Key Takeaways
- Bear break-ins are on the rise in Connecticut. These large animals can damage doors, windows, appliances, and even cause structural issues while scavenging for food.
- The damage is rarely minor. From shattered glass and scratched floors to scent contamination and torn-up interiors, cleanup can be extensive and costly.
- Insurance coverage depends on how it’s documented. Whether the bear entered your home or garage, and how it affects how your policy may respond.
- Your policy might include gray areas. Some insurers classify wild animal damage under “malicious mischief,” but exclusions may apply if they deem it preventable.
- Public adjusters help frame your claim correctly. Robinhood Adjusters can ensure your bear-related loss is properly documented, coded, and presented for fair compensation.
- Specialized cleanup is often required. Wild animal intrusions can create health hazards — Robinhood Adjusters can coordinate with certified restoration teams.
- You don’t have to bear it alone. Robinhood Adjusters handle the claims process, negotiations, and even temporary housing so you can focus on getting back to normal.
Wait. What?
You read that right. We’re in Connecticut, after all. While nobody organizes a ‘Fat Bear Week’ for our growing black bear population, our bears have definitely become A Thing.
Black bears are seen emerging from their rest in early spring, hungry and possibly traveling with their cubs! It’s become almost commonplace at this point to watch a mother bear tree her cubs while she goes off scavenging for lunch.
While they’re fuzzy, mostly quiet, and do look suspiciously friend-shaped, our coexistence with black bears has taken an interesting turn. And by interesting, I might mean black bears breaking into your kitchen and making a big mess.
Many localities have had to institute new rules and regulations, including limitations on bird feeders or outside garbage storage.
We have ways in place to report bear sightings, plenty of tips and hints for those of us sharing our little slice of the Nutmeg State with bears, and they continue to live their bear lives, in the woods, in your backyard, showing up on your Ring Camera, and yes – even coming right in to your house like a scene from a modern-day Goldilocks tale. A hungry bear has no problem going after the picnic basket. They will enter your car, break into your house via door or window – or even crunch their way right through the drywall like a fur-covered Kool-Aid Man.
What Kind of Damage Are We Talking About?
Bears, bears, bears. A few hundred pounds of fur, claws, teeth, and muscle. Hungry, big, little wild friends, I am not permitted to leave the house to hug or pet them. (Understandable, my family knows me too well.) They are not dainty, nor will they gently unlatch the kitchen door if they decide to come in.
And believe me, no bear is going to respect your freshly washed windows or newly polished kitchen floor!
A bear looking to dine on something they smelled as they ambled by can actually do real and quantifiable damage to your home, garage or barn/outbuilding.
A few of the very real problems a bear break-in can include:
- Broken garage or storm doors
- Shattered windows
- Ripped cabinets, fridge, and freezer doors
- Scratched or torn flooring
- Torn screens
- Scent/odor contamination, they’re bears after all
- Possible structural damage if the bear’s entry was particularly ‘creative’
An uninvited bear visitor can result in more than just cleaning up. One single curious or hungry bear can leave property damage, broken glass, and environmental hazards in its wake.
Will Insurance Cover It? Maybe. Here’s Where It Gets Hairy.
Most homeowners’ insurance policies cover sudden, accidental physical damage, including damage from animals.
There are gray areas, however. Did the bear come inside the house? Did it stay outside? Enter the garage? This could change things when it comes to a fair and complete settlement.
Was the damage preventable? Your insurance company may ask whether your trash was accessible or locked up, whether your doors and windows were secure, there was obvious food left out to attract wildlife.
How the damage happened and is documented or framed will become very important!
In the event of such an unusual (while becoming more common every year) problem, a public insurance adjuster is a great addition to your team. They’ll be very helpful, especially if your insurance company has some confusion or issues classifying the damage you’ve experienced.
Hint: It may fall under the ‘malicious mischief or vandalism’ umbrella.
Why You Want Robinhood Adjusters on This Call
While calling your insurance company might seem like the right first step, you might also consider reaching out to a public insurance adjuster.
This is where Robinhood Adjusters come in.
A public insurance adjuster will assess and document the damage properly prior to cleanup. They will help establish this event as a covered loss. They can push back against underestimations (differentiating a little scratch from a complete refinishing bill). Your public adjuster can coordinate with restoration and cleanup services. Wild animal damage often requires specialized cleaning.
Robinhood Adjusters can secure temporary housing if necessary and handle the paperwork and any negotiation while you process the aftermath of having a wild animal break into your house looking for your lasagna. Wouldn’t be the first time.
What to Do After a Bear Break-In
Don’t panic! Easier said than done? Of course! But there are ways to handle this that will ensure your safety. It’s never a bad time to read up a bit and arm yourself with good information.
Call your local animal control and the local authorities if needed.
Document, document document: take pictures, take video, capture every bit of the damage (and the bear, too, particularly if you can see tags, this will help identify the bear).
As soon as you’re safe, call Robinhood Adjusters to get the gears turning. It doesn’t have to be an unbearable situation.
Once you’re on the road to restoration, it’s time to consider a fridge lock and a bear-proof trash bin….consider that the bear minimum.
You Don’t Have to Bear This Alone
What a strange timeline we’re in. When a bear break-in becomes almost commonplace, this isn’t even weird anymore.
With Robinhood Adjusters on your team, you can rest easy knowing your damages will be covered, dealt with, and properly managed from that first call to the moment you once again polish that kitchen floor -this time, secure knowing you won’t have any furry uninvited guests!
This doesn’t have to be unbearable, and with Robinhood Adjusters, it could be a walk in the park.
