So, owning 3 businesses, a personal home, a shop/office, real estate, having employees and a growing fleet of trucks, life insurance, health insurance, etc..., I am inundated with ways to protect myself with various insurance policies. It's pretty fascinating all the policies I have, the total cost per year, and the ins and out of the insurance business.
I actually spend so much time pricing, reading and evaluating insurance that a couple of times a month a situation arises and I wonder to myself - 'What policy covers that?'
My go to insurance knowledge person is many times Eric Goldstein, of Misner Insurance.
So, last night I was bored and was watching a show on PBS about snow leopards in the Himalayas, and no sooner did I sit and start watching than this big snow leopard ran across the big screen, actually scaring me it was so big - just so happens Jake the dog, who is now 95 lbs, was in the room to and took off after the cat.
Question - does homeowner's insurance cover a dog attacking a big screen television? Or, what if Lucas pulled down the television accidentally, a scenario that seems increasingly likely.
Answer - No, homeowner's insurance does not cover such a situation.
Good to know, don't you think?
Chuck, thanks for the shout out. I think this is a great forum for this discussion; however, you have to be careful to make general coverage determinations as policies can differ from company to company. I looked further into the first question regarding your dog attacking the TV and under some homeowners policies it would be covered as these policies include open perils as opposed to named specific perils(fire, theft, etc.) for contents coverage. Sorry to get so technical.
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That's the thing - Insurance is technical - has to be technical.
ReplyDeleteQuestion - how about these followups-
1. How much of a $$ difference does open vs. specific?
2. What doesn't open coverage cover?
3. If a raccoon got into our house and trashed it, would that be covered?
4. What if a mouse short-circuited a cord and blew out the TV?
My view on insurance is that it should be set up to cover you for catastrophic loss only. So liability coverage is key, as is coverage on earning or child rearing adults, and then fire/theft on big ticket items (houses, newer cars), but keep the deductibles high. Small claims will raise your insurance anyway so why not self-insure that stuff so your costs for insuring against catastrophic loss are lower?
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