Help! A Vermin’s Having a Midnight Snack in my Family Car - am I Covered?

by Alix Carman | 1 min read     March 5th, 2019
 

Our claims team see lots of different claims and some as you would expect can be a little strange, just like this one!

Rats in the Car!

Rodents are always on the look out for a warm, dry place to rest their heads, particularly at this time of year when the weather is changing! Unfortunately for one customer, this particular rodent didn’t just grab 50 winks and leave.

One of our customers left home early one morning and jumped into her car to bring her kids to school, only to find her car wouldn’t start. Her local mechanic attended, and upon inspecting the engine, noticed signs of rodent droppings which suggested rats had been in her car.

Following a full inspection it became clear that the rodent who had spent the previous night napping in the engine compartment must have woken up hungry, because he nibbled his way through the car’s wiring! As a result, this customer’s car was written off; there was no way to say that it was safe for her to drive her family around, once the rat had gotten in.

How Did We Resolve This?

We’re happy to say that this customer’s claim was covered under the Accidental Damage section of her Allianz policy.

We sent an exterminator out to her vehicle first, so that they could make sure the rats were gone and that the vehicle was no longer a hazard.

Once the vehicle was cleared for entry, an engineer inspected the extent of the damage. We decided that although there was no structural damage to the car, we could not be satisfied that the rat had not chewed through one or more wires in the car without dismantling it completely - every nut and bolt!
 

Instead, we arranged a courtesy vehicle for the customer so she could still get her kids to school without worry (note we provide courtesy cars to claimants for up to 5 days) and we arranged for the disposal of her own car. We then transferred her settlement directly into her bank account, and she moved on to buy a new car… without any furry friends aboard!
 

Luckily, most claims are much more straight-forward than this unfortunate infestation. For more information on how to make a claim as an Allianz customer, click here.

Information correct as of date of publishing. This blog will not be updated or edited so the information may become outdated.