Tabia, $10,000 domestic Savannah cat.
Standard DSH Silver Tabby worth about $75
Posted on 08/17/2011 9:24:35 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Black Lab Mix Covered As 'Property' In Insurance Terms
Marcia Pinkstaff said she couldn’t believe it when her dog was hit by a minivan last week and the driver’s insurance company told her they’d pay for one or two trips to the vet and would then “total out” her dog.
“I don’t see how you could total out a family pet,” she said. Pinkstaff was walking west in the crosswalk at Canterberry Parkway and East Idyllwilde Drive, in Parker, when an eastbound minivan made a left turn striking Sasha, a 9-year-old Lab mix.
“She didn’t see us and she hit Sasha very, very hard,” Pinkstaff said. “Sasha has tears in her lungs, a tear in her diaphragm and liver damage.”
Farmers’ Insurance sent Pinkstaff a letter stating it would reimburse her for the initial trip to the vet and would consider paying for a follow up exam, but nothing more.
“I was horrified,” Pinkstaff told 7NEWS. “They said they were totaling out my dog. It broke my heart because she is like a child to me.”
“I’d never heard of anybody totaling out a dog before,” she added. “I think it’s horrible.”
An insurance industry source told 7NEWS that dogs are not covered the same way humans are.
“If a human is injured, they can be reimbursed for pain and suffering, lost wages and medical care,” the source said.
“A dog is considered property and is covered by the property damage part of a policy,” the source added.
In Pinkstaff’s case, the adjuster told her they were limiting how much they’d pay for property damage.
A spokesman for Farmers’ said the phrase “totaling out” is industry jargon and refers to the property damage part of a policy.
“I’m very sorry about the circumstances,” said Farmers’ Vice President of Media, Jerry Davies. “I have a dog, too.”
He said, “We have issued reimbursement of payment for the initial expenses and will continue to work with her on payment of those bills.”
Pinkstaff said she’s grateful that she wasn’t hit and is grateful that Sasha survived.
She told 7NEWS that Sasha has another appointment with the vet on Aug. 16.
“She has to have more blood tests and more x-rays,” Pinkstaff said. “The vet will determine whether her injuries are healing or if she needs surgery.”
Pinkstaff said some of her friends have delayed paying their mortgage to help her with her vet bills.
“I would like to see the driver’s insurance company take care of the bills,” she said. “And if the insurance won’t, I would like the driver to take care of it.”
Pretty pathetic, if you ask me. Your pets are living, breathing beings and part of your family. The term property reminds me of slavery.
If this story was intended to make the insurance company look bad, it didn’t succeed. Sadly she has only one legal option available to her. Sue the driver. I hate suing. To me, when you have to sue someone to force them to uphold their responsibility it’s just another sign of a fractured and failed Society.
Too many people think insurance is a catch all for their own stupidity/negligence. The driver, in order to obtain a license on public roads, has signed an agreement to maintain responsibility for public liability and damages. It’s time to pay the piper.
People who don’t maintain that responsibility are a large part of the reason why you and I pay outrageous premiums, even though we might never have had a claim or even a ticket.
Replacement cost varies depending on the breed. If you have a mutt, or a generic cat, it might be $50, whatever an adoption costs. If you have a purebreed lab, it might be $2000. I’m not saying it’s right, in fact we probably debated it in law school. I just remember that this is what the law historically has said. Given that the goal of tort law is to make the injured party whole, if an animal that is a sentimental object of affection for a person is damaged, it would take more than the replacement cost to make the injured party whole. So I would not be adverse to revisiting the law. But I also would not want to see million dollar verdicts because someone’s cat got run over, either. There could be a middle ground for causing harm to a family pet, and there could be a requirement that vet expenses are paid.
Complain to Blackstone and the English common law. That’s where it came from. States are free to change it but few have.
Thanks for the explanation.
Tabia, $10,000 domestic Savannah cat.
Standard DSH Silver Tabby worth about $75
Tabia sure does look stunning.
I’ll bet she behaves a lot like the rather ordinary cats who appeared in my back yard (with their suitcases, announcing that they live in my house).
That tabby is a nice looking cat too.
Indeed they are, but given time you are bound to be taken to task by the “animals don’t deserve justice and why isn’t this thread about humans” crowd. They are legion on these threads.
They are actually called the dog lover's cat. They are extremely smart and trainable. Even considered to have loyalties to their owners ...much like a dog.
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