One way we’re different from other insurance sites is we don’t take ourselves too seriously, even if our topic is serious. We understand many of you may not want to read the highly informative articles about your insurance coverage, because you suspect it’s boring – it’s actually not…give it a chance!
However, if we write a story about Alien Attack, you’ll read it. So can we write about aliens and sneak a few insurance facts in there while you’re not looking? You bet we can!
Is this like sneaking the vegetables into your toddler’s mac and cheese? Yes, it most certainly is. The difference is, while you may deceive your kids (shame on you!), we are honest about our intentions. We hope you’ll voluntarily read more about your insurance needs if we can entertain you along the way.
With those high expectations created, it’s time to discuss aliens!
Save Me Time!
- There is nothing in an insurance policy that explicitly excludes damage caused by aliens
- Still, other exclusions such as “act of war” may apply. Hopefully, they come in peace!
- Keep reading for examples of damage caused by aliens that would be covered by your insurance!
The Rest of the Story
If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you have read, or at least aware of, the government reports about unidentified objects that can’t be explained. Many, of course, believe this is a sign of alien visitors!
This got me thinking…what happens if the aliens are real and they land on Earth? What does it mean for my insurance? (Yes, I really thought that…you didn’t?)
Insurance tries really hard to exclude things they don’t want to pay for. The problem with their approach is most policies cover everything (called an “open perils” policy) EXCEPT what they specifically exclude.
This means if the insurer isn’t creative enough to exclude it…they pay!
If you own a business, you may have encountered this issue during Covid. Many business policies explicitly exclude pandemic which meant they didn’t have to pay for losses that arose from Covid lockdowns. However, other policies were more vague and were forced to pay for some losses.
This is why it’s a good reason to understand the exclusions on your policy. Because if aliens showed up tomorrow, how else would you know if you had the right insurance?
No Broad Alien Exclusion
The good news for you is there is no broad exclusion covering aliens. Insurers exclude damage caused by birds or rats, but they neglect to mention aliens!
That’s a good sign, right? Mostly, but, remember, we’re dealing with insurance companies, so let’s look for those gray areas…
Insurance excludes damage by birds, rodents, vermin, insects, and some animals (mainly pets). What if our alien friends looked like a bird or an insect? Could they then exclude any losses? Hmm, this sounds like one for the lawyers!
My best guess is an alien who has antennae and looks “insect-like” is not biologically an insect! We would have to capture some alien DNA and compare it to earthly insects and see if they are a match.
If no match, we are looking good! If there is a match, then there would probably be some litigation about whether the insect exclusion only referred to insects that originated on earth or if it also applied to extraterrestrial insects with laser eyes and razor sharp claws.
You may think I just wrote a bunch of fiction, but, I assure you, this is pretty much exactly how the real world proceedings would play out! While the aliens shoot lasers at you, some insurance lawyer would be before a judge arguing they are an insect, so it’s not covered!
But, If It’s Alien War…
While the insurers may not be able to exclude all damage caused by aliens, there are other exclusions to consider. Most prominent of these is the war exclusion.
If aliens incinerated your home with their spaceship blasters, insurance will not pay because losses caused by war are excluded.
On the other hand…can we be sure we are at war with the aliens? What if we can’t communicate with them, so they can’t declare their plans to take us over?
Or maybe on their planet vaporizing buildings is a sport and they didn’t realize we would take it as an act of war? If they stopped after we objected, there is technically no war. Or maybe the aliens eat wood and thought our homes were a food source?
There are so many possible reasons they may want to damage our homes. We can’t assume they are all due to war. You might still have a valid insurance claim!
More Exclusions To Know
There are a few other common exclusions that apply where aliens could cause an excluded loss. If the aliens cut the power to the neighborhood, most resulting losses are typically excluded. (However, if they cut only your power, it would be covered!)
If the aliens create a flood or a sewer backup, that will be excluded just like any other cause of uncovered water damage. Oh, and if the aliens manipulate the earth’s crust to cause an earthquake, that is excluded just like any naturally occurring quake!
When Insurance Has To Pay
This is the part you really care about! When can I make the insurance company pay for the impact of an alien invasion! First, don’t call it an invasion. Remember, then the war exclusion applies!
So let’s say they’re friendly aliens who come in peace! But while they’re friendly, they also don’t understand our customs and can be a little clumsy.
- What if one of their spaceships accidentally clips your chimney and takes it down? Covered!
- What if they look at your home, forget to turn off their laser eyes, and the laser breaks a window? Covered!
- What if an alien got mad at you and set your home on fire? Being mad is not an act of war, so…Covered!
- What if you invite one over to dinner and their slimy, acidic skin dissolves your kitchen table? Covered!
- What if they break in and steal your jewelry? Definitely covered!
- What if they steal your fence because they need to burn the wood to fuel their spaceship? Covered!
- What if the aliens are herbivores and, in the process of eating the leaves off your tree, knock it over? Questionable. If the tree falls over without hitting any property, not covered. If it damages a structure, then covered!
- What if their spaceship runs into your parked car? As long as you have uninsured motorist coverage, probably covered….though we’ll have to ask the lawyers if a spaceship driver is considered a “motorist”!
What if, after the aliens arrive, a giant rat tears apart my attic? Will insurance pay? Normally, rodent damage isn’t covered, but, during an alien panic, you may be able to convince your insurers the aliens did it (if you can live with your dishonesty).
I’m sure a lot of normally uncovered damages will be blamed on the aliens if, sorry, when, they come, but you’re going to have to prove it or else it’s uncovered.
Peace Of Mind
While insurance can’t protect you from aliens, especially aliens hell bent to destroy the human race, it can protect your assets. Because insurance companies never thought to exclude aliens, they should cover most damage other than the exclusions outlined above.
That means there is one less thing to be scared about when the aliens arrive – thanks to our friendly insurance companies!
