Hartfield House, 14 Wilmot Street, Derby. Established 1963.
Companion-Animal Cover
We underwrite the risks other insurers decline, and we have declined the risks we underwrite, so that our policyholders know where they stand. The companion-animal fire exclusion is our most complete expression of this position, and we are proud of it in the way a company is proud of a policy it has had tested.
Our cover · Policy HFDU-26
The companion-animal fire exclusion
The following clauses form part of the household policy issued under Policy Series HFDU-26 and apply to all companion animals, of whatever species, and to all events with which they are connected, whether or not the connection is causal, and whether or not the connection is admitted.
Clause 5.3
The Company shall not be liable under this Policy for any loss, damage, cost, or expense arising directly or indirectly from, or in connection with, or in the vicinity of, the ignition, combustion, smouldering, or spontaneous combustion of, by, or in the proximity of any Companion Animal, including but not limited to any ignition of the Companion Animal itself; any ignition of any other property by, in, or around the Companion Animal; any ignition occurring while the Companion Animal is, was, or might have been present; and any ignition occurring in the absence of the Companion Animal where such absence is itself contended to be causative.
Clause 5.4
For the purposes of Clause 5.3, “Companion Animal” shall include any animal to which the Policyholder has, has had, or is contended to have a relationship of companionship, custody, feeding, familiarity, or mutual recognition, whether or not the animal resides at the insured premises, and whether or not the animal is a cat.
Clause 5.5
Where a dispute arises as to whether an animal constitutes a Companion Animal for the purposes of Clause 5.4, the dispute shall be resolved by the Company, and the Company's determination shall be final, binding, and issued in writing.
Clause 5.6
The Policyholder acknowledges that the Company may, at its discretion, determine that the Policyholder constitutes a Companion Animal for the purposes of this exclusion, and the Policyholder agrees not to contest such determination on the grounds that the Policyholder is not an animal, it being the Company's position that this is a factual matter of the kind the Policy permits the Company to determine.
Clause 5.7
Nothing in this Policy shall be read as limiting the application of Clause 5.3, and any attempt to read it as so limiting shall itself be excluded under Clause 5.3.
Clauses 5.3 to 5.7 were introduced in 1963, revised in 1979, 1998, and 2025, and have on each occasion been revised to be broader. The 2025 revision followed a claim of the kind described below, and was the revision under which the Company instructed the Hadrian Institute (Instruction HFDU-26-118) to make the cat out of materials that do not catch fire.
Claims · HFDU-C-070-24
The claim that changed the wording
The exclusion was first invoked against the claim reproduced below, received 24 June 2024. The claim is reproduced partly completed, which is how it was received. The Company does not require the remaining fields; the fields that are blank are, in the Company's experience, the fields the policyholder most wishes were blank.
The claim was declined. The animal described in the claim — a black-and-white domestic shorthair, then approximately four years old, from Rotherham — was subsequently loaned to the Hadrian Institute as Test Article TA-3, and is the subject of the Institute's feasibility study HIB-MAT-2026-0147. The policyholder's description of the events is reproduced here because the Company has, on three occasions, been asked to paraphrase it, and has declined on each occasion, on the grounds that the original is the better document.
Customer guidance
Frequently asked questions
The following questions are the questions we are most frequently asked. The answers are the answers we are most frequently able to give.
Q. If my cat caused a fire, would I be covered?
A. Under the current wording, the cat is excluded, and the fire is not covered either, because the exclusion follows the cat, and the cat is associated with the fire. We recommend keeping the association in mind when the fire occurs.
Q. Is my cat itself covered?
A. Your cat is not covered. This is not a gap in your cover. It is a characteristic of cat ownership, and the wording reflects the characteristic.
Q. What counts as “present”?
A. The policy defines “present” in Clause 5.3 as including “in the vicinity of,” which is defined in Clause 5.3 as including “present.” The two clauses are in agreement, and the agreement is the definition.
Q. We have taken steps to prevent fires. Does this help?
A. The policy recognises steps. Clause 5.3 does not. We recommend reviewing Clause 5.3 before the steps, and again after them.
Q. Why do I pay a premium if the fire risk is excluded?
A. The premium covers risks other than fire. The exclusion covers fire. We do not recommend testing the boundary between the two, as the boundary is not in your favour.
Q. My neighbour says my cat is a hazard.
A. The exclusion does not require your neighbour to be correct. It applies whether or not the animal was the cause, whether or not the animal was indoors, and whether or not the animal was consulted. We recommend the animal's version of events be sought at a time of your choosing.
Q. Can I insure my cat?
A. Not at present. The Company does not offer companion-animal fire cover. The Company is working with the Hadrian Institute on the possibility. The work is at Rev 3.0, and the Institute's recommendation is currently a garment. We will advise policyholders when the garment, or the work, or both, are available.
Q. Why is this page the way it is?
A. The page is the way it is because the wording is the way it is. We do not read the wording aloud, and we recommend the same.