It’s no secret that cat lovers want the best for their pets. If you live in an apartment with a cat (or several), you want to know your little buddy is happy and healthy. That’s why you might wonder, “How do renters insurance claims work if I have a cat?” Will your renters insurance plan even apply to your pet?
What Renters Insurance Doesn’t Cover
The honest answer is “yes and no.” For instance, your renters insurance plan will not help you with the costs of vet bills or other expenses if your pet is sadly harmed or passes away. You need pet insurance for that. This type of plan works very much like a typical health insurance plan.
Additionally, cats like to scratch at, well, seemingly everything. They can also go from sitting still to sprinting around the apartment in the blink of an eye. They may damage the property or your belongings in their frenzy. Unfortunately, a renters insurance plan usually won’t cover this. That’s because apartment insurance is designed to protect you against damage you couldn’t anticipate. When you own a pet, you know there is some degree of risk involved.
How Renters Insurance Can Protect You and Your Pet
That said, there are instances in which renters insurance can help cat owners. While your policy won’t cover any damage your cat does to your property, it can help if your cat damages someone else’s property.
A renters insurance plan is also helpful if you have an aggressive cat. Maybe a guest doesn’t realize your cat isn’t comfortable with strangers, and gets bit when they try to pet it. While a cat bite may not seem harmful, it can actually be dangerous.
Cats often have a lot of bacteria in their mouths. A bite that breaks the skin even a little bit may leave the wound vulnerable to infection. That means you might end up paying someone else’s medical bills if your cat ever does harm them. In this case, renters insurance will likely help out.
This doesn’t mean you should assume your plan will offer this degree of coverage when signing up. The best way to protect yourself is to disclose to your provider that you have a cat when filling out the application. Your plan might not cover property damage or harm to others caused by your pet if you don’t include this information from the get-go.
Renters insurance is still important for cat lovers. While you don’t like to think about your cat damaging someone’s property or hurting them, it can happen. As long as you are honest with your provider when applying for renters insurance, your plan will usually protect you in the case of a pet-related accident.
If you want to know more about home insurance Square One Insurance Services resource center might help.
