Permits and Insurance?

[Xo'Phoeah]

Apparently this isn’t a common thing in my area, but my county requires a permit for owning an exotic animal. I’ve filled out pretty much everything from the application, but I can’t figure out the insurance part. It says that I need proof of insurance (up to $500,000). Where does one get exotic animal insurance? I’m assuming this is against Monty injuring someone. Willl it be part of my homeowners? Gah! Has anyone else had to deal with this?

(I saw that there’s medical insurance for animals, but I can’t figure out why they’d want me to have that.)

[mudguy]

Xo' -

Who says your Ball Python is an exotic?

Do your local, county or state laws specify that Squamata Boidae or Pythonidae are exotic? If so, under what guidelines?

Our city law states that Squamata Boidae which also represents pythons as a sub-family, are considered exotic only for those species whose adult length has the potential to exceed eight feet in length. That pretty much excludes Balls, ehhh?

Not saying that your laws will read as ours but certainly worth a look. I would find it incredulous to require permit and liability for Balls.

[dsirkle]

I agree. This law may be intended for Lions,tigers, orangutans, chimpanzees and other animals that would have interaction with humans and have the power to easily harm people.

[SPJ]

Snakes (even BP's) are considered exotics and potentially dangerous in some cities/towns/municipalities.

You can get a rider on your homeowners policy for the snake(s) but expect it to be VERY expensive.

I used to have a rider for my animals but the cost of that portion alone was almost $2K a year for a $1M rider so I ended up dropping it (they seem to automatically raise rates every 6 months even if never used).

Allstate is the only one I know of that offers it but you can call around and ask. Be careful though, some insurance companies will not touch you at all in the future because of this. Once you get it (even if you drop it later), if you change companies, the new company always seems to find out about it and jack up your basic rates.

[Xo'Phoeah]

Wow. That's bad news. I'm not positive about the law, but I did talk to animal control and they told me I needed a permit, so I'm pretty sure I do. Maybe I'll call them about the insurance though. The only other person I know with a BP actually lives over the river (next county) where they don't need a permit. Stupid small town.

[Mike Cavanaugh]

They must have been mistaken. No way is a ball python an exotic animal that requires special insurance! In all the world, has there EVER been an instance where a Ball Python caused some kind of serious injury????

I don't think so.

[Tosha_Mc]

They must have been mistaken. No way is a ball python an exotic animal that requires special insurance! In all the world, has there EVER been an instance where a Ball Python caused some kind of serious injury????

I don't think so.

There are a lot of places where anything other than a cat, dog, hamster or canary is considered an "exotic animal" requiring permits - I believe my county defines it as any animal who's natural habitat is other than a human domicile. It's just that a lot of people don't check their city, county and state ordinances to know that.


As for the insurance it would be standard pet insurance that would be issued via your homeowners or renters policy -- the same is usually suggested if you own a dog - for coverage in case it bites someone. The down side is that if you call up your insurance carrier and ask for insurance for your pet snake -- you could get someone with a snake phobia that will cancel your policy - so tread carefully.

[karma279]

I believe I would bypass this part of the deal......

[kc261]

This is disturbing to me since I live in VA also. Do you mind sharing what county you are in that has these laws?

[Xo'Phoeah]

This is disturbing to me since I live in VA also. Do you mind sharing what county you are in that has these laws?

It's a very small town on the east coast (near Williamsburg/Jamestown) if that's any help.