"Fast forward to a freak hailstorm and suddenly I'm trying to decipher lawyer-speak about 'acts of nature.'"
Haha, been there...but seriously, does anyone actually know what counts as an "act of nature"? Like, if a raccoon decides to throw a rooftop party, is that covered or...?
Haha, raccoon rooftop parties...now that's an insurance claim I'd love to see someone explain! But seriously, from what I've gathered (after my own roofing drama), "acts of nature" usually mean stuff like storms, hail, lightning—basically anything you can't control or predict. Animals can be tricky though; my neighbor had squirrels chew through wiring once, and the insurance company was like "nope, that's maintenance." So raccoons might fall into that gray area too...
"Animals can be tricky though; my neighbor had squirrels chew through wiring once, and the insurance company was like 'nope, that's maintenance.'"
Totally agree—animals are definitely in that weird insurance twilight zone. Had a similar issue with birds nesting in our attic vents, and insurance wouldn't cover it ("preventable," apparently). Learned the hard way to regularly check vents and install some cheap mesh guards. Small upfront cost saved bigger headaches later...just something to consider if you're budget-conscious like me.
Had a similar issue with birds nesting in our attic vents, and insurance wouldn't cover it ("preventable," apparently).
Yeah, insurance can be pretty picky when it comes to animal damage. A couple years back we had raccoons peel back some shingles and squeeze into the attic. Insurance said basically the same thing—since it was "preventable," it was on us. Ended up installing metal flashing around vulnerable spots. Definitely learned it's cheaper to keep critters out in the first place than deal with repairs later...
Did insurance actually say how it was preventable? We had squirrels chew through some siding and get into the attic last winter, and insurance basically told me the same thing—my fault for not noticing sooner, I guess. Ended up paying out of pocket to replace the damaged siding and put wire mesh around vulnerable areas. Is there even a homeowner policy that covers animal damage, or are we all just stuck with this...?
