Saturday, July 6, 2013

Are My Pet's Injuries Covered In An Accident?

By Leigh Jackson


When I get in a car accident and my pets are riding with me, if they get hurt will my auto insurance cover their injuries? Or, will my insurance company be responsible for my pets injuries, or will the other drivers? If you are a pet lover, you need to know how to deal with pet injuries in the event of an auto accident.

If you are in an auto accident and are not at fault - so the accident is the other drivers fault - then their property damage liability coverage should take care of any damages caused to your car and possessions, this includes your pets. As long as the others drivers liability limits are high enough to cover all the damage caused in the accident.

The difference between pet injuries and other injuries caused in accidents is the way they are covered. If you are injured in an accident, then medical expenses are covered by bodily injury liability coverage. Pets, on the other hand, are covered by property liability because they are considered your property, and their medical expenses would be considered property damage expenses.

In some cases, the cost of the damage to your car and to your property will be so high that the other drivers property liability coverage will not extend to include your pets injuries because it will be maxed out dealing with your other property damage. In this case, you are pretty much left without any other options. Their insurance is not responsible to extend past liability limits and your insurance will most likely not cover pet damages.

If you are at fault in a car accident - if you cause it - then your insurance is responsible for any damages caused, this includes your pets injuries. Often times your insurance will not extent to cover pet medical expenses or injury recovery times. After searching multiple companies, we could only find one that included coverage specifically for pets riding along with you in the car.

Most insurance companies on the other hand, do not cover pet damages, this specific expense is not included in your personal injury protection coverage or even in your broader collision coverage when you are the driver at fault in a car wreck.

If you do go with the insurance company that includes coverage for your pets and their injuries, you will find that they have a $1000 coverage limit which helps with pet medical expenses and does not cost anything to add to your collision coverage.

This insurance companies pet coverage includes cats and dogs - not exotic or other pets - and the coverage only includes injuries that take place in auto accidents, not in any other situations. There is pet insurance you can get for general coverage to help with expenses in other circumstances.




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