Pets in apartments: Sydney ruling sparks insurance questions
Animal lovers are over the moon after the NSW Supreme Court gave the go-ahead for pets.
Earlier this week, the NSW Supreme Court delighted animal-lovers when it said apartment buildings would no longer be able to enforce blanket bans on pets.
While buildings will still have scope to ban individual pets - for example, if your neighbour's parakeet is noisy, aggressive, or destructive - they won't be able to place an outright ban on all animals. Sounds fair to us.
That means many apartment-owners, and even some renters, will now be able to keep animals in their home without infringing on any strata rules or regulations.
Of course, before you rush to bring a furry bundle of joy into your home, there are some things to consider - namely, are you insured for any damage they might cause?
A 2017 survey of over 1,000 pet owners found that damage was surprisingly common. The SquareTrade survey found 27% of owners had suffered a damaged laptop due to their pet, 25% had seen a games console damaged and 18% had seen a TV damaged.
Thankfully, it is possible to protect yourself against smashed belongings. All you need is a contents insurance policy with accidental damage cover included.
Accidental damage cover should pay to repair or replace an item if your pet knocks it over or spills something onto it.
So if your cat knocks a glass of red wine all over your expensive cream sofa, or your dog manages to bump the TV off its stand, you won't be left footing the entire bill by yourself.
Incredibly, some home insurance policies even include limited cover for vets bills. That means if your pet is injured accidentally, you'll be able to claim some of the cost back. For example, Westpac's Premier package includes up to $500 for vets bills while Youi will cover up to $1,000 a year.
Of course, contents insurance won't cover everything animal-related. It's unlikely you'll be able to find cover for chewed belongings, clawed furniture, or soiled carpets.
Don't worry though, there's a type of insurance for that too. Routine care pet insurance, an add on to pet insurance, can help towards the cost of behavioural training classes, among other things.
Compare contents insurance policies
We've listed some contents insurance policies from our partners below, highlighting some benefits which are particularly useful for pet-owners. Click 'view details' for more information.
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