Rat causes R154,000 damage to Porsche
Lots of awful things can happen to a car – crashes, hijackings, hailstone damage, break-ins, flooding – but few people who take out insurance consider the destructive power of rats.
From chewing on essential wiring to building nests and hiding food inside the engine, a nesting rat with a taste for wiring insulation can be quite the wrecking furball.
When Micheal Maeso of Mount Edgecombe, KwaZulu-Natal, took his prized Porsche Carrera 4S Cabriolet on a spin recently, just three weeks after a full service was done, he noticed the oil pressure gauge wasn’t working.
Back to the Porsche dealership the car went, and that’s how the resident rat, and the damage it had caused before it died, was discovered.
“I was horrified,” Maeso said, “but I suppose living in areas that were previously cane fields, these things happen.”
The repair bill was a hefty R154,000. Luckily for him, his claim was settled by his insurer, Hollard, via his broker, TIB Insurance Brokers.
“My house has been fumigated now and I will make sure the car is armed with rat poison and anything else that Porsche recommends,” Maeso said.
His insurance policy covers damage by animals, excluding domestic pets. So rat damage is covered, but any scratching, biting, chewing or soiling by dogs and cats is not.
Image © Marino Performance Motors
