Frogs in the crawl space

Coverage Q&A: It's not the title of a horror movie. The insured experienced an amphibious invasion, but is it covered by insurance?

There are more than 6,300 species of frogs, according to Wikipedia. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Every claim is different, and some insurance policies can be difficult to interpret for unique situations. FC&S Expert Coverage Interpretation, the recognized authority on insurance coverage interpretation and analysis for the P&C industry, makes it simple to find credible answers to your complicated coverage questions. Analysis brought to you by our FC&S experts. 

Editor’s Note: We often get questions concerning a variety of wild animals, most often skunks, raccoons, bats, and squirrels. This week’s question brought us a new animal: frogs. 

Question: Our insured has a lake home with a cement-paved crawl space that has sump pumps that drain into the lake. The insured has owned the home for many years with no problems. However, recently, he visited the lakehouse and noticed a strong smell. He hired a contractor to go into crawl space, where he discovered many large dead frogs in the sump pumps, resulting in the odor.

The contractor believes the frogs came into the home via the tile/drainage lines that lead to the lake. To prevent the frogs from entering the house moving forward, he installed screening on the pipe. 

The insured filed a claim with his insurer to cover the clean up of the frogs. The adjuster, I believe, denied the claim under the wrong section of the policy: landlord’s furnishings. Thoughts?

— Ohio Subscriber

Analysis: Depending on policy language, damage by these animals may or may not be covered. Some policies exclude damage by rodents, and whether or not an animal is a rodent is a scientific classification and not just a generic term. When encountering an animal, the policy wording must be reviewed as well as the definition of the terms in question, not just what’s in widespread use. Someone may use the term varmint disparagingly for a relative, but that has nothing to do with the type of animals considered to be vermin. We haven’t had a question concerning frogs before; however, the way to the answer is the same: Review the facts of the claim, the policy language, and any defined or undefined terms as needed.

Answer: To learn the answer to this week’s Coverage Q&A, please log into your FC&S Expert Coverage Interpretation account.

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