Homeowners Insurance And Dog Bites

There are a lot of dog lovers in this world.  I know I am one.    And that makes it easy to be blinded to the risks that they pose to me as a dog owner and a home owner.  If your dog bites or attacks someone, either in your home or off of your premises, do you have any insurance protection?    What steps should you, as a dog owner and dog lover, take now to reduce the possibility that your dog will hurt someone else?

In NC, if your dog injures someone and if you are held responsible for that injury, then your North Carolina Homeowners Insurance Policy will pay that loss.  This falls under the liability section of your homeowners insurance policy.  But bear in mind that once the claim is settled, your insurance company may refuse to renew your homeowners insurance policy unless you remove the dog from your home.   And depending on where you live, your local government may require that the dog be destroyed.   So it makes a lot of sense for you to be clear about some of the facts of dog bite claims and injuries.  In addition you should be thinking about things that you can do to keep your loved family pet from hurting someone.

Here’s a quick review of some recent dog bite statistics.  In 2012, insurance companies paid out an estimated $489 million on dog bite claims.  The US Postal Service reports that in 2012, a total of 5879 postal workers were bitten or attacked by dogs.  The 2012 number reflects an increase of 274 attacks over the 2011 totals.  And the American Humane Society estimates that unsupervised newborns are 370 times more likely than an adult to be killed by a dog.  And consider that the average cost of a dog bite claim in 2012 was $29,752.

So what can you, as a dog lover and dog owner, do to reduce the chance of your dog biting someone?  Well, keep in mind that any particular dog’s tendency to bite will depend on a number of factors such as heredity, training and socialization, as well as the victim’s behavior.  Many people don’t realize this but under the right circumstances, any dog might bite.  Here are a few tips that might help:

·         Remember that a sick or injured dog is much more likely to bite. Stay on top of your dog’s health needs to reduce the chance of a bite due to poor health.

·         While your dog is still young, make an effort to socialize him or her to as many different situations with other animals and people as you can.  If your dog feels at ease in a situation, he or she is much less likely to bite.

·         When you play with your dog, do so with nonaggressive games.  A good example of this would be fetch.  Playing tug of war type games can encourage inappropriate behavior that could lead to a bite later.

Taking a bit of care to work with your dog early might save the dog’s life later.  And it could prevent someone from being hurt by your dog.  And all of that prevention just might preserve your ability to continue to buy insurance for your home by preventing a claim later.

At Clinard Insurance Group, we insured thousands of families, all across North Carolina.  If you would like help or questions answered about any of your insurance policies, either home insurance, auto insurance, business insurance or even life insurance, please call us, toll free, at 877-687-7557.