Dangerous Dog Liability Insurance

At MyInsuranceShark.com we do not believe your dog’s breed should be used to determine the cost of your homeowner’s insurance, or worse, whether you can obtain insurance coverage at all. What we believe is there are good dogs and bad dogs in every dog breed, just as there are responsible and irresponsible dog owners. That is why we are committed to helping you secure home, condo, or renters insurance with the best dog friendly insurance companies in United States.

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Top Discriminated Dog Breeds

Whether you are trying to obtain insurance for your house, condo, townhome, or apartment you will discover many insurance companies have a list of dogs that they don’t like. These list are referred to by many names, such as; “prohibited dog breeds”, “insurance list of dangerous dogs”, “aggressive dog list”, “uninsurable dogs”, “bad dog list”, “vicious dog list”, “aggressive dog breeds”, or “excluded dog breeds”. No matter what they call their list, each list accomplishes the same thing, they unfairly discriminate against your best friend. Listed below are the common dog breeds banned by insurance companies, more are added all the time.

Pit Bulls Staffordshire Terriers Rottweilers German Shepherds Siberian Huskies Alaskan Malamutes Doberman Pinschers

Chows Great Danes Presa Canarios Akitas Wolf-hybrids Cane Corso Mastiff

How Could this Impact Me Financially?

Homeowners and renters insurance policies typically cover dog bite liability. Most policies provide $100,000 to $300,000 in liability coverage. If the claim exceeds the limit, the dog owner is responsible for all damages above that amount, including legal expenses. There are some insurance companies that insure homeowners with dogs. However, once a dog has bitten someone, it poses an increased risk. In that instance, the insurance company may suggest that the homeowner find the dog a new home, or may charge a higher premium, nonrenew the homeowner’s insurance policy, or exclude the dog from coverage.

Many insurers are taking steps to limit their exposure to such losses. Some companies require dog owners to sign liability waivers for dog bites, while others charge more for owners of biting breeds such as pit bulls and Rottweilers and others are not offering insurance to dog owners at all. Some will cover a pet if the owner takes the dog to classes aimed at modifying its behavior or if the dog is restrained with a muzzle, chain or cage. It is unlikely that insurers will begin offering specialty insurance policies just for dog bites since the cost of such policies would be prohibitive.

Do Dog Bite Claims Really Cost That Much?

Lawsuits: During the summer of 2011 a Washington Superior Court jury awarded a $2.2 million verdict — $100,000 in medical bills and $2.1 million for pain and suffering — to a woman who was attacked in her home near Tacoma, Washington, by two neighborhood pitbulls. The plaintiffs’ attorney sued the dogs’ owners, whose homeowners policies were limited to $100,000 each, and the county for failing to declare the dogs a potential danger under a local ordinance. The county is appealing the verdict. Studies: There were 360,000 nonfatal dog bite injuries treated in U.S. emergency rooms in 2011, up from 312,000 in 2007, according to the Centers for Disease Control. A December 2010 report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality indicates that the number of Americans hospitalized because of dog bites increased by nearly 100 percent over a 15-year period. In 2008 approximately 9,500 Americans received serious dog bites, compared with approximately 5,100 in 1993. The increase was far greater than population growth, and pet ownership increased only slightly during the period. Experts were not able to explain the increase. Children under five and adults 65 and older were more likely to be hospitalized after a bite. Nearly 50 percent of those hospitalized required treatment for skin and tissue infections and more than half received such procedures as skin grafts or wound debridement, with treatment costing an average of $18,200 per patient. Claims: Dog bites accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claims paid out in 2012, costing over $489 million, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.). An analysis of homeowners insurance data by the I.I.I. found that the average cost paid out for dog bite claims was $29,752 in 2012, up 1.2 percent from $29,396 in 2011. From 2003 to 2012 the cost of the average dog bite claim increased by 55.3 percent. The number of claims dropped slightly to 16,459 in 2012 from 16,695 in 2011.

Why is My Dog Breed on the List?

Many insurance companies rely on a list of dog breeds from a report authored by the Centers for Disease Control entitled, “Breeds of Dogs Involved in Fatal Human Attacks in the United States between 1979 and 1998.” From 1979 through 1996, dog attacks resulted in more than 300 human dog bite-related fatalities (DBRF) in the United States. Most victims were children. Studies indicate that pit bull-type dogs were involved in approximately a third of human DBRF reported during the 12-year period from 1981 through1992, and Rottweilers were responsible for about half of human DBRF reported during the 4 years from 1993through 1996. These data have caused some individuals to infer that certain breeds of dogs are more likely to bite than others and should, therefore, be banned or regulated more stringently. The purposes of the study reported were to summarize breeds associated with reported human DBRF during a 20-year period and assess policy implications.

We Are Ready To Help You!

We have successfully scoured the country looking for the most dog friendly insurance companies. Contact us today so we can help make sure your home, assets, and your best friend are protected.

Just give us a call at 1-888-999-2598

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Fill out our Dog Friendly Home/Renters Insurance Quote Form