Does My Insurance Cover Pets In An Accident?

By Leigh Jackson


If I am in a car accident and my pets are in the car with me, will their injuries be covered by my auto insurance? Is my insurance responsible or does the other driver pay? If you are a pet lover, these are important questions that need answers when you consider auto insurance.

When you get into a car wreck and if the other driver is at fault in the wreck - they caused it or are somehow responsible for it - then their property liability insurance should cover any damage to any of your property, including pets that are riding along with you. If the other drivers liability and property damage coverage is high enough to cover all of your damages, it will also cover your pets injuries and the medical expenses that follow.

When pets are injured in a car accident, they are covered under property insurance for their medical expenses. When you are injured in a car accident, you are covered under personal or bodily injury liability coverage. These are different coverages because pets are considered your property, not a part of your person.

Of course, if the damages to your vehicle already maxed out the at-fault driver's property damage liability coverage -- which are typically much lower than the limits for bodily injury -- , then, unfortunately, there would be no insurance money to pay for your pet's injuries. You would have to pursue the other driver to personally pay for injuries your pet sustained in the accident.

If you are at fault in a car accident - if you cause it - then your insurance is responsible for any damages caused, this includes your pets injuries. Often times your insurance will not extent to cover pet medical expenses or injury recovery times. After searching multiple companies, we could only find one that included coverage specifically for pets riding along with you in the car.

Generally, auto insurance companies won't cover your pets injuries or medical expenses when you are the at-fault driver in an accident - your personal injury protection coverage does not extend to cover animals riding in your car.

The one insurance company that does cover pet injuries includes up to $1000 of coverage for their injuries and medical expenses. You can add this bonus onto your auto insurance for no extra charge and it is included as a part of your collision coverage.

Pet coverage with this company includes coverage for cats and for dogs but not for any other animals. If you have an exotic pet you will want to get special pet insurance that is unrelated to your auto insurance to help you with general expenses and other damages that may occur to your pet.




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