Why Your Homeowners Insurance Isn’t Going to Pay for Rodent Damage by Anthony M. Peck

People have known for years that mice are bad news. They come in, they wreak havoc. They carry germs around with them. They chew through your food and defecate on your counters. Mice have absolutely no redeemable features that would inspire you to take pity on them and let them have free reign in your house this winter.Which, of course, means that’s exactly what they’re going to do.Now, if you were to ask your  insurance company why, exactly, mice are coming in off the streets they’re going to commiserate with you. Bats too. Really, they’re quite impossible to keep out once they’ve made up their mind they’re moving in! They put even the most determined mother-in-law to shame! (Chances are, you’ve never found her tunneling a hole behind the bathroom sink!) They’re going to understand your situation completely.The problem is, they’re not going to help you do anything about it.Homeowners insurance rates are designed to accommodate the cost of unforeseeable emergencies. The assumption, of course, is that you’re going to take impeccable care of your home for the duration of its lifespan. Not taking care of your house is kind of like not taking care of your teeth, right? If you don’t do it right you can’t be surprised when things start falling apart.Keeping rodents out of your home falls squarely under the category of home maintenance. If you don’t properly maintain your home, checking regularly for rodent access points and closing them up appropriately when you do find them, you can’t be surprised when the little buggers start letting themselves in.That makes sense until you take a look at the cost of getting rid of them once they’re in. By the time you’ve bought trap after trap, poison, spent hours and hours cleaning and finally broken down and called in an exterminator you could easily be in the hole for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Getting them in is a lot easier than getting them out! And huge expenses associated with your home should be covered by your home insurance policy, right?Wrong.So you find yourself at an impasse. Homeowners insurance companies aren’t going to do anything to help you evict your newest tenants, and they’re probably not going to pay for any repairs associated with the damages they cause either. If your house is being taken over the best thing you can do is call in an exterminator as quickly as possible and get them out.The out of pocket cost to you, especially for repairs that would otherwise be covered by your homeowners insurance policy, just isn’t worth it.

About the Author

Tony Peck is the Director of Business Development at QuoteScout.com, where it’s all insurance, all the time. To find out more about what your homeowners insurance is going to say about your rodent problem, visit them on the web at http://www.QuoteScout.com.