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Dogs vandalise my Honda City: Will insurance cover the damage?

20th April 2023, 16:05 by Ananth Iyer

I took the pics from the scene and also got the CCTV footage from the hospital parking maintenance office.

BHPian manub22 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Last weekend I was admitted to a hospital for a small surgery. As no Ola/Uber was showing up early in the morning, I thought to drive myself thinking that I will call some friend while returning. Now I think that I could have avoided this mess if I would have waited a few extra minutes or an hour for a cab to take me to the hospital.

So, I took my car accompanied by my wife for a small surgery at a nearby hospital, where I had to stay 24 hrs as they has to give me general anesthesia & some stitches, and for observation.

The next day of discharge in the hospital premise basement parking I found my car (Honda City 4th Gen) in a very bad condition from the front side. It was shocking to see the view of my single-hand driven car with no history of accidents in last 6 years of ownership. It was very badly bitten, scratched, and plastic parts & cladding ripped off.

The bumper was literally chewed & ripped from both sides
The front honeycomb grill was broken and had big holes
Both the fenders were badly scratched & deformed
The front wheel cladding & engine bay, and mud flaps were all ripped off from their place, including some part of fog-lamp wiring.

I took the pics from the scene and also got the CCTV footage from the hospital parking maintenance office. Got to know from the CCTV footage that the incident happened between 5-6 am, and dogs had gone berserk as a mouse had entered the car engine bay, and all the dogs wanted to chase him out !!!

I've started the claim process, and they have told me they will contact me in 24-48 hrs. I have heard that the claim is difficult in case of animal damage, if anybody has similar experience please help here, thanks !!!

Here's what BHPian d.w.w had to say on the matter:

As soon as I started reading your post, I knew this will be the cause. I also ended up in a similar situation, but the damage was much less. The dogs made minor scratches on both fenders, front bumper and chewed a small part of the mud flaps. The mouse which entered the car also bit of some sponge kind of material that was on the engine bay (think this was to provide noise insulation inside cabin). The damages were not much visible , so I didn't bother claiming insurance. I switched the insurance that year to a different policy and I asked them if animal/rodent attacks are covered as part of the insurance and they said yes. I was not so convinced and read the T&C and I couldn't find any clause telling such incidents will not be covered. Since you haven't mentioned your insurance provider do go through their T&C on what is covered and what is not.

Here's what BHPian The_Mechanic had to say on the matter:

The claim is payable under most motor policies(Unless you have some specific policy excluding such losses).
This type of loss will come under "Accidental External Means". The animal's name or type is immaterial.
A dog biting your car's bumpers, an elephant poking a hole in your car with its tusks or a rat biting your car's wiring - All these will fall under "Accidental External Means".