Forums

Yes, I would believe it. I had a dog that was traumitized when a storm with lightning occurred. He would jump onto my lap and start shaking. This was a 90 pound Alaskan Husky. Our remaining Pomeranian is fearful of thunder. I agree it is a strange thing for a dog to do, but very possible.

Mark, what breed and size dog was this blamed on?

Would be great if  you'd post a photo of the sink and the dog (you can draw one of those bars across his eyes to protect his identity!).

How about approaching the cause of loss from a different perspective: let's assume the dog theory is one of convenience (maybe the dog was in the sink when the insured got home) and even that the insured believes that's what happened. If it wasn't the dog then, what was the cause of loss and is it a covered cause of loss?

These are the kind of claims that make it fun!

Janice

The dog was a 2 year old border collie and adorable. The insured stated that when he got home the dog was in the sink which by the size of the dog I am suprised he actually fit in the sink. I guess the size of the dog compared to the sink could explain the overflow. I still was suprised that the dog would jump in a sink compared to hunkering in a closet. Ray..... beleive it or not the insured had just installed a high grade pergo floor a few months ago which would add to the validity of the claim ...I guess.

Del

I actually checked out the plumbing and there were no ruptures or maintenance issues. The file examiner has approved the claim.... I spoke to the inside adjuster and his exact words to me were....We insure stupidity and freakish acts of both human and animal everyday...very funny!

I had a claim one time where the insured laid a towel on the edge of a laundry sink and the water was running they left for vacation and the towel fell into the deep laundry sink which had no upper safety drain. The towel plugged the main drain and 4 days later they returned home to find their home soaked from the upper floor down to the main floor and also the finished basement. The dad was mad at himself for the towel and leaving the water run . The company paid the claim with no questions asked. He was a good client w/ a nationally known tool company he owned that at the time was on the stock exchange. It turned out to be a sizable claim. So you can't teach stupid, it just happens.