Will Phoenix Renters Insurance Cover Water Damage Caused By Neighbor’s Dog?

Another question from a policyholder, another unexpected lesson on the nuances of renters insurance. Our policyholder lives in a downstairs apartment and has Phoenix Renters Insurance. The neighbor upstairs went to work and left her dog in the apartment alone – something that many people do daily without a second thought. Somehow, the neighbor’s dog jumped up on the stove and managed to turn it on.

This, of course, caused a fire which in turn caused the sprinklers to activate. Our insured has significant water damage to their personal property as a result.

Is the neighbor liable? Will the neighbor’s coverage apply? Will an adjuster come out?

Would (or should) a reasonable and prudent person have known that the dog could turn on the stove and cause a fire? That’s hard to say. It’s something that might cross the mind of a reasonable and prudent person as an outside possibility, but it’s certainly not the sort of thing one loses sleep over on an ongoing basis. The chances of such a thing occurring are incredibly low.

Liability would apply if the neighbor caused a loss through their negligence. Negligence is accidental. This was, of course, an accidental incident. The neighbor hadn’t planned for their dog to start a fire, or for the downstairs apartment to be flooded by their sprinklers. Is it possible that the neighbor knew or should have known that the knobs to the stove were loose, for instance? Very possible.

That makes it likely that the neighbor’s liability will cover the damages. It will, of course, only cover the actual cash value. That’s why our insured is filing a claim through his own policy. That will get him replacement cost coverage for his items, and then his policy will attempt to recover the amounts paid from the neighbor’s policy. His policy will also attempt to recover his deductible.

Generally, when there’s a loss, you file a claim on your own policy. That way you get the replacement cost for your property and you can, well, replace it. You then leave it up to your insurance to recover from the other insurance. There’s a very good reason for that, other than the replacement cost: Your insurance company has lawyers, and recovering that loss is a matter for the lawyers to handle.

There’s no reason to go up against the other insurance company (and their lawyers) directly – that’s one of the reasons that you have insurance. You assign your right of recovery to them, and they take care of the recovery – including your deductible.

If you have questions about renters insurance in Phoenix, or if you need coverage, just call (800)892-4308 or click to get covered - whether you need Phoenix renters insurance quotes online or coverage anywhere else!

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Photo Credit: Alan Stark Downtown Phoenix Skyline 2 CC BY SA 2.0