There Is A Bear In There!!

Have you ever seen the segment on on the news about the bear that broke into someone’s house and ransacked their kitchen? He must have been hungry! He opened the refrigerator door to see what was in there, and then he opened the silverware drawer.  If you did not see it, you can watch it on this link: https://youtu.be/Jj_5bmY-mQk. I chuckled as I watched it because it reminded me of waking up hungry in the middle of the night and going to the kitchen to get milk out of the refrigerator for a bowl of my favorite cereal. It’s really NOT funny at all.  I learned in a recent insurance class that animals, whether it is your own or a wild animal, may not be covered under your homeowners policy for property damage. For example, if your puppy decides to chew the furniture, then eat the trash and something sharp in the trash cuts his stomach, then he throws up blood all over your furniture and carpet, most likely that will not be covered under your homeowners policy.  I know that scenario is a little far fetched…no pun intended…, but you never know what a puppy might do when you are not watching.  Thankfully, in Indiana, we probably won’t have any bears breaking into our houses.  We do have squirrels, raccoons, chipmunks, and birds that I suppose could do damage in a house if they somehow got in.  It has happened before, but not very often.  So, how might we all minimize this risk, especially for those of you who may be traveling south and leaving your homes for a month or two during the cold winter months? Lock your doors, of course, but also make sure there are no openings in your roof or foundation of your house where animals can enter.  As far as the puppy goes…..I’m not going to say to get rid of your puppy!  Just make sure he doesn’t have access to the furniture or trash when you are not home!!

All incidents involving animals have unique circumstances, so always check with your insurance agent in the event something crazy like this happens!

Jane Freeman is licensed in Property and Casualty Insurance at Peck and Wood Insurance.