How tallyward sources its numbers -- and what we won't claim

Where our repair-cost ranges come from

The repair-cost ranges on this site are general, published U.S. figures -- not an estimate of any one repair. Only a qualified mechanic who inspects your vehicle can put a real number on it. We draw the ranges from published U.S. repair-cost reporting and attribute every figure to its source: we name MoneyGeek and CCC Intelligent Solutions with outbound links, and we credit Kelley Blue Book by name in our attribution line. We add nothing those sources do not support. The full table, with each row tied to a source, lives on the repair-cost guide.

Why we publish no frequency statistic

You will not find a number on this site for how often rodents damage vehicles in the U.S., because no public U.S. dataset for that exists. We would rather omit a figure than invent one, so we describe the problem qualitatively and let the attributed cost ranges -- which are real and sourced -- carry the quantitative side. If that changes and a credible U.S. dataset is published, we will add it here with attribution and note it in the changelog.

What we will and won't say about coverage

We keep coverage language hedged and conditional. Comprehensive coverage typically applies to animal and rodent wiring damage, subject to your deductible, and your insurer makes the final call -- so we never state that a claim is covered, and we do not describe coverage as certain or automatic. We do not promise a payout or a claim outcome. When we name an insurer, we apply that same hedged framing to the named carrier rather than asserting what that carrier will do; we are not affiliated with or endorsed by any insurer named on the site.

Repairs are referral-only

tallyward documents the damage and helps you organize your evidence. We do not diagnose mechanical problems and we do not write repair estimates -- a qualified shop that inspects the vehicle does that, and provides the actual number. We are not a public adjuster and not a law firm: we do not speak to your insurer, file claims for you, or take a percentage of any payout. You file your own claim, in your own words, and decide what to accept.

The one safety note we make

When we mention health, we point to one thing: leptospirosis, which rodent droppings and urine can carry. Our standing advice is to wear gloves, dampen the area before wiping rather than dry-sweeping, and wash up afterward. We do not make broader health claims, and we do not claim any product or method keeps animals away.

Changelog

A dated record of changes to this site and our method, newest first, so you can see what changed and when.

• 2026-06-26Added this methodology page documenting how we source and attribute figures, the claim-safety lines we hold, and this changelog.
• 2026-06-22Published the coverage guide and per-carrier guides (State Farm, Progressive), each with hedged, conditional coverage framing.
• 2026-06-22Published the repair-cost benchmark page with a sourced U.S. cost table and machine-readable dataset markup.
• 2026-06-22Published the symptom and cause guides (signs of rodent damage; what attracts rodents to cars) and the about and privacy pages.

See the method in practice

These are the pages this methodology describes -- each figure on them is sourced the way this page explains:

• What rodent & animal wiring repair actually costs (U.S. ranges, with sources)
• Does car insurance cover rodent damage? (the hedged coverage guide)
• About tallyward (what we do and what we don't)

Why we publish this

Anyone reading a cost range or a coverage explainer deserves to know where the numbers come from and what we will not claim. This page is that record. If you think something here is wrong, tell us -- the about page has our address, and we read everything.

Start with the free check

Two minutes to find out whether filing a claim is worth it -- no account, no payment, nothing filed on your behalf.