The lyrics of a UB40 song reads “There’s a rat in my kitchen what am I gonna do?” The song also relates to the owner of a Porsche, who discovered a resident rat in his engine that caused damage of R154 000.
He was one of the lucky ones as his claim was settled by his insurer. His insurance policy covers damage by animals, excluding domestic pets. So rat damage is covered, but any scratching, biting, chewing or soiling by dogs and cats is not.
The detail of this instance is discussed in a recent TimesLive article.
According to Ayanda Mazwi, senior assistant ombudsman with the ombudsman for short-term insurance, their office receives complaints about these issues. “The matters are dealt with having regard to the terms of the policy and the facts of each particular case,” she said. She advised consumers to find out exactly what form of animal-created damage they are and aren’t covered for. Not all comprehensive insurance policies cover damage caused by rodents, so car owners would do well to check.
Click here to read the TimesLive article.
