paws for thought
Man’s best friend can be anything but for insurers... but they do have at least one thing going for them
Dogs are man’s best friend. Owners love their canine pals – often getting up early in the morning to ensure Fido gets exercised. But when it comes to your property – or that of your neighbours – sometimes those four-legged friends can be less cuddly, causing all sorts of havoc around the home.
Nature did not design dogs to live in flats and houses. Lively dogs don’t like enclosed spaces, and shutting them in can be a recipe for disaster.
Home insurance firm Admiral has looked at claims for the past five years and found “hundreds of incidents” where dogs were to blame for breakages and worse.
You have to multiply that number many times over for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, because other insurers will also have similar claims.
Then there are all the other dogrelated incidents which are never reported – either because it’s not worth the bother as the renewal would reflect the claim or it’s below the excess, the first slice of a claim which the policyholder pays.
Admiral says its highest single claim was not for a frustrated dog but for a sick one – £3,000 to replace a valuable carpet ruined by vomit. Doggy stains are frequent – and you can claim under many accidental damage clauses.
Another frequent accident is where enthusiastic dogs want to see your laptop pictures – they leap up and knock over the machine or cause a drink to spill over it.
Even the biggest dog fan knows sometimes their canine friends can be a bit daft. Big dogs in small places can smash mirrors, glass doors, and windows
– or knock over television sets. Some have even eaten owner’s glasses or hearing aids.
It’s not just dogs, though, other household animals can damage property. Rabbits can bite through wires, while cats ruin furniture with scratching. But these do not count as accidents and rarely succeed as claims against insurance companies.
Outside the home, dogs can continue to be responsible for damage – anything from wrecking the neighbour’s flower beds to causing an accident when running over a road. Owners are responsible for dogs when out of the house and while many pet insurance policies cover claims from others, allowing a dog onto a road without a lead could be considered negligence.
Insurance companies like dogs in one respect, however, because even a little dog barking can deter burglars and vandals from entering your home.
That could be more than enough to balance any damage they might cause.