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We are Long Beach Wildlife, and we solve conflicts between people and wild animals. From squirrels in your attic, to raccoons in your trash, to bats, rats, birds, and snakes, we do it all. We specialize in safe and effective solutions to California critter problems. We service the greater Long Beach region, and we offer fast service - we can usually schedule a same-day appointment. Give us a call at 562-273-1704 any time, 24/7, and we will discuss your unique wild animal problem, and give you a free price quote over the phone. We're ready to take your call now!

Our service range: We service Orange County, Ventura County, Riverside County, San Diego County, and more. We also service Los Angeles, Anaheim, South Gate, Mission Viejo, Santa Ana, Carson, Irvine, Westminster, Glendale, Santa Barbara, Huntington Beach, Santa Clarita, Whittier, Garden Grove, Hawthorne, Lancaster, Alhambra, Palmdale, Bueno Park, Pomona, Lakewood, Torrance, Lake Forrest, Pasadena, Bellflower, Lynwood, Costa Mesa, Burbank, Montebello, and more.

Long Beach Wildlife Education: Will Homeowners Insurance Pay For Rodent Damage?

If there is a rodent in your home, you will have a lot of issues to worry about. The priority is of course removing the rodent or group of rodents from your home. Doing so quickly can help you minimize damage and your risk. After they are gone, it is time to clean up the waste the rodents left behind and evaluate the damage. You may be expecting your insurance to cover the damage from the rodents, but it will rarely do so. There are a few cases where homeowner’s insurance will pay for some or all of damage due to rodents, but these situations are rare.



What They Won’t Cover
Most homeowner’s insurance will only cover rodent damage that occurred suddenly. This means that for the damage to be covered, it will have occurred unexpectedly and suddenly. If the damage took place gradually, then it won’t be covered. Unfortunately, damage caused by rodents is nearly always gradual. Gradual damage includes them slowly chewing through wires, boards, and insulation or leaving urine and feces behind over time which then soaks into boards and weakens your building structure.

Single Events
You may be thinking to yourself that most rodent damage seems to be gradual based on the above definition. That is true and the way that insurance companies intend it to be. To give you an idea of an instance of sudden, unexpected rodent damage that should be covered, consider the following. A rodent like a gopher makes a tunnel underneath your gas line. This causes a joint in the line to fail, the gas to leak, and the house to catch on fire. This scenario would be considered unexpected and sudden and probably be covered. If, on the other hand, the tunnel doesn’t completely break the gas line and instead weakens it enough to cause a small leak that you don’t notice for weeks on end, it probably won’t be covered. Essentially, if you want your homeowner’s insurance to pay for the rodent damage, the animals will have had to cause a significant amount of damage in a short time.

Rodents Increasing Insurance Coverage
To make matters more complicated, sometimes rodent damage will worsen an issue that is covered by insurance. Consider, for example, that there is a windstorm that takes shingles off your roof and you notify the insurance company. Before the damage can be repaired, squirrels take the chance to move into your attic and their waste products leak into the ceiling tiles. In this case, insurance will probably pay for the roof shingles and the ceiling tiles. If, on the other hand, the squirrels were already there when the shingles blew off, they will most likely just cover the shingles.

Hidden Rodent Damage On Purchase
Depending on your homeowner’s insurance, you may also be covered for rodent-related damage that occurred before you moved in if it wasn’t noticed during the home inspection. For this to happen, the damage must have been missed during a certified home inspection. If you didn’t have the inspection done or the damage was found but ignored during it, you probably won’t be covered. In cases where the inspection missed rodent damage and your homeowner’s insurance won’t pay for it, the inspector’s insurance may.

How To Check For Coverage
With so many confusing scenarios to consider, it can be daunting to figure out yourself whether or not you are covered for a particular type of rodent damage. To determine your coverage, you unfortunately need to sit down and read your policy. Most of the time, it will be about 50 pages if not longer so this can take some time. Make sure to pay attention to the events that are included for coverage and those that are excluded. Don’t forget to pay attention to the riders and floaters added to your policy.

If after reading your insurance policy, you think that it may cover rodent damage, then talk to your agent. They will know exactly what is and isn’t covered and can guide you through the claims process if necessary. This is generally the last step since insurance companies will sometimes give confusing information or send you in search of information in multiple places to discourage you from making a claim.

Make The Repairs Affordable
Whether or not your homeowner’s insurance pays for rodent damage, you should take care of the repairs as soon as possible. Rodent damage can get worse with time, especially if you haven’t removed the rodents. Remember that if you know there are rodents in your home and don’t do anything to take care of them, your insurance will probably deny any claims related to issues they cause. As the problems get worse, they will also get more expensive. The best option is to find a wildlife control expert you trust to remove the rodents and then make the necessary repairs right away.

Previous Education Articles
How do I clean wild Long Beach animal feces out of my attic?
About Long Beach opossums: Appearance, biology, lifecycle, habitat, diet, behavior
What are the types of Long Beach rat snap traps?
What diseases do Long Beach skunks carry?