Lions and Tigers and Bears—Oh My Insurance!

Lions and Tigers and Bears—Oh My Insurance!

When you're running a business, managing a property, or even just protecting your home, we all know the big insurance perils—fire, windstorms, theft, and water damage. But have you ever stopped to consider the animals your insurance policy doesn’t cover?

Most commercial property and homeowner policies contain a standard exclusion that can cause serious headaches: damage caused by birds, vermin, rodents, or insects.

This exclusion exists because insurers typically view these types of losses—such as termite destruction, mouse infestations, or bird droppings clogging gutters—as maintenance issues rather than sudden, accidental events. In the insurer’s eyes, these damages are preventable through routine property upkeep.

In other words: if it crawls, nests, or gnaws quietly over time, they expect you to handle it.

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The Interesting Case of the Unexpected Visitor

But what happens when the animal causing the damage isn’t one of those excluded critters?

This is where insurance gets interesting—and where policy definitions matter.

If a policy specifically excludes birds, vermin, rodents, or insects, that means animals outside of those categories may actually be covered, depending on the policy language and the cause of loss.

Larger animals, unexpected intrusions, or sudden animal-related incidents don’t always fall neatly into exclusionary definitions. Coverage can hinge on how the animal is classified and whether the damage was sudden and accidental versus gradual or maintenance-related.

This is why reading exclusions alone is never enough. Understanding **how those exclusions are defined—and applied—**can make the difference between a denied claim and a covered loss.

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Why This Matters

Animal-related claims are often denied automatically—sometimes incorrectly—because exclusions are misunderstood or misapplied.

When policy language becomes ambiguous, interpretation matters. And when interpretation matters, having an experienced advocate becomes critical.

A public adjuster knows how to analyze policy definitions, challenge blanket denials, and determine whether a loss truly falls under an exclusion—or whether coverage still applies.

Before assuming your claim has no chance, make sure the policy language actually says what the insurer claims it does.

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