Can an insurance company deny a homeowners policy claim because of damage caused by a squirrel?

 

That occurred to one agent, who asked Big “I” Virtual University faculty if experts agreed with the claim denial.

 

“A squirrel has chewed through a power line and the electrical current went back into the home and blew the television up,” the agent says. “The company has denied the claim indicating that squirrels are excluded from the homeowners policy."

 

The claim should not have been denied, but for a less obvious reason.

 

That’s based on the assumption the adjuster cited the “rodent exclusion” in the HO-3 policy that applies to "birds, vermin, rodents, or insects." This set of exclusions also includes "animals owned or kept by an ‘insured.’”

 

At first glance, it would appear that the issue is whether or not a squirrel is a rodent. But the real issue is the type of property that was damaged.

 

The rodent exclusion applies only to property under Coverages A and B. In this case, there is damage to a television under Coverage C. Because Coverage C is provided on a named perils basis, the exclusions that apply to Coverages A and B don't apply here.

 

The Coverage C peril that appears to apply in this case is “Sudden and Accidental Damage from Artificially Generated Electrical Current.” This peril applies to damage other than that to tubes, transistors, electronic components or circuitry (which admittedly might be a large part of the loss). The point is that the squirrel initiating the electrical shortage is immaterial.

 

The rodent exclusion would only be applicable to this claim if it appeared in the general exclusions section—along with earth movement, flood, etc.—and was not specific to damage under Coverages A and B.

 

In addition, even if the rodent exclusion was applicable, the policy goes on to say that “any ensuing loss to property described in Coverages A and B not precluded by any other provision in this policy is covered.” For example, fire or explosion that arises out of a rodent chewing through an electrical wire is covered.

 

The issue of damage by squirrels and other critters comes up so often. So how is a rodent defined?

 

According to the Veterinarian's Mammalian Reference Guide, the order of Rodentia is the largest order of mammals—more than half of all mammals are rodents. The order of Rodentia consists of three suborders:

Incidentally, the capybara can grow to more than four feet long and weigh well over 100 pounds—now that's some "rat."

 

So, if damage is caused by an animal, unless it is a bird, vermin, insect or an animal owned or kept by an insured, it's not a rodent unless it's included above.