Some bugs and pests may make you extremely terrified. What I find appealing are snakes and spiders. Creepily slithering and creeping everywhere. However, certain bugs really impair your way of life and may even jeopardize your house insurance.
Finding evidence of termites eating through your walls, ants sneaking out of cracks and drain, mice and rats scurrying around during the night, cockroaches fleeing at the sight of artificial light, or — perhaps even worse — creepy crawling bed bugs causing a commotion in your bedroom, is the worst feeling in the world. Let’s examine how the damage caused by pests and vermin is seen by your homeowners insurance.
Are Pests And Pest Control Covered By Homeowners Insurance?
The majority of homeowners insurance San Diego policies (including homeowners, renters, landlord, and condo insurance) do not pay for any harm that pests do to your house or your belongings. They also do not pay for the cost of controlling or getting rid of the pests on your property or for any additional living costs if you have to leave while the area is being fumigated.
The fact that bugs often take time to come in and destroy your belongings rather than turning up one night and creating havoc, like a thief would, is one of the key reasons for this. Home insurance was meant to cover damage that occurred quickly and unexpectedly.
Here are some of the most prevalent bugs and vermin that plague houses annually and the harm they may do to your house.
Termites
The quietest pest that can seriously affect your homes insurance coverage is termites. Termites can be eliminated by tenting your property and staying in a hotel (or with a close friend) for a few days while experts use deadly gas to kill them.
If the cost of infestation and eradication doesn’t sound enjoyable, neither will that. You can probably get away with paying a removal charge of between $600 and $1,500 if you catch them early. But if you wait and let them nibble on the wood of your house, you can end up having to pay tens of thousands of dollars to fix the damage.
Even worse, many homeowners’ insurance plans don’t cover termite control or damage caused by termites, so you could have to pay for everything out of cash. Regular maintenance may usually keep termites at bay, therefore we strongly suggest keeping a look out for them.
Rats/Mice
The two rodent kinds that no one wants to see, much less see running around their house, are mice and rats. At least 21 million households in the US are reportedly plagued by mice and rats every year, and they also spread deadly diseases that might kill people.
In addition to being an annoyance, mice and rats have a tendency to gnaw through electrical wires in houses, especially during the colder months when they are looking for food and a place to hide from the elements. According to estimates, roughly one-fourth of all home fires that start with electrical wiring can be attributed to this act of decency.
Ants
No matter how hard you try to get rid of them, ants—especially carpenter ants—seem to never leave your house once they’re there. Ants are an annoyance, a little spooky, and a pest that may really impact the invasion.
Carpenter ants have the ability to tunnel deeply into the wood of your house, building a home and causing a ton of damage in the process. Since carpenter ants are little and frequently go unnoticed, it normally takes years for them to seriously damage the structural integrity of your home. This is just another reason to perform an annual home inspection.
Bedbugs
Bed bugs are dreadful critters to discover in your house, and nearly always, bed bugs are someone else’s fault. They can go back to your house in tiny, cramped areas like handbags, backpacks, or even on your clothes. They originate from motels and old furniture.
Depending on how quickly you discover the infestation, bed bug eradication costs vary. Even though my skin is itching as I type this, I do not have bed bugs. Many people discover they have bed bugs when it is too late, at which point they must spend $10,000 on eradication and $3,000 on replacement furniture. At this point, their home insurance provider informs them that they are not insured.
Cockroaches
Cockroaches may be used as a symbol of a clean home even if they don’t directly cause harm to dwellings. Homes with cockroaches are prone to other challenges, such as mildew, decaying timber, and food waste problems.
Performing A Home Inspection
The easiest approach to identify bugs and vermin within your rental insurance and solve the issue before it gets out of hand is to do an annual home inspection. You may save a ton of money and bother by hiring a professional to conduct the house inspection rather than putting up with the long-term issue.
