Living beings endowed with sensitivity, within the meaning of the law, animals can fall ill, but also suffer an accident or cause damage to third parties, thus incurring our liability. It is essential to carefully study the guarantees taken out but also to carefully examine those provided for in comprehensive home insurance, when they are taken out.
Médor the dog bit the neighbor's arm, Felix the cat has an abscess, Coco the parrot has to have an operation, if our animal friends bring us a lot of happiness, they can also give us some hassle accompanied by more or more expenses. less important. How to insure yourself and insure them? The answers are numerous.
Health insurance for the well-being and survival of pets
Cat, dog, parrot, but also what we call new pets (NAC) as the rabbit, the ferret, the guinea pig or the chinchilla, any animal can be insured, but not all are. This will depend on the insurance policies offered on the market, the insurer being able to operate an entry filter by refusing to cover certain species such as, sometimes, reptiles where the rodents.
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“These are specific contracts which are increasingly flexible, allowing you to choose to insure your animal in the event of accidents or illness or boththen by selecting guarantees such as surgical intervention, hospitalization or routine care from a veterinarian”underlines Grégory Leclere, animal management director at ECA Assurances.
Covers can be more or less extended depending on the formulas in the same way as a mutual health. The important points to study are the percentages of reimbursement of expenses, the amounts of deductibles according to the interventions, and guarantee ceilings. Some contracts may provide forcompensation of the boarding costs of the animal in the event of hospitalization of its owner, others, the payment of capital in the event of the death of the animal, explain the insurers. More and more contracts also include a support guarantee. Be careful, however, the contracts also provide age limits for subscription and sometimes an age limit for the guarantee (after 10 years for example). The owner of the subscribing animal of the contract must also be wary of possible waiting periods, periods after subscription during which the animal will not be covered, and of course he will take note of the exclusions which vary according to the contracts. These exclusions deserve particular attention because they can be numerous, particularly if the animal is not up to date with its vaccinations.
MRH to guarantee the civil liability of the animal owner
An animal can be expensive when it comes to its health, but it can be even more expensive when it involves public liability of its owner or those who have custody of it. The legislation is clear on this subject by establishing the principle that “the owner of an animal, or the person who uses it, while it is in his use, is responsible for the damage that the animal has caused, whether the animal was in his custody, or whether he was lost or escaped. (1)”.
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“From the moment damage is caused to a third party and the animal is involved, we find ourselves here within the scope of the guarantees of private life civil liability policies”, specifies Grégory Leclere. This insurance is included in most multi-risk home contracts (MRH) and covers the financial consequences of civil liability (RC) which may be incurred due to injury, tangible and intangible caused to third parties by pets of the contract holder or sometimes, of the person who has voluntary custody of it. It is therefore necessary to declare animals from companies that live under our roofs to the insurer and to carefully check, if the contract does not cover them, that the HRM of the person who occasionally looks after an animal (during vacations for example) includes the liability guarantee for animals. It is important to emphasize that theHome Insurance is not obligatory, except for tenants and co-owners and that the uninsured people will have to bear sole responsibility for the damage caused by their pets. It should also be noted that family members are not covered by private life liability but may be covered in the event of bodily injury suffered under a life accident guarantee contract (GAV), insurers point out.
The contracts give the definition of domestic animals, a clause that should be read carefully because it can limit the list of covered animals (e.g. dogs, cats, birds, fish, turtles, livestock). It is therefore imperative to ask your insurer to request an extension or adaptation of guarantees for animals not included in the list. This will be the case mainly for NAC whose possession can be regulated, such as reptiles.
“Private life civil liability insurance for Multi-risk Housing contracts often excludes dangerous dogs », specifies Grégory Leclere. These dogs belong to categories 1 and 2 mentioned in L.211-12 of the rural code, namely attack dogs (category 1) and guard and defense dogs (category 2). These animals are subject to strict regulations which require a keeping permit as well as civil liability insurance. If the MRH does not cover these types of dogs, the owner can ask their insurer for an extension of guarantee and/or take out an independent contract.
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In addition to dangerous dogs, the private life liability guarantees of home insurance also include, depending on the contracts, other exclusions, such as hunting dogs, horses and other animals bovine species, sheep pigs And goatsTHE hives or even the livestock. Here again several types of guarantees can, optionally, be redeemable on the MRH or be taken out within the framework of specific contracts. These optional guarantees may also include exclusions (for example venomous species).
It should be noted that in home insurance, domestic animals belong to the insurable movable capital in the event of a loss, but can be excluded from the theft guarantee.
Specific contracts
The scope of animal insurance is vast and will extend to those essential in daily life or for leisure. Among these insurances are thehunting insuranceobligatory for any holder of a hunting license or agricultural insurance who cover the damage caused by farmer's animals. Special insurance for guide dogs exist on the market supporting veterinary costs as well as the placement of the animal in the event of death or hospitalization of the animal in an animal establishment. Specific plans can also be taken out for shepherd dogs. When animals are necessary for their owner's work, they must be insured by their owner's contract. Professional Liability.
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Misunderstandings that merit paying close attention to contracts
Like any insurance contract, guarantees intended for animals are subjects that can sometimes irritate policyholders. Insurance mediation lists several, including those linked to the definition of the accident, or even to the guarantee ceilings depending on the surgical interventions and the care provided. Disputes also open for dangerous dogs which require precise monitoring. In several cases, the insurer refused to compensate a victim of assault by a dog on the public highway without a muzzle and not on a leash as required by regulations when it had just escaped from the owner's residence or car. It is therefore very important to understand the guarantees present in insurance contracts in order to be able to compare them calmly and not hesitate to question insurers through contract distributors.
(1) Article 1243 of the civil code
