What Happens When A Deer Tears Up My House?
Written by
Paul Martin is the Director of Education and Development for Myron Steves, one of the largest, most respected insurance wholesalers in the southern U.S.
Reviewed by
Paul Martin is the Director of Education and Development for Myron Steves, one of the largest, most respected insurance wholesalers in the southern U.S.
Q: What happens when a deer gets in my house?
If a deer runs through my house wrecking furniture and bleeding on everything, is that covered by my homeowners policy?
One night I came home from the grocery store and just as I walked in the door, I heard a crazy loud noise. A deer had jumped through the plate-glass patio door and run into the house. The broken glass must have cut the deer, because it proceeded to bleed all over the place, ruining a few household items in the process (two rugs, pillows, and some curtains).
The deer eventually found its way back outside, and as far as I can tell survived (I never found it out there, anyway). Can I make a claim with my homeowners insurance for the cost of the ruined items?
A: I’ve actually seen this happen to people. It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. As far as whether or not your homeowners will cover the damages, the answer is yes and no.
Your homeowners property coverage is divided into two parts: structural coverage and contents coverage. Structural coverage typically covers damages caused by everything except whatever is included on your insurance company’s list of exceptions. It is extremely unlikely that something as rare as an animal getting into your home would appear on this list, so you can expect that structural damage, including damage to your walls, windows and flooring, would be covered.
Contents coverage, on the other hand, includes coverage only against the perils that are specifically listed by your insurance company, and something like this is highly unlikely to appear on that list. This means that damage to your furniture, electronics and other personal property would not be covered.
If this is something that concerns you, know that there is a different type of homeowners contract that can provide contents coverage for all types of damages, and your insurance agent can help you secure this type of home insurance policy. Unfortunately, it will come at a cost. These policies are typically written for high net-worth individuals.
As always, if you have any questions about your homeowners insurance and any damages that happen, from a deer or otherwise, your independent insurance agent can help you. To read more about your coverage, click here >