Does Your Homeowners Insurance Cover Dog Bites?

Dogs are some of the most popular house pets found in the U.S., with estimates from the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) putting the total number of dogs kept as pets in the country at about 77.8 million. They further estimate that these dogs are distributed throughout the nation in as many as 54.4 million households.

Now the Bad News

According to statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), each year these 77+ million dogs are responsible for inflicting somewhere around 4.5 million dog bites, and about 885,000 of these are serious enough to require attention at a medical facility. About one-half of these injuries occur to children.

Sometimes, victims of dog bites may be reluctant to bring legal action against the dogs’ owners because they may be a friend or acquaintance and a lawsuit could create both animosity as well as financial hardship. Fortunately, however, if the pet owner is also a homeowner (or carries renters insurance) a dog bite is most likely covered in the liability portion of their homeowners insurance policy and the pet owner will suffer negligible financial costs. Typical home insurance coverage will pay for the expense of defending against any legal claim resulting from a dog bite and also take care of any resulting settlement costs, within maximum policy limits.

How Prevalent are Homeowners Insurance Claims for Dog bites?

You may be surprised to learn that policy liability claims resulting from dog bites are far and away the most common, accounting for about 1/3 of all liability claims to the tune of more than half a billion dollars annually.

While the number of claims filed for dog bite liability in 2013 stands at 17,359, up only 2.6% from a decade earlier, according to the I.I.I., the total dollar amount paid for claims within that same time period was up almost 50%. This tremendous increase has to do the rising medical costs and also larger settlements being made.
Some insurance companies may exclude certain breeds from their coverage for dog bite liability, most commonly Pit Bulls and Rottweilers. Your homeowners insurance also may not cover a dog bite that occurs while the dog is in your vehicle, in which case there’s a good chance the liability would be covered under your vehicle insurance policy. It pays to read and understand your coverage to know what specifics apply. If you have questions, consult your insurance broker.