Almost sixty percent of Dutch households have a pet, including 2.6 million cats. Many cat owners wonder whether an insurer will cover damage to their household effects caused by cats. After reading this article, you will know how this works.
Damage caused by your own cat
Most household contents insurers do not cover damage caused to your household contents by your cat, no matter how extensive the insurance you have taken out. The insurers’ reasoning is that you, as the insured, know that animals in the home simply entail risks. You are therefore personally responsible for damage caused to your household contents by cats. This applies to damage caused by your own cat as well as damage caused by the cats of others that you have allowed into your home, such as guests.
Damage caused by ‘intruders’
The situation is different if a cat has entered your home without your permission and has destroyed your belongings. For example, if you left the door open in the summer because of the heat. In that case, you can usually count on compensation from the household contents’ insurer. Especially if the culprit is a stray cat, or you do not know who owns the animal. If you do know who the cat belongs to, that person’s liability insurance will cover the damage to your possessions. If you want to be sure whether your household contents insurance covers damage caused by cats, read the policy conditions carefully or contact your insurer.
Cat insured on home contents insurance
Although you see your cat as a full-fledged family member with its own personality, pets are not legally people, but possessions. This means that your cat is insured against damage (injury or loss) due to unforeseen and sudden events through your home contents insurance. In practice, this means that only damage to pedigree cats is reimbursed. Pedigree cats, given the considerable amount of money you usually pay for them, also have a financial value and not just an emotional value.
Animals, like goods, have a new value or current value. In the event of damage to very young pedigree cats, you will be reimbursed for the new value, but with older cats there is a question of ‘depreciation’ and so you will be paid the current value. This, of course, sounds very harsh to cat lovers, and you can only hope that nothing happens to your cat. If that does happen, then you know that in some cases you can claim for your home contents insurance. If you do not have a pedigree cat, you can choose to take out cat insurance for the medical costs of your cat.
Damage to other people’s property by your cat
Of course, it can also happen that your cat destroys someone else’s property. In that case, you are liable as the owner of the cat and the other party can be compensated for the damage through your liability insurance. This is also the case if, at the time that your cat causes the damage, you are on holiday or a business trip and your cat is staying with others. You remain the owner of the cat and are therefore liable. Incidentally, in the event of a claim for damages, an insurer will always thoroughly investigate whether there was no question of self-defense, force majeure or fault on the part of the person who suffered the damage.
