Most standard home insurance policies purchased today cover damages caused by storms, fire, and theft. It may be possible to find coverage for collateral damage caused by insects and other pests, but generally this type of protection is not available.
The question of whether or not your home insurance covers insect or pest damage can be answered by first determining how the insurance company views this type of risk as an insurable event and the type of infestation problems you are experiencing in your home.
The Purpose of Home Insurance Coverage
Home insurance coverage is generally required of most homeowners for the financial liability in the event that your home is destroyed or damaged by causes either predictable or unforeseen. For instance, if you and your family were to leave town on vacation only to come back to find that the home was burglarized and important items were taken, generally this type of loss would be covered by your home insurance policy. Insurance companies that underwrite policies for homeowners assess risk or the probability of a
financial loss in terms of its predictability and statistical probability of affecting a large group of people.
This is known as the law of large numbers, an actuarial principle that guides an insurance company’s decision-making policy and pricing for the home insurance policies that it issues. If the nature of any potential risk is something that the insurance company cannot accurately predict or only occurs to one person, the likelihood of that risk being covered will be small.
Types of Insect and Pest Damage Affecting Homeowners
Depending on the age of your home and where it was built the extent of insect and pest damage can be great or small. Some damage is to be expected over time and is generally treatable and not cause for an insurance company to underwrite as a risk. Termite damage, in particular, is a problem that is typically detected during your home inspection.
Most banks and other loan providers want to know if your home suffers from infestation caused by termites and to what extent termite damage affects the home’s foundation and other wood structure. If you discover termites or other insects and pests in the home and suspect damage is being caused,
contact a pest control company.
Determining If a Home Insurance Policy Covers Insect and Pest Damage
The best way to determine if your home insurance policy is covered by pest damage is to simply call the insurance company to speak to an insurance agent or broker and have a policy review performed. Your agent or broker can go over the specifics of your home insurance policy and determine if there is any type of coverage pertaining to insect or pest damage. You can also ask if such coverage exists and if so, if such coverage can be included as a rider to your insurance policy. Generally, as mentioned above, this type of coverage is not available for most home insurance policies.
If the issue of insect and pest damage is one of great concern to you, you may want to consider contacting a pest control company in your community. A good pest control company can help provide you with a permanent and lasting solution to your problem with insect and pest damage and halt any further
damage from costing you more money and worry in the future.
This guest post was written by Jen Zehring, an insurance and finance marketing consultant – she recommends researching local bee & wasp removal companies online to help protect your home’s value – after all, it’s always best to be prepared upfront.
Please Note: Articles posted by guest writers are monitored but in no way do they reflect the opinion nor is this publication affiliated in any way with the subject or promotion of a subject.
