Your dog might be the sweetest, most loving, people friendly dog in the world. Even so, there is potential that unforeseen circumstances could trigger your normally peaceful dog to bite someone. When this happens, it could cause the person who got bitten to file an insurance claim to your homeowners insurance policy. These types of claims have gotten more expensive.
Information gathered by the Insurance Information Institute shows that in 2010, the average cost of a dog bite claim increased, (for people in the United States). People who had a dog bite claim filed to their homeowners insurance policy paid 5.3% more for that claim in 2010 than in previous years. This is the largest jump in cost since 2007.
In 2009, the average cost of a claim from a dog bite was around $24,840. In 2010, the cost for the same type of claim increased to an average of about $26,166. The Insurance Information Institute noted that the actual cost of injuries due to a dog bite did not increase very much. It was around $412.6 million in 2010, which they say isn’t significantly higher than in previous years. The total number of claims filed due to dog bites declined by 4.9% in 2010.
So, if the cost of injuries is about the same, and the total number of claims decreased, then why has the cost of a dog bite claim gone up? According to the institute, this is due to two factors. One is that the cost of medical care has increased a lot in the past year. Therefore, a dog bite injury that happened in 2010 cost much more than the same type of dog bite injury that happened in the years before 2010.
The other reason for the increase in cost is basically due to the fact that we live in a very litigious society. People who get bitten by someone else’s dog will not only file an insurance claim, but also frequently decide to sue the owner of the dog. According to the institute, the size of things like court settlements, court judgements, and jury awards has increased. A homeowner may be required to reimburse the person who suffered the dog bite for lost wages, in some cases.
The average cost per claim for a dog bite increased by 37% in 2003, when the total cost was around $19,162. In 2010, more than a third of all claims on homeowners insurance liability claims involved dog bites. The total cost per claim has gone up by 27% between 2003 and 2010. At the same time the total number of claims decreased in 2010, (for a total of 15,770).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention note that 800,000 Americans seek medical attention for dog bites each year. Half of them are children. About 16 people die from dog bites each year.
It’s never a good situation when a dog bites a human, no matter what the circumstances surrounding the event happen to be. Dog owners can do a lot of things to help prevent the possibility that their dog will bite someone. Take the time to train your dog well. Keep your dog on a leash when you go for walks. Make sure your dog is neutered.
Image by Jan Christopher Chua on Flickr