Pets ride in cars all the time, but what if they're injured in a car accident? Whose car insurance pays to treat their injuries? The answer depends on the cause of the accident.

Riding in cars can be dangerous for pets (as well as distracting to the driver), especially because they ride without the benefit of seat belts. If someone crashes into you and causes injuries to you pet, you're entitled to make a "third-party claim" on their policy for your pet's medical bills. That's because their liability insurance must put you "back where you were" before the accident.

If you are at-fault in an accident in which your pet is injured, you'll want to check your auto policy for exclusions. Say you crash into another car or a fence: Collision insurance pays for the repairs to your own vehicle. But you may have an exclusion on your collision insurance for damage to personal property that you are transporting, whether it's your antique vase or your pet. If your policy has such an exclusion, you won't have a valid claim. For example, State Farm says that its policies don't provide coverage for pet injuries.

In this scenario, if you don't carry collision coverage at all, you must pay for all damage from the accident, including your car and pet.

Perhaps someone comes to visit you and your dog goes to lie down under their car. Then, unknowingly, the visitor backs over your pet. Is the visitor liable for your dog's injuries? Yes, he is, but not under the bodily injury section of his policy. Bodily injury pays out for injuries sustained by any "one person" in an accident. Your pet doesn't qualify as a person so he's not covered by this portion of the policy.

However, for insurance purposes, your pet qualifies as your "personal property," and you have the right to be "put back where you were" before the accident — in this case, meaning having a healthy dog. You'd have the right to make a claim on your visitor's auto insurance policy for your dog's medical bills, just as you would have the right to make a claim if he backed over your lawnmower.

The death of a pet

Certainly pets are part of the "family," and the death of a beloved pet can lead to extreme grief. But your pet's status as your "personal property" may limit your options for compensation if someone causes an accident that kills your pet. State laws do not recognize the loss of personal property as valid claims for "loss of companionship" compensation, unlike the loss of a spouse. In the event your pet is killed in an accident, you can likely make a claim only for the "market value" of your pet.

Some courts have allowed damages for deceased pets to go beyond "market value" by applying "pecuniary value" or "special value," which applies to personal property that has no ascertainable market value.