Will My Homeowner’s Insurance Pay for Damage Caused by Rats?



Most of us are so accustomed to rats being around that we don’t even give them a second thought. When we see one or two inside our house, we may take some steps to try to get rid of them. This may include the use of poison in our traps, as we don’t want to find our cereal boxes torn up or to find rat droppings strewn across our countertops.

While it is this kind of mischief that we commonly associate the rat with, some have learned that these are incredibly destructive animals. This is especially true when they have grown to become a large colony.

Rats are prolific breeders. A male and female rat inside your home can quickly become dozens, if not hundreds within a single calendar year. While a few torn cereal boxes may not be much of an issue for you, consider the type of damage that dozens of rats can do. They will tear up your clothing, leave their droppings everywhere, and can even do some significant structural damage to your house.

The Damage Is Extensive

There have been many instances where rat colonies have grown to huge numbers. There were over 100 rats living in the walls or the attic of a person’s home. These animals lived almost unmolested, as the homeowners were unaware of how big the colony had become. By the time they recognized the group, these rats had done a significant amount of damage inside their house. They had destroyed a large amount of the insulation in the attic, torn apart clothing, pictures, and furniture. Their feces and urine were literally everywhere. It was disgusting and quite expensive in terms of the damage they had done.

Is There Any Help for Me?

When homeowners had to assess the damage they soon realized that it was going to be a huge cost. As surprising as this may sound, some had extensive damage that cost thousands of dollars to repair, replace, and fix. There were shorts in the wiring. Foundation boards were damaged. There were even a couple of instances where rats had chewed through the electrical wiring, starting a fire. These animals can be more destructive than you can possibly imagine.

When left with this kind of damage, most people realize they can’t afford to pay for it. So, they are looking to see if their homeowner’s insurance will cover the damage. We are happy to report that in most instances it will.

While this is not true of every homeowner’s policy, the vast majority of them cover wild animal damage such as this. Not fixing damage caused by a rat poses a number of health risks, so the insurance policy will often cover this kind of damage.

However, don’t just assume that’s true. You need to check with your insurance agent to make sure this is covered. If not, and you have serious concerns about rats getting inside your home, then you need to add this to your policy. You could save yourself thousands of dollars in the future.

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