Woodpecker Damage: Does Insurance Cover It?

There are lots of things that your standard homeowner's insurance policy covers. Also known as an HO3 Special Form, the HO3, which is what most homeowners carry for their homeowner's insurance coverage, is an “open perils” policy. This means that it covers all perils except those specifically listed in the policy's exclusions section.

A typical exclusion found in most HO3 policies is for: “Birds, Vermin, Rodents, Insects,” so, if you're wondering if woodpecker damage is covered in your policy, the answer is likely, “No.”

The reason woodpecker damage, or any other bird, vermin, rodent or insect damage, isn't covered by homeowners' insurance policies is because said damage is considered by insurance companies to be preventable. Their position is that prevention is possible by observing proper maintenance procedures.

Insurance Isn't For The Birds!

Some serious damage can occur when a persistent bird like a woodpecker decides to go to work on your home. He can drill holes through your siding, your window frames or your roofing. These holes can allow water and insects entry to your home and fungus and mold won't be far behind if left untreated. In addition to surface damage, structural damage can actually occur if woodpeckers spend significant time working on support beams.

While your homeowner's insurance doesn't cover woodpecker damage, there are things you can do to fix the damage and to prevent the same thing from happening again. Getting rid of insects, which woodpeckers feast on, can be a big help. Woodpeckers, however, use the noise that their pecking makes as a way of attracting mates, so different strategies need to be undertaken to get them to leave your property and go somewhere else. One idea that's worked for some is to place imitation owls or hawks in the areas where the birds have been causing trouble.

What About an Endorsement or Rider?

In most homeowner's insurance policies, even perils that are contained in the exclusions section can be covered by adding an endorsement (or rider) to the policy or adding an additional policy. Two common examples of this are the addition of flood insurance and/or earthquake insurance to your standard coverage.

An endorsement to cover the damage created by “Birds, Vermin, Rodents, Insects,” might be possible to obtain from some insurers for a price, since coverage for just about any peril can be negotiated for the right premium increase. Ask your agent.

5 Things to Know About Third-Party Life Insurance

Third-party insurance is nothing new, and though you may not be aware of it, you probably already carry some third-party coverage. Nearly every state in the country requires its drivers to maintain liability protection in case they cause bodily injury or property damage to a “third party” with their vehicle. Specific minimum amounts of that coverage are set and required by each state jurisdiction.

Third-party life insurance, however, is totally different than third-party vehicle liability (or any liability) coverage. Third-party life insurance is not something a policyholder buys for him or herself, but for a third party.

Third-Party Insurance Defined

In a third-party life insurance policy situation, there are three parties who are part of the agreement. The first is the policy owner, which is the entity (usually a person but not necessarily) that purchases the policy and is responsible for payment of the premiums. The second is the insurance company, and the third is the individual named in the policy, whose death would trigger payment of the death benefit to the named beneficiary or beneficiaries. Here are some other things to know about this type of policy:

1. As with almost all other insurance coverage, third-party life insurance requires that the policy owner have an insurable interest in the third party. Insurable interest regarding a life insurance policy means that the death of the third person (named in the policy) would cause material loss or financial hardship to the policy owner. An example of this would be an individual taking out a policy on his wife or child.
2. While the first party in the 3-party life insurance policy is often a person, it may also be an entity such as a company for whom the insured is a key employee or officer.
3. The person being insured in a third-party life insurance policy must be aware of and consent to this arrangement. An exception to this rule exists when a parent buys a policy to cover his or her newborn child, who is too young to provide consent. Buying coverage for a child may seem unusual, however, if the child becomes ill and passes away, the medical bills left behind would cause financial hardship to the parents.
4. The first and third parties to a third-party life insurance policy cannot be the same.
5. The beneficiary need not be a person but could be a company, a trust, charity or some other entity.

Homeowner's Insurance: Spoiled Food After an Outage

The most popular type of homeowner's insurance sold in North Carolina to owners of single occupancy dwellings is what's called an HO3 Special Form Policy. This is the one that most people choose to satisfy the requirements of their mortgage holders. This type of policy is known as a hybrid since it provides “open perils” coverage for your dwelling but only “named perils” coverage for your personal belongings. It's not the most comprehensive homeowner's insurance policy available but represents the most economical way of complying with the insurance requirements of most mortgage lenders. An HO3 Special Form Policy can also be broadened in its coverage by the addition of special endorsements or riders if more coverage or higher limits are desired.

Sixteen Named Perils

The open perils coverage your HO3 Special Form Policy includes for your dwelling provides that all perils are covered except those specifically excluded in the exclusions portion of the policy. There may be dozens of exclusions, but since each individual homeowner's insurance policy may be unique, the only way to be sure of what's not covered in your insurance contract is to read and understand it. Almost all HO3 policies will have some typical exclusions, however, including floods, earthquakes, war, neglect, wear and tear and power failures, but there may be many more as well.

The named perils section that applies to your personal possessions will consist of a list of perils for which you're covered. In a standard policy, this list typically contains 16 perils such as fire or lightning, windstorm or hail, freezing, falling objects, vandalism, explosion and more. You'll notice that power outages and the spoiled food that may result from them aren't listed as named perils. This would seem to answer the question of whether spoiled food after a power outage is covered by your homeowners insurance. The fact is, though: like many questions related to home insurance, the answer is, “it depends.”

When Spoiled Food May Be Covered

In general, your insurance may cover the cost of spoiled food from a power outage (often limited to $250-$500) if the cause of the outage is a covered peril. For example, if the cause is a fallen tree in a windstorm or a lightning strike, it's likely covered, but not if the outage is caused by flooding or an earthquake. Your deductible applies, meaning the filing of a claim may not make sense.