A pet liability policy provides you with liability coverage that your renters insurance may not include, such as coverage for dogs with a history of aggression, off-duty police dogs, or extended coverage for incidents that occur away from home. A liability policy is additional coverage that is available as a rider to your homeowners or renters insurance. If you are a renter and have a pet, you may want to consider what your renters insurance covers for your pet and what it does not. Renters’ insurance is not required by law, but you may have to take out a policy as a requirement of your agreement with your landlord.
A renters insurance policy is for people who do not own their residence and want to protect their personal property and protect against liability. Renters who own pets may want to consider having a pet health insurance policy and a renters insurance policy with pet liability coverages. The damage and liability coverages in your renter’s policy may not cover you for certain incidents. If you own an excluded breed and are not eligible for liability coverage, you may be able to obtain pet liability coverage through an umbrella policy, which is additional liability insurance purchased in addition to your homeowners, renters or automobile insurance policies, or a dog liability policy, which is separate insurance purchased specifically to protect you from liability related to your dog.
If your renters insurance policy does not cover your pet’s legal liability, you are not out of options. While your landlord’s coverage should cover the actual structure of your rented home, your renters insurance is designed to provide coverage for your belongings and your liability exposure. Many renters insurance policies do not cover “exotic pets such as reptiles, amphibians and ferrets”. Renters insurance is a policy that typically includes coverage for your personal property and liability when you rent your home or flat.
One of the complications in covering your liability as a pet owner is that there are some breeds of dogs that insurance companies consider so responsible that they are never covered. However, your insurer may offer optional additional coverage, called a rider, which can increase your protection for specific events, such as a dog bite.