our adjuster has determined the current value of your roof to be approximately $7.50. Yep, you should’ve read your policy. Have a nice day!”
I hear what you’re saying Eddie and agree most insureds don’t know what they have and some agents don’t either. On the other hand, with many homeowners their roof maintenance/replacement strategy is to let the insurance company buy a new one after a storm. They either don’t have the financial means to replace it or the desire. 15 years may be a little early to convert to ACV but it’s probably something that needs to happen at some point.
If you have been in the business any length of time replacement cost coverage is standard practice. I get calls from clients who are happy with their claim and then ask what is a hold back and don’t realize they are entitled to the additional $$ for replacement cost. Why are we OK with ACV for auto claims but not ACV for a roof for that matter?
Yeah Eddie, my agency is in Florida in Orange county which is now one of the worst counties for insurance. Several carriers are not writing, will not write a roof over 10, or ACV the roof over 15. The ACV over 15 does give some leeway to clients with an older roof. In fact, I wish the companies all went to an ACV on roofs over 15. It would stop a lot of issues we have here. Someone has three shingles with hail damage and they want the full thing replaced even though the roof is 16 almost the end of the life expectancy of the roof. I know this was not your point but wanted to vent a little. I have seen some crazy things written by agents. Shocking how many marketers are shocked I read the policy. Ask an agent if a policy comes with wind driven rain and most have no clue.
It should be covered as a concurrent causation. While the rodent chews the wire that wasn’t the cause of loss. The resulting fire is which going to be the covered peril.
The way I understand it is that the damage to the wire would NOT be covered. The resulting damage by fire should be covered. I’m wondering if the Standard Fire Policy rules would apply here though (where ensuing fire loss from an excluded peril is subject only to the SFP wording and not the broader policy coverages). Haven’t worked in personal lines in decades, so unsure. Anyone care to chime in?
According to Wikipedia, squirrels ARE members of the rodent family.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Sciuromorpha
Family: Sciuridae
Maybe the homeowners’ attorney didn’t do the right homework?
Or if the squirrel had simply claimed he/she/it identified as a raccoon it would have been covered.
Nice transphobic joke. Real original
It was very funny Mark. You need a tissue ?
You get your feelings hurt, Mark ?
Another noted transphobe another transphobe? Why do you guys always line up to say offensive things?
Jack, spot on! Well played.
Won’t cover a house wrecked by a squirrel??? That’s NUTS!
Q: What do you call a squirrel with no nuts?
A: Female squirrel.
How do you catch a squirrel?
Climb a tree and act like a nut…..
Farmer’s would have covered it.
The standard HO policy excludes coverage for rodent damage. Unless Farmers includes it in their policy they will not cover it.
Do they make a distinction between ‘rodent’ and ‘vermin’ ?
So Farmers hasn’t truly been there, done that?
It is excluded on Farmers just like every other company does.
This sounds like something out of a farmers commercial!
I love those comments… Why squirrel hate me?
And that’s why squirrels don’t have friends, they drive everyone NUTS!
Like the Mississippi Squirrel Revival by Ray Stevens, but perhaps not quite as dramatic
(THe day the squirrel went berserk, in the First Self righteous church….)
Every Squirrel knows the are not a rodent. They should go to the DOI.
It’s a set up! Boris and Natasha are shifting the blame!
Sounds like a pretty “squirrely” exclusion to me
That happened to a client of mine. It got in the house somehow and damaged several windows and the seal around the refrigerator. The clients are missionaries and the neighbor found the damage when checking on the house one day. Their insurance company denied the claim due to the “rodent”.
Act of God? Or as missionaries did they have a different position? If so they shouldn’t have taken that laying down.
This is a good example of why you should research company’s and the coverage’s that are included in in their property policies before making a purchasing decision. This includes the agent you choose to work with. Its these unusual events that tend bite folks, although small animal damage to homes is not all that unusual.
I’m not sure add’l research would have helped. The “rodent” exclusion would be in most policies.
Today people don’t care about coverage when purchasing insurance. All they want to know is what company has the lowest rate. For years most policies were the same but today I see some difference in policies. A company can eliminate a coverage and lower their rates. There is one popular company that has a clause in their policy that states your roof goes from replacement cost to actual cash value after 15 years. Agents sell this policy everyday and don’t know about this. People don’t care about coverage until they have a claim.
Don’t know about ACV after 15 years???? WOW!
“ohhh, you need your roof replaced? Sure, we’ll have someone out there to take a look at it.”
The next day:
“MAN, those squirrels are nasty little buggers, eh? Look at all the damage they’ve caused. I’ve never seen so many acorns before, and I could be mistaken but I’m pretty sure that one squirrel is wielding a machete. Hey, great news! Our adjuster has determined the current value of your roof to be approximately $7.50. Yep, you should’ve read your policy. Have a nice day!”
I hear what you’re saying Eddie and agree most insureds don’t know what they have and some agents don’t either. On the other hand, with many homeowners their roof maintenance/replacement strategy is to let the insurance company buy a new one after a storm. They either don’t have the financial means to replace it or the desire. 15 years may be a little early to convert to ACV but it’s probably something that needs to happen at some point.
If you have been in the business any length of time replacement cost coverage is standard practice. I get calls from clients who are happy with their claim and then ask what is a hold back and don’t realize they are entitled to the additional $$ for replacement cost. Why are we OK with ACV for auto claims but not ACV for a roof for that matter?
Yeah Eddie, my agency is in Florida in Orange county which is now one of the worst counties for insurance. Several carriers are not writing, will not write a roof over 10, or ACV the roof over 15. The ACV over 15 does give some leeway to clients with an older roof. In fact, I wish the companies all went to an ACV on roofs over 15. It would stop a lot of issues we have here. Someone has three shingles with hail damage and they want the full thing replaced even though the roof is 16 almost the end of the life expectancy of the roof. I know this was not your point but wanted to vent a little. I have seen some crazy things written by agents. Shocking how many marketers are shocked I read the policy. Ask an agent if a policy comes with wind driven rain and most have no clue.
More then one…
But if the rodent chews a wire and the house burns to the ground isn’t it covered under the fire peril?
Well it should be, but I guess if Mercury is your carrier…….maybe not ?
It should be covered as a concurrent causation. While the rodent chews the wire that wasn’t the cause of loss. The resulting fire is which going to be the covered peril.
The way I understand it is that the damage to the wire would NOT be covered. The resulting damage by fire should be covered. I’m wondering if the Standard Fire Policy rules would apply here though (where ensuing fire loss from an excluded peril is subject only to the SFP wording and not the broader policy coverages). Haven’t worked in personal lines in decades, so unsure. Anyone care to chime in?
According to Wikipedia, squirrels ARE members of the rodent family.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Suborder: Sciuromorpha
Family: Sciuridae
Maybe the homeowners’ attorney didn’t do the right homework?
Act of God? Or as missionaries did they have a different position? If so they shouldn’t have taken that laying down.
This happens all the time. Policy verbiage can be tricky, that’s why its best to thoroughly read the policy before a loss occurs.