If you find your home infested with bed bugs, will your renter’s insurance policy cover the clean-up and debugging expense? In most cases, the answer is unfortunately ‘no’.
The majority of renter’s insurance policies will cover the following general perils:
- Fire damage
- Damage as a result of a natural disaster; windstorms, hail, lightening (flood damage is often not covered by most policies)
- Smoke damage resulting from fire within the unit or from nearby units
- Vandalism
- Burglary/Theft
- Damage caused by a fallen roof; often caused by water, snow and/or ice build up
- Damage from appliances; water heaters, steam heaters, air conditioners
- Fallen objects- i.e. trees, power lines
- Freezing of plumbing, heating or air conditioning pipes
But, most renters policies currently exclude ‘vermin infestation’, which encompasses bed bugs, despite the recent rise in reported incidents nationwide.
Bed bugs can become expensive guests, causing a damage and costly clean up (debugging, steam cleaning and the cost of relocation during the clean-up). Plus, they spread to other homes around the infested area quickly through animal and human transfer. Until renters policies begin to cover bed bug infestations, the best plans of attack are prevention and to build a rainy day fund for general home emergencies.
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The majority of renter’s insurance policies will cover the following general perils:
- Fire damage
- Damage as a result of a natural disaster; windstorms, hail, lightening (flood damage is often not covered by most policies)
- Smoke damage resulting from fire within the unit or from nearby units
- Vandalism
- Burglary/Theft
- Damage caused by a fallen roof; often caused by water, snow and/or ice build up
- Damage from appliances; water heaters, steam heaters, air conditioners
- Fallen objects- i.e. trees, power lines
- Freezing of plumbing, heating or air conditioning pipes
But, most renters policies currently exclude ‘vermin infestation’, which encompasses bed bugs, despite the recent rise in reported incidents nationwide.
Bed bugs can become expensive guests, causing a damage and costly clean up (debugging, steam cleaning and the cost of relocation during the clean-up). Plus, they spread to other homes around the infested area quickly through animal and human transfer. Until renters policies begin to cover bed bug infestations, the best plans of attack are prevention and to build a rainy day fund for general home emergencies.