Finally the weather has warmed up, the grass is green, and coats are in the closet. It's been a difficult winter for a large part of the country with unusually cold temperatures and plenty of snow. So summer weather is a welcomed and much needed change. This month I'm changing things up a little since the tornado season hasn't been too bad thus far, and hurricane season is predicted to be quieter than normal. I'm going to look at questions that we've received that are more related to summer in general.

Pet Care

Pets may be outside more in the warm weather as their owners garden, barbeque, or participate in other outdoor activities. There was a situation where an insured was visiting a relative and the relative's dog went into the shade under the insured's truck. Upon leaving, the insured was not aware the dog was under the truck and ran over him.

A claim was filed for the dog's vet bills. The question was what is owed: is the dog personal property, is the value of the dog owed, are the dog's medical bills to be paid? Good questions all. Under the limit of liability section of the personal auto policy, the policy states that the limit of liability for bodily injury is the most that the company will pay for damages for care, loss of services or death, arising out of bodily injury sustained by any one person in any one auto accident. Since the dog doesn't qualify as a person, the dog then becomes personal property.

There are no exclusions for liability to animals in the policy; therefore there is coverage for the dog. The question now is how much? The dog is not deceased, just injured. Using the principle of indemnity, the dog owners should be put back to where they were before the accident; which is with one healthy intact dog. The value of a new pet shop dog doesn't fairly compensate them. Their dog is “repairable” for lack of a better word; therefore, the cost of a replacement dog doesn't seem right. If the garage had been struck, the claimant would be entitled to have the garage door and any other damage repaired. Only if the garage door was totaled would the claimant be entitled to a replacement. I'm not sure how you could make a case that the dog was a “total loss” and that the company only owes for the value of a dog that's x years old.

As far as the dog being under the truck and the owner of the dog being partly responsible, it depends on the state's leash laws. If dogs are supposed to be leashed at all times, then maybe a case could be made; if not, the dog was in his own yard doing doggie things, and the insured should have been paying attention to who or what was by the truck when he left. Therefore, the cost of the dog's medical bills should be covered.

Recreational Vehicles

The nice weather also brings many people out riding bikes. In one case an insured on a bicycle rode into a vehicle; a claim was made under the homeowner's policy. Is there coverage? While a bicycle is a vehicle, it is not a motor vehicle, so the motor vehicle exclusion does not apply. Therefore, coverage is found under the damage to property of others provisions in the liability section of the policy.

People also take their bikes to bike trails, to friends' houses to go riding, to races and other sporting events. Another situation involves the bike of an insured's friend that was attached to a bike rack on a vehicle when the bike fell off the rack. A claim was filed under the insured's homeowners policy. Unfortunately, the vehicle exclusion does apply here, since the bike rack is automobile equipment and was attached to the vehicle at the time. The friend should have been able to collect under her own home policy for the damage to her bike.

Boating is another popular summer sport with sailing, fishing, and other water activities. An insured borrowed a friend's boat and while parking the boat, it rolled into a tree on the insured's property, damaging both the boat and the trailer. This was filed under the insured's homeowners policy and falls under the damage to property of others. Since it was property owned by others on the insured's property, and it was being used by an insured, coverage applies.

Notice how often the damage to property of others provision applies. Often called “good neighbor” coverage, it applies for things that just happen, the unavoidable accidents not caused by any ill intent. It keeps the peace between neighbors by providing coverage for things the insured may be responsible for, but where legal liability does not actually play a part in the event.