Insurance
glossary

The person who takes out the insurance with the company and undertakes to pay the premium. They may be the same as the insured (the owner who lives in the house) or a different person, for example a parent insuring their child's flat.

See also: What happens if you left something out when you signed up

The person whose interest is protected. In a typical home, the insured is whoever lives in the property. Policies usually also extend this protection to the spouse and relatives living at the same address.

The amount the policyholder pays the company, usually each year, in exchange for cover. If the premium is not paid, the insurance does not take effect. Some policies allow instalments: half-yearly, quarterly or monthly.

See also: A premium bounced: am I still covered? · If the risk drops, can the premium drop?

The document showing the specific details of your contract: the insured address, the sums insured for buildings and contents, the chosen cover and the price. They are unique to each client.

The company's standard document explaining how each cover works, what is excluded and the rights and obligations of both parties. It is the same for all clients with the same product.

A fixed amount you pay out of pocket on each claim. For example, with an excess of €150 and damage of €600, the company pays €450. The higher the excess, the lower the annual premium. Some covers, such as liability, have no excess.

See also: Own damage (comprehensive)

Covers solicitor and court agent fees when you need to defend your interests or claim your rights: disputes with the residents' community, with tenants, claims against third parties for damage... The limit and scope vary greatly between policies.

See also: Home legal expenses cover · Driver's legal defence · Can I choose my own lawyer?

The law gives the insurer forty days from receiving the claim notification to pay the minimum amount it may owe, and three months from the loss to settle in full. If it does not, its debt starts accruing the statutory interest rate increased by 50%, and after two years never less than 20% a year. The court imposes it of its own motion: you do not have to ask. It does not run where the delay has a justified cause or one not attributable to the company.

Not to be confused with: Do not confuse it with ordinary administrative delay: mora is a surcharge the law puts a figure on.

See also: If the insurer does not pay or is late

Claims arising from an insurance contract lapse after two years in non-life insurance (home, car, shop) and after five in personal insurance (life, accident, health). After that the right still exists, but there is no longer any way to enforce it. Any formal, recorded claim interrupts the period and restarts it from zero.

See also: How long you have to claim

Almost every policy renews itself on expiry, for periods of up to one year. To stop it you must give written notice to the other party: at least one month in advance if it is the policyholder who does not want to renew, and two months if it is the insurer. The company must also give two months’ notice of any change to the contract, and the conditions and deadlines for objecting must be highlighted in the policy itself.

See also: When to give notice to switch insurer

When you sell a car or a home, the buyer is automatically subrogated into the policy: they inherit its rights and its obligations. The seller has two duties, both in writing: to tell the buyer the policy exists, and to notify the insurer of the sale within fifteen days. Buyer and seller are jointly liable for premiums already due. Afterwards, either side may cancel the contract within fifteen days.

See also: Selling the car or the house: what happens to the policy

Everything that is part of the building itself: walls, floors, ceilings, fixed water, electricity and gas installations, doors, windows, fitted kitchen and bathrooms. It does not include furniture or personal belongings.

Furniture, appliances, clothing, jewellery, electronics and other belongings of the insured and their family. It is insured separately from the building and has its own sum insured. If you rent out an empty property, you usually don't need contents cover.

The maximum amount the company will pay out in the event of a total loss. For the building, it should reflect the cost of rebuilding the home from scratch, not the property's market price. Setting it correctly is key to avoiding under-insurance.

The amount needed to buy a new, identical or equivalent item on today's market. Policies that pay on a replacement-value basis pay without deducting wear or age from the damaged item. It is the most favourable cover for the insured.

The replacement value minus depreciation for use, wear or age. If your 5-year-old TV is damaged, you'll receive less than a new one would cost because its wear is deducted.

Occurs when the sum insured is lower than the real value of the property. On a partial claim the company applies the average rule: if you have insured 70% of the real value, you will only be paid 70% of the damage. To avoid it, review your sums insured every few years.

See also: Average rule

Any event whose consequences are covered by the policy: a water leak, a fire, a theft... All the damage from a single cause counts as one claim, even if it appears at different times. It must be reported to the company as soon as possible.

See also: I have just had a claim: when must I report it?

Occurs when a claim covers only part of the floor or wall but, for a visually consistent repair, the whole room would need redoing. Policies that include this cover meet that extra cost up to a limit, usually between €3,000 and €9,000.

See also: Matching items as a home cover

Covers third party claims when the insured or a family member causes damage to other people or their property. For example: a leak from your flat floods the neighbour below, or your child breaks a window while playing. Typical limits range from €150,000 to €600,000 depending on the cover.

See also: Home liability · Compulsory motor liability

The professional the company appoints to inspect the damage and calculate the compensation. If the insured disagrees with their valuation, they have the right to appoint their own adjuster. If both parties cannot agree, a third deciding adjuster is appointed.

See also: I do not agree with the loss adjuster

A service benefit — not a cash payment — covering emergency repairs: plumbing, electrics, locksmith, glazing... The company sends the professional and pays for their work. It is usually available 24 hours a day.

See also: 24-hour home emergency service

Some policies include legal assistance and cost cover to recover possession of the home if it has been illegally occupied. It covers solicitor and court agent fees and, in some cases, the damage caused by the occupants. More and more companies now include it as standard across their home range.

See also: The squatting cover, item by item

If there is under-insurance, the company does not pay 100% of the damage but in proportion to the insured share. Many companies waive it if you accepted the sums insured they proposed when taking out cover, or if the shortfall is no more than 10%. It is a legal mechanism set out in the Insurance Contract Act.

A specific limit that applies to a particular cover, regardless of the overall sum insured. For example: a policy may have €100,000 of total cover but only pay up to €1,500 for theft of jewellery or up to €300 for cash. Checking the sub-limits is as important as checking the total sum insured.

A type of cover in which the company pays the damage up to the agreed sum without applying the average rule, even if the total value of the property is higher. It is commonly used for covers such as theft or electrical damage.

The basic cover in any home policy: it pays for what the fire burns, what an explosion breaks and also smoke and soot damage — a boiler that bursts and blackens the whole house, for example — as well as a lightning strike on the property. It usually includes the fire brigade call-out and debris removal.

See also: Claim-related expenses

Covers damage caused by an object striking the home: a car ploughing into the façade or the garage door, a falling aerial, lamppost or tree, sonic booms from aircraft and even a falling aircraft. It is an unglamorous cover that deals with situations no other one does.

Pays to replace the fragile parts of the home when they break accidentally: window and door glass, shower screens, mirrors, ceramic hobs, marble or composite worktops, basins, bidets and toilets. It includes fitting labour and is usually settled on a first-loss basis, with no excess and no deduction for age.

See also: First-loss basis

The most frequently used cover in a home policy. It pays for damage caused by water escaping from pipes, drains, appliances or tanks, both in your home and in your neighbour's. It almost always includes tracing the leak (opening up and making good the floor or wall to reach the pipe), clearing blockages and, in many policies, the excess consumption that shows up on the water bill.

Not to be confused with: rain, flooding and water coming in from outside fall under storm and weather damage, not under this cover.

See also: Storm and weather damage

Covers storm damage when it exceeds the thresholds set in the policy (for example, wind above 80 km/h or rainfall of more than 40 litres per square metre per hour). It includes hail, snow and flooding that is not declared catastrophic. If the event is officially declared extraordinary, compensation comes not from the company but from the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros, the Spanish public body that covers extraordinary risks.

When a claim affects only part of the floor, the tiling or the paintwork, this cover pays to redo the rest of the room so that everything matches, even though that part was undamaged. Typical limits run from €3,000 to €9,000, and some policies extend it to contents — upholstery, curtains — and to the adjoining room.

See also: The concept of aesthetic damage

Covers the damage a power surge, short circuit or abnormal current does to the electrical installation and to connected appliances: TVs, computers, the boiler board, the fridge motor. It is settled on a first-loss basis with its own limit, and there is usually a lower sub-limit for appliances over a certain age.

Not to be confused with: an internal appliance breakdown, with no external electrical cause, falls under a different cover.

See also: Appliance breakdown

The umbrella cover: it pays for sudden, unforeseen and accidental physical damage that no other cover picks up and that is not expressly excluded. The classic case is the ladder going through the TV or the paint tin landing on the parquet. It usually carries an excess, is limited to the main home and is not available in every policy.

See also: Excess

Covers heat damage where there was no flame capable of spreading: an iron left on clothes, a barbecue ember dropping on decking, a hot pan marking the worktop. The fire cover does not respond in these cases because it requires an actual fire, so some policies add this one separately.

Not to be confused with: if there is a flame that spreads, this is no longer the cover: it is fire.

See also: Fire, explosion and smoke

It distinguishes three situations: forced entry theft, robbery (with violence or intimidation against people, at home or away) and simple theft (something taken without force or violence, such as an item left on the terrace). It covers the stolen property and also the damage the thieves cause getting in. Watch the sub-limits for jewellery and cash: they are far lower than the contents sum insured.

See also: Sub-limit

Covers damage someone causes on purpose without intending to take anything: graffiti on the façade, a window smashed by a stone, garden furniture wrecked. Many companies include it within the theft cover; when it is sold separately it is worth checking whether terrorism and civil commotion are excluded, because those are handled by the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros.

A landlord policy cover: it pays for deliberate damage the tenant causes to the property or the furniture, which the standard vandalism cover excludes precisely because the tenant is an authorised occupant. It usually requires a current tenancy agreement and has its own limit, often tied to a number of months' rent.

Not to be confused with: this covers damage, not rent: unpaid rent is a different cover.

See also: Rent guarantee

It is sold as a closed package with several sub-limits: legal defence to evict the occupants, financial compensation while the occupation lasts (alternative accommodation, utilities the occupants use, cleaning and disinfection once the home is recovered, lost rental income), changing the locks, the vandalism they leave behind and liability for anything that happens at the property during that time. Each item has its own cap, so it is worth reading them one by one.

See also: The concept of illegal occupation · Sub-limit

In home policies it is usually split three ways: property liability (a roof tile falls and injures a passer-by), family liability (your dog bites someone, your child breaks a shop window) and owner-versus-tenant liability. Typical limits run from €150,000 to €600,000, they carry no excess and they cover both the compensation and the defence costs.

See also: The concept of liability

It meets solicitor and court agent fees in disputes connected with the home: with the residents' community, with neighbours, with the builder or installer who botched a refurbishment, claims against the tenant or the landlord, and problems with utility companies. Almost every policy also includes a free legal helpline.

See also: The concept of legal defence

Here you are the victim, not the party at fault: the company claims against the driver who hit you and their insurer for the injury and loss you suffered as a pedestrian or cyclist, and it meets the cost of that claim. It is usually limited to the people insured at the main home.

Not to be confused with: it is not liability cover, which works the other way round: when you are the one causing the damage.

See also: Home liability

It is not money, it is a service: you call the company and it sends the tradesperson and pays for the call-out and the first hours of work to sort out the emergency — a leak that will not stop, a dead fuse board, a forced lock, a broken window leaving the house open. Materials and the permanent repair may be charged separately if no other cover applies.

See also: The concept of home assistance

Round-the-clock telephone medical guidance for questions that are not emergencies: making sense of a symptom, doubts about a treatment, what to do about a fever in the middle of the night. It does not replace a face-to-face consultation and issues no diagnoses or prescriptions, but it saves a lot of unnecessary trips.

A technical support service, usually by phone or remote access, to set up the router, clean up a virus, recover an email password or get a new device working. It is support, not damage cover.

Not to be confused with: if the computer is physically damaged, the cover that responds is accidental damage to IT equipment.

See also: Accidental damage to IT equipment

A specialist firm is sent to deal with household pests: cockroaches, ants, wasps, rodents and, in some policies, termites or bedbugs. There is usually a maximum number of visits per year, and infestations affecting the whole building are excluded because they are the residents' community's responsibility.

A home handyman service for jobs that do not arise from a claim: hanging a light or some shelves, assembling furniture, changing a tap or a socket. The policy pays the labour up to a number of hours or visits per year, and the client provides the materials.

A permanently staffed telephone service for older people registered as living at the insured address: after a fall, a dizzy spell, a feeling of insecurity or simply loneliness, they press the device and a control centre answers, keeps them company and alerts relatives or the emergency services. It is companionship and support, not medical care or repairs.

Covers accidental physical damage to personal computers, tablets and peripherals inside the home — a fall, a glass of water over the keyboard — and in some policies away from home too. It has its own limit and usually deducts for age beyond a certain number of years.

Not to be confused with: the IT helpdesk is technical support and does not pay for a broken device.

Pays to repair the part or component that stops the appliance working — the washing machine motor, the oven board — when the fault is internal and no external damage caused it. The appliance normally has to be under a certain age and out of the manufacturer's warranty.

Not to be confused with: if the appliance is ruined by a power surge, the cover that responds is electrical damage.

See also: Electrical damage

Covers damage to vehicles kept in the home's garage or parking space as a result of a claim at the property: a fire, an escape of water, a section of ceiling coming down. It does not replace the motor policy — nothing to do with driving is covered — but it fills the gap the motor policy leaves when the damage originates in the home.

Extends cover to what is outside the house: plants and trees, lawn, fencing, awnings, pergolas, the barbecue, garden furniture and, in many policies, the pool pump and equipment. It usually has its own limit, and some covers — theft, for instance — may require the items to be fixed down or inside an enclosed area.

Reimburses the value of food spoiled in the fridge or freezer because the appliance failed or the power was off for a long period. The limit is modest, in the order of a few hundred euros, and you are usually asked to evidence what was inside.

Covers damage to furniture and personal belongings caused by the removal firm during a house move. It is time-limited: it protects only during the move, and it normally requires a professional firm to do the work rather than you shifting the boxes yourself.

Covers damage to items that belong neither to you nor to those living with you but are in your care or stored at the property: a friend's bike, borrowed tools, a guest's luggage. It comes with its own sub-limit and is settled on a first-loss basis.

See also: First-loss basis

All-risks cover for works of art, antiques and collections declared item by item in the policy, normally with a prior valuation. It always goes as a separate cover because the other covers — including accidental damage — usually exclude this kind of object outright.

Some policies include a specific cover for the home wine cellar: deterioration of labels and packaging, bottles broken in transit, cleaning and removal costs after a spillage, and broken glass in the wine cabinet. It is a niche cover, aimed at collections with genuine value.

Some companies group pet-related benefits into their own block, with a sum insured shown in the policy schedule: liability for damage the animal causes, emergency vet costs, boarding if the insured is hospitalised, or search costs if the pet goes missing. The market norm, though, is for only the liability part to be present, inside family liability.

See also: Pet insurance

Some policies expressly cover the domestic charging installation: damage to the charging point itself and liability arising from its use. Other companies do not mention it at all, or only by way of an exclusion — if the fault comes from lack of maintenance, they will not pay — so if you have fitted a charger it is worth getting confirmation in writing.

See also: EV extras in the motor policy

A package for people who work from home or run a declared professional activity there: it covers professional equipment (including laptops away from the property), loss of income if the activity is interrupted by a claim, and legal protection extended to the professional side. If you work from home it is worth declaring it: without that, professional equipment can fall outside the contents cover.

Alongside repairing the damage, the policy meets the costs the claim itself generates: debris removal, salvage, the fire brigade, architects' or surveyors' fees, building permits and replacing documents and title deeds. It is usually expressed as a percentage of the sum insured.

If a covered claim leaves the property uninhabitable, the company pays for alternative accommodation — hotel or rental — plus removal and storage costs for as long as the works last, up to a maximum number of months. If the home was let, it also covers the rent the landlord stops receiving during that period.

Not to be confused with: here the lost rent stems from physical damage; if the tenant simply stops paying, that is a different cover.

See also: Rent guarantee

Advances or reimburses the landlord for the months the tenant has not paid, usually up to a maximum number of months, and includes the court claim and the eviction process. It nearly always requires a solvency check on the tenant before the tenancy is signed.

See also: Rent guarantee insurance

Special conditions for holiday letting: the guest is treated as a third party — so damage they suffer falls under liability — and cover is extended to their belongings. Declaring it matters: a standard home policy can turn down a claim if the property was being run as tourist accommodation without telling the insurer.

Extends part of the contents cover to personal belongings you take with you away from home — theft of luggage, a bag or a wallet — and, in some policies, adds travel assistance benefits. The limits are low compared with those at home and a police report is nearly always required.

See also: Travel insurance

It covers people rather than property: it pays a lump sum on death or disability caused by an accident at the property, and usually includes psychological support and medical guidance for the family. It is a personal-lines cover embedded in a property policy, with modest sums insured.

The insurance the law requires before a vehicle can be driven: it covers the damage you cause to other people and their property up to the limits set by statute — very high for bodily injury and considerably lower for property damage. It covers nothing on your own vehicle and none of your own injuries if the accident is your fault.

See also: The concept of liability

Extends the compulsory liability cover up to the limit you choose — €50 million is typical — for cases where the compensation exceeds the statutory cap: an accident with several seriously injured people, or heavy property damage. It costs very little and stops you having to meet the difference out of your own pocket. If you tow a trailer, check whether its liability is included here.

Typical of vans and working vehicles: it covers damage the goods being carried cause to third parties, and also damage occurring during loading and unloading, bringing the loading assistant in as an insured person.

Not to be confused with: it never covers the goods themselves, which are expressly excluded: that needs a goods-in-transit policy.

Takes on the insured's defence in proceedings arising from driving the vehicle, criminal proceedings included, and recognises your right to appoint a solicitor and court agent of your choosing within set fee limits. Here the insured is the party being sued.

Not to be confused with: claiming your own losses from another driver is the opposite cover: recovery of your losses.

See also: Recovery of your losses

The company claims on your behalf against the driver at fault and their insurer for the losses you have suffered: the repair, medical expenses, the days without a car. It is the mirror image of legal defence, because here you are the victim.

See also: Advance settlement

The company posts the civil or criminal bonds a court requires from you following a road accident and meets the costs of the proceedings. It is a cover that is almost never used, but in an accident with serious injuries it can spare you a very uncomfortable situation within hours.

A consultation service with lawyers, by phone or online, on personal and family matters unrelated to the car: housing, consumer issues, employment, inheritance or tax. It is informative guidance, not the conduct of a case.

Not to be confused with: it is not legal defence: it does not cover the costs or the conduct of proceedings.

An advice and appeal service against traffic penalties, drafting the submissions and following the file, plus vehicle paperwork such as transfers, duplicate documents or reports. It does not pay the fine: it handles the appeal.

Pays a monthly allowance for as long as a court- or authority-ordered temporary disqualification lasts, up to a maximum number of months. It is designed for people who need their licence to work, and it usually excludes drink- and drug-driving cases.

This is the cover that defines a comprehensive policy: it repairs accidental physical damage to your own vehicle, even when you are at fault or there is nobody to claim against. It can come with an excess — a fixed amount you pay on each claim — or without one, and that choice is what moves the premium most.

Not to be confused with: it does not cover breakdown: if a part fails on its own, with no impact, no comprehensive policy responds.

See also: Excess · Mechanical breakdown

Covers damage caused to the vehicle by fire, explosion or a lightning strike, whether the fire starts in the car itself or comes from outside. It is often bought together with theft in third-party-plus policies and normally carries no excess.

Covers the theft of the whole vehicle — with settlement if it does not turn up within the period set in the policy, usually 30 days — the theft of parts (headlights, mirrors, catalytic converter) and the damage done breaking in even if the car is not taken. Non-standard accessories and equipment are only included if declared in the policy.

See also: Key replacement

Covers damage from hail, wind, snow, falling trees or branches and flooding that is not declared catastrophic. In many companies it also takes in vandalism and terrorism where these do not fall to the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros. It is particularly useful in areas prone to summer storms.

Repairs damage from hitting an animal, normally large game. Several companies sell it within third-party-plus policies, without needing full own-damage cover, and nearly all of them require a police report or an official record of the collision.

Pays to repair or replace the vehicle glass. Where the chip is small, repair is usually free and does not count as a claim; replacing the whole screen may carry an excess depending on the policy. It is worth checking whether the panoramic roof, headlights, mirrors and — increasingly important — recalibrating the cameras and sensors on the windscreen are included.

A specific cover for tyre damage, accidental deformation, punctures or blowouts — something most policy wordings expressly exclude from own-damage cover. It usually pays a decreasing percentage depending on how much tread the tyre had left.

Not to be confused with: roadside assistance will fit your spare, but it does not pay for a new tyre.

See also: Roadside assistance

Some motorhome and camper policies add a cover borrowed from home insurance: it pays for breakage of the fixed items inside the living area — worktop, sink, sanitary fittings, interior mirrors and glass — which fall neither under windscreen cover nor under own damage.

A package specific to electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles: theft or damage to the charging cable, damage to the home charging point and assistance if you run out of charge, with a tow to the nearest charger. Some companies sell it as a single block and others spread it across several covers, so it is worth asking about each piece.

See also: The charging point in the home policy

The policy sets the point at which a claim becomes a total loss — usually when the repair exceeds a percentage of the vehicle value — and the basis of settlement: market value (what it was worth second-hand), enhanced market value (a percentage above that) or new-for-old if the car is recent. That basis is the difference between a poor payout and a fair one.

See also: New-for-old settlement

For a set period from registration or purchase — two years is most common, and some companies stretch to five — settlement for a total loss or theft is based on the purchase price rather than market value. After that it reverts to market value, so it pays to know exactly when it expires.

When the party at fault is an identified third party and their responsibility is established, the company pays for your own repair without waiting to recover from the other insurer, and usually without applying an excess; it then claims itself. It saves you weeks or months of waiting.

Not to be confused with: it is not recovery of losses, which is legal assistance rather than immediate payment of the damage.

A daily or monthly payment for the time the vehicle sits immobilised at the garage after a covered claim, up to a maximum number of days. It matters most to people who use the vehicle for work.

Not to be confused with: it is money, not a car: providing a vehicle while yours is repaired is the courtesy car cover.

See also: Courtesy car

A little-known cover: when no other cover pays for the repair and the insured takes out a loan to fund it, the company meets the interest and financing costs of that loan. It does not pay the repair or the capital, only the cost of financing it.

Covers repairing mechanical, electrical or electronic components when the part fails on its own, with no impact involved. It is usually sold as a separate add-on product, with limits on the age and mileage of the vehicle.

Not to be confused with: own-damage cover pays for accidental damage; a breakdown is an internal failure of the part, and no comprehensive policy covers it.

See also: Own damage

Towing to the garage, roadside help, transport for the occupants, hotel costs if you have to wait for the repair far from home, and repatriation of the vehicle if the breakdown or accident happens abroad. The first thing to check is from what distance it applies: some policies only assist beyond 25 km from home, others cover from kilometre zero, your own doorstep included.

A module covering the policyholder and their family on any trip, whether in the insured car or by plane, train or boat: medical expenses abroad, repatriation, delayed or lost luggage and trip cancellation. It works like a travel policy sold inside the motor cover.

Not to be confused with: ordinary roadside assistance is tied to the insured vehicle breaking down; this one is not.

See also: Travel insurance

The company provides a replacement vehicle while yours is repaired after a covered claim or a theft, for a fixed number of days and in a set vehicle category, which rarely matches your own car. Check whether fuel is included and whether the days start from the accident or from the day the car enters the garage.

Not to be confused with: it is not the same as the courtesy car you get for repairing at the company's own approved garages.

See also: Approved garage services

A bundle of services tied to repairing at the company's own garages: a courtesy car for the whole repair, collection and delivery to your door, valeting, a safety check, handling the roadworthiness test and discounts on repairs you pay for yourself. It is not an indemnity cover: it is a benefit conditional on not choosing your own garage.

Covers the cost of duplicating or replacing the vehicle keys after loss, theft or breakage, including reprogramming the remote and the immobiliser, which on a modern car can run to several hundred euros. It matters because some policy wordings expressly exclude the theft of keys alone from the theft cover.

Not to be confused with: having a spare key sent out to you abroad is a roadside assistance benefit, not this cover.

Compulsory insurance covers everyone else, not you, if the accident is your fault. This cover pays a lump sum for the death or disability of the driver plus medical expenses, and in some companies extends to all occupants. It is one of the best-value covers in the policy.

Some policies add an optional package of personal benefits that are neither death benefit nor medical costs: a daily hospitalisation allowance, adapting the home or the vehicle in cases of severe disability, and an international second medical opinion. It is common in motorcycle policies.

Covers damage to or theft of luggage and personal belongings carried in the vehicle, normally with a modest limit and on condition that they were in the boot or out of sight. Cash, documents, phones and valuables are usually excluded or given a very low sub-limit.

Exclusive to motorcycling: it replaces or repairs the helmet and protective clothing — jacket, leathers, gloves, boots, back protector, airbag vest — damaged in an accident so that they no longer protect. Replacing a full set of gear costs considerably more than people expect.

Not to be confused with: it is not luggage: protective gear has its own cover because its value and purpose are different.

Some policies cover the vet bills of a pet that was travelling in the vehicle and is injured in a covered accident, and even its transport to the clinic. It is not vehicle damage cover or liability cover: it is medical expense for the animal.

See also: Pet insurance