Animal House

Are unwanted guests damaging your home—and your pocketbook?

Pest Nest

Scenario: Raccoons find an opening in the eaves of your roof, take up residence in your attic and make a general mess. Basic roof maintenance could have kept them out, but the cost to remove them and clean up your attic won’t be covered by insurance.

What to do: Trim tree limbs that hang over your roof to keep animals off your house. Have a professional roof inspection to identify places of entry like openings in eaves and uncovered vents.

Shattered Dreams

Scenario: A bird flies into your window and cracks it. Damage to your home by birds, rodents or insects is not normally covered by insurance, but most policies make an exception for breakage of glass.

What to do: File an insurance claim for the broken window. Special tape and decal products are available to reduce collisions on glass, and external sunshades or awnings can help by minimizing reflection.

Appetite for Destruction

Scenario: You spot signs of a termite infestation in your home’s siding. Even worse, you shouldn’t expect your insurance to pay for the cleanup. Animal and insect infestation are always excluded from coverage by homeowners policies.

What to do: Call in the pros. Home treatments by a pest control company are the best way to stop termites in their tracks.

Burn Notice

Scenario: Mice in your basement chew on electrical wires and cause a fire. Fortunately, you’re probably covered by insurance. That’s because the fire falls under the category of “sudden and accidental” damage.

What to do: Don’t give rodents a free meal—keep food in sealed containers and dispose of garbage regularly. Keep mice out by inspecting your home’s foundation and sealing any holes that are bigger than 1/4 inch.

INSURANCE NEEDS? Call 1-855-282-2275, stop by any AAA office or visit AAA.com/Insurance.