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One cold winter's morning your car won't start, so you pop the hood. You're greeted by a family of mice—and a mass of chewed electrical wires and shredded insulation. Fortunately, comprehensive car insurance typically covers losses from rodent damage to your vehicle. Here's what you need to know to file an insurance claim for rodent-related car repairs.
Does Car Insurance Cover Rodent Damage?
Comprehensive car insurance typically covers rodent damage. Part of a full-coverage car insurance policy, comprehensive auto insurance protects your vehicle against damage that occurs when you're not driving. In addition to rodent damage, this generally includes vandalism or theft, fires, explosions, natural disasters such as floods, or falling objects such as tree branches or hailstones.
Rodents may enter vehicles seeking warmth, shelter or food. Once under the hood or inside your car, they can do serious harm. Mice, rats, chipmunks and squirrels can chew through electrical wiring, hoses or cables. They may also build nests in the engine, air filter or exhaust, which can clog ventilation systems or even catch fire. Depending on how long rodents run rampant in your vehicle, it could need thousands of dollars in repairs.
Before filing an insurance claim for rodent damage, check whether you have comprehensive coverage, since not all car insurance policies include it. Comprehensive coverage is usually required for leased or financed cars. However, if your car is paid off or is an older vehicle that's not worth much, you might choose to go without comprehensive insurance to save some money.
How to File a Claim for Rodent Damage
Once you've confirmed your policy includes comprehensive coverage, here's how to file an insurance claim for rodent damage.
- Collect your information. Gather any documentation you can to back up your claim, such as photos of the damage or receipts for related expenses. For example, if you had to rent a car or have your car towed due to rodent damage, have receipts for those expenses at the ready.
- Contact the insurance company. You can generally file a claim using your insurance company's mobile app, on their website or by calling the company. You'll be assigned a claims adjuster who will handle your claim, review your coverage and explain next steps. If your car insurance includes rental reimbursement, the adjuster may also help you get a rental car while yours is out of commission.
- Work with the adjuster to get a repair estimate. The claims adjuster may send an estimator to your home or arrange for a repair estimate with a shop the insurance company recommends. In many cases, you can get an estimate by submitting photos of the damage for the adjuster to assess. However, you also have the right to get estimates on your own and choose the repair shop you use. Once you and your adjuster agree on repair costs and what the insurance covers, repairs can begin.
- Receive your insurance payout minus any deductible. The insurance company may send payment to the repair shop or may send you a check or electronic funds transfer so you can pay for the repairs. Your insurance deductible will be subtracted from any payout you receive. For example, if your car needs $1,500 worth of work and you have a $500 deductible, the insurer will pay $1,000 of the cost and you'll be responsible for $500.
Typically, your insurance company should process and resolve your claim within about 30 days. However, this may take more or less time depending on the extent of the damage.
How to Prevent Rodent Damage
Practicing a few good habits will help protect your car from rodent damage.
- Close up entry points. Rodents can squeeze into your car through holes as small as a pencil, including rusted spots in the undercarriage, ducts or open windows. Repair or seal any holes that could let rodents in.
- Keep your car clean inside. Food, crumbs, food wrappers and nesting materials such as paper can attract rodents into your trunk or passenger compartment.
- Clean up areas near your car. Avoid parking near garbage cans, composting bins, woodpiles or bird feeders, all of which tend to attract rodents. Keep garbage and composting containers tightly closed and trim the grass, shrubs and trees near your parking spot to avoid overgrowth where rodents can hide.
- Keep your garage tidy. Even a car in a garage can fall prey to rodents if it's surrounded by piles of paper, cardboard boxes, open trash cans or recycling cans, bins of clothing or other items rodents can nest in or eat.
- Safeguard stored vehicles. Cars you don't drive often are prime targets for rodents. Store them in a closed garage or under a tight-fitting car cover. After looking under the hood for signs of rodents, start the engine and drive the car every few weeks. Regularly check the trunk and interior of your car for signs of rodent activity, such as droppings, tooth marks or foul smells.
- Set traps. The Centers for Disease Control recommends snap traps as the safest way to prevent rodents without risk of poisoning pets or children.
The Bottom Line
Carrying comprehensive auto insurance can help pay for unexpected auto repairs when furry intruders invade your car. Insurance companies in most states can check your credit-based insurance score when setting premiums. This score weighs the risk you'll file a claim. Improving your credit score by paying bills on time and keeping credit utilization low could help lower your car insurance premiums.
Regularly shopping around for car insurance is another way to uncover savings. You can compare prices quickly with Experian's car insurance comparison tool. It's an easy way to compare insurance quotes from dozens of top insurance carriers at once.