Fine weather is here at last and I find that enjoying a long walk with my dogs is ideal at this time of year, not too hot for them nor for me. Whilst walking the other day, I was asked about home insurance cover and liability related to dogs! So as many of you may have dogs, This may be of interest.
Under the Home Insurance Contents section of most insurance policies, the chewing, fouling and damage caused by pets to contents is specifically excluded. So do be careful leaving your pets in areas where a large wagging tail could do damage!
The other aspect is what would happen if my dog caused an accident or bite someone! Well this is a very in depth subject, but the general rule is if your dog is under control (on a lead generally) and is in the custody of an insured person, the Liability to the Public section of a standard Home Contents cover will cover you for any damage or injury caused, as long as you can show that the incident was a single isolated incident and that the dog was under reasonable control at the time. Having a dog off the lead, does not in itself constitute the dog being ‘not under control’!
The general cover under this section of the policy is normally limited to between £1,000,000 and £5,000,000.
The Holiday period has started, and those that have come to join us for the summer period, a warm welcome back to you. Please also remember that those that leave their permanent homes for a period of greater than 30 days in one time should check their Home policies to ensure that they abide to the ‘Unoccupancy Clauses’ in their policies and that they tell their Insurers if they exceed the limitations of the policy. The Insurers are totally within their rights to not honour a claim for these extended periods.
To our Business Partners: It is important that you have the insurance cover in place in case you do cause damage or an accident whilst working. This is called Public Liability insurance, and can be purchased for as little as £10 a month for a £1m cover. You can see that this is a little to pay for that amount of cover and for peace of mind.
For a non biased guide to home insurance, including advice on buildings insurance, contents insurance and tips on reducing your premium read our House Insurance Guide section.
