Once Bitten...
We live in a litigious age, and while in days of yore, a friend, neighbor, postal worker, or other visitor to your home may have reacted with justifiable displeasure upon being bitten by your best friend (A.K.A. your dog), these days it's much more likely that he or she will file a lawsuit to cover the cost of medical treatment and to compensate for mental and emotional stress.
In fact, in 2012, more than a third of all homeowner's insurance liability claims were for dog bites, amounting to over 489 million dollars, according to State Farm Insurance and the Insurance Information Institute. That's actually a slight decrease from the number of dog bite claims filed the previous year, but the cost of settling such canine-caused claims continues to rise. Last year, the average cost for settling a dog bite claim was almost $30,000! That's enough to make you consider whether you, as a dog owner, have the right insurance in place.
Insuring Against Dog Bite Claims
Typically, a homeowner's insurance policy will include dog bites as part of liability coverage (also known as Coverage E). This is in addition to its property coverages, which include the main dwelling itself as well as other structures and the personal property within and around the home. Homeowner liability coverage typically comes in limits of $100,000, $300,000 or $500,000, and take s of personal injuries and property damage in which you are at fault; so for instance, if someone is injured at your home because you didn't repair your broken stairs, or because your dog bit him or her, your insurance is designed to pay for medical expenses and protect you from litigation up to the amount specified in your policy.
Dog bite claims can get expensive, so insurance companies are going to review the circumstances involving any dog bit claim. It is rare, but if it seems as though there is a probability of another dog bit, just one dog bite incident at your home could result in a change in your insurance premium.
Notorious Breeds:
We'd like to think that all dogs deserve loving homes, and that their families deserve good liability coverage. Sadly, when it comes to biting, some breeds have a worse reputation than others, and some insurance companies may assess dog bite claims involving these breeds a little more severely. Most states permit insurance companies to engage in “breed profiling,” and to decline to insure homeowners who keep certain breeds as pets, no matter how docile the individual dogs may be. There are 11 types of dogs who really raise insurers hackles. The following breeds all made the list:
- Pit Bulls & Staffordshire Terriers
- Doberman Pinschers
- Rottweilers
- German Shepherds
- Chows
- Great Danes
- Presa Canarios
- Akitas
- Alaskan Malamutes
- Siberian Huskies
- Wolf-hybrids
Keep Bites at Bay
There are several ways to prevent your dog from biting:
- Avoid adopting or buying one of the 11 breeds listed above, or check with us for insurance company options.
- Keep your dog away from people and circumstances that stress or frighten him; keep him in in a separate room or fenced yard if the situation calls for it.
- If your dog is possessive/aggressive around food, feed her away from other pets and people.
- Don't send mixed messages. Some people want aggressive guard dogs at home, but if you teach your that all outsiders are potential threats, don't surprised when he bites someone-even someone totally harmless.
- Employ a professional trainer to help break your dog of a biting habits. Even a dog that likes to bite "playfully" can be misconstrued as vicious by the recipient of a harmless nip, so it's smart to stop all kinds of biting.
- Give dogs plenty of love and positive reinforcement when they engage in gentle behaviors that you like.
Call or contact Richard B. Ryon Insurance today to discuss insurance for dog bite claims.