Dog Owners Reminded to Be Extra Cautious With Liability Issues

8/20/2010

Homeowners have a variety of concerns to address when it comes to their insurance policies, from preventing burglaries and storm damage to guarding against liability issues involving pets, neighbors and visitors.

In fact, dog owners should be extra cautious when allowing their pets to interact with others, in light of the expensive home insurance claims and other headaches that could come up if someone is bitten.

The Insurance Information Institute (III) recently noted that in 2009, dog bites accounted for more than one-third of all home insurance liability claims in 2009, amounting to about $412 million. The organization added that this was a 6.4 percent increase over 2008, and that last year the average cost of a dog bite claim was $24,840.

"The rise in dog bite claims over the last seven years (2003-2009) can be attributed to increased medical costs as well as the size of settlements, judgments and jury awards given to plaintiffs, which have risen well above the rate of inflation in recent years," said Loretta Worters, a vice president at the III.

Owners of some breeds, such as pit bulls, can even be denied home insurance coverage by some companies.

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