What is Santa bringing your children for Christmas this year? Certain types of gifts can actually be problematic for your homeowners insurance. Things like trampolines and certain breeds of puppies, can cause your insurer to raise your rates or to drop your plan.
What could be more adorable than a Christmas puppy? It might be exactly what your kids are hoping that Santa will bring them this year. Unfortunately, certain breeds of puppies could result in problems with your homeowners insurance. The same could happen if you put a trampoline in your backyard.
CNBC points out that there are certain things that insurance companies see as high risk. Add a high risk thing to your home, and you may find yourself with a much higher premium than you had before Santa brought the puppy, or trampoline. It is possible that your insurer will drop you once they discover that you added one of these high risk things to your home.
Trampolines
If you have a big backyard, and a lot of very active children, a trampoline might seem like a great gift. Your insurance company, however, disagrees. There is the potential that someone will use the trampoline and become injured. If the injured person is your child, this might result in a claim to your health insurer.
Your homeowners insurance company is worried that one of your children’s friends will become injured while playing on the trampoline. Homeowners insurance covers the medical costs of a person who becomes injured at your home (or in your backyard). If that child’s parents decide to sue you, your homeowners insurance may have to cover (at least some) of those expenses.
Typically, insurers don’t want to be in situations where they may end up covering lawsuits. Get a trampoline, and your insurer might decide to drop your policy. Or, your insurer might increase your premiums to cover the expenses they might, potentially, face, if, someday, an accident happens that involves your trampoline.
Puppies
What happens when your dog bites someone? One result is that the person (or the person’s parents) can file a claim against your homeowners insurance. If the Christmas puppy you are buying for your children happens to be a Rottweiler, or a Pitbull, you could be in for some insurance difficulties. Insurers don’t like the risk that could be involved if your dog bites someone. Sadly, certain breeds are seen as a higher risk than others.
Some homeowners insurance policies specifically exclude coverage for accidents that happen that involve certain breeds of dogs. Others will cancel your policy the instant they discover you now have a Rotweiller or a Pitbull. It is also possible that your insurer will raise your premium to reflect the amount of risk they now identify you as having.
Image by USCPSC on Flickr