Spooky Insurance Claims: Will You Be Haunted by a Halloween Trick?

Halloween is a holiday during which innocence is celebrated. Florida residents delight in dressing our little ones up in funny costumes and escorting them around the block so they can charm the candy out of neighbors' hands. We bob for apples, hang fake cobwebs and paper skeletons around the house, and carve pumpkins-all activities primarily designed to delight the younger set. On the other hand, however, Halloween is also a time when not-so-innocent trickery abounds.

Houses and cars are pelted with eggs or paintballs. Home landscaping is adorned with endless unrolled spools of toilet paper. Painstakingly carved pumpkins are stolen from front porches and smashed in the streets. Tombstones are vandalized and, in extreme cases, unearthed and carried away. Surfaces of all kinds are defaced. No one, it seems, and nothing, is completely safe from the mean-spirited shenanigans of those ne'er-do-wells for whom the innocent appeal of Halloween has faded (read: bored teenagers!). These spooks see October 31st as an annual opportunity to exorcise their own hormonally driven demons!

Will damage to your property be covered should one of these sneaky specters play a prank on you? Surprisingly, in most cases, the answer is yes.

Most homeowner's insurance policies are Halloween friendly. That means they will cover the cost of damage to your home or landscaping that occurs as a result of a Halloween trick. While it's unlikely that 900 rolls of toilet paper-soggy with early morning dew though they may be-will do any real harm to your home, trees, or shrubs, eggs and paintball splotches can potentially damage paint and sidewalks. And if your living room window has been shattered by a large orange gourd hurled at a high speed, well, that will be covered, too. Even a stolen or vandalized tombstone may be covered by homeowner's insurance, typically in the amount of $1,000.

Similarly, automobile insurance will usually cover the cost of any damage inflicted upon your car on Halloween. Those aforementioned eggs and paintball blasts can, in some cases, wreak havoc on a pristine paint job. Consider the amount of damage, though, before you file a claim. If you have a $500 deductible, it may be cheaper to just pay for repairs out of pocket.

Although insurance companies know that Halloween is prime time for pranks that pose a threat to property, and they're prepared to offer a reasonable amount of coverage, it makes sense to do what you can to protect yourself, and your stuff, from Halloween's giggling adolescent ghouls. Move your pumpkins inside after nightfall. Cover your car with a tarp, or, better yet, park it in the garage. Install a motion-sensitive light outside your home to deter potential toilet paper tossers. Or, sit on your porch until dawn breaks on November 1, and be prepared to say "BOO!" to any tricksters who come near.

For any questions about Halloween coverage, contact Insurance Wagon today.