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Aggressive Dogs and Insurance Coverage
August 30, 2020
Dogs are just like people. Some are aggressive. Some are not. According to the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 4.5 million bites from dogs happen in the United States annually. The victims are mostly young children. However, bites are not the only cause of serious injuries. Dogs, especially the big ones, have the ability to knock down cyclists and pedestrians. This can result in severe medical problems too.
You might not realize this but these types of injuries have a sizable impact on your homeowners insurance. In 2016, claims that were dog-related accounted for insurance payments of over $600 million, according to The Insurance Information Institute.
Since this is a huge number, you won’t need to wonder why insurance companies want to be aware of the presence of a dog in your home. Some companies are not willing to provide an insurance to households who have an aggressive dog breed. Whether you dog has bitten someone or hasn’t isn’t important. As long as you have a dog whose breed has a reputation for having aggressive behavior, your insurance will be denied.
Although this happens sometimes, you should never omit the information that you have a dog in your household. If you hide the fact from your insurance company and your dog causes a specific injury, your insurance coverage could automatically be invalidated. Your are then left with thousands of dollars to pay.
What If A Bite Happens?
Now, you have taken our advice and told the insurance company about your dog. But what if your dog injures someone? Do you have to tell your insurance company about it?
It actually depends. If the incident is minor, you might want to pay the bills out of pocket. This is to avoid the process of filing a claim with your insurance company and preventing a probable increase in your premium. Sometimes, insurance companies won’t allow you to renew your policy after a dog biting claim, or your dog may be excluded from future coverage on your policy.
However, not reporting an incident might result in a policy violation. If your dog has bitten someone previously (an incident you didn’t report), and it bites another person, the insurance company may have the right to deny you coverage for the latest incident. The best advice is to check with your independent insurance agent any time you have an incident.
Sometimes injuries are not immediately apparent. Complications can arise later, resulting in a lawsuit from the victim. If you wait too long to report the incident, it might be too late to receive the full protection benefits of your policy, which include medical bills, legal fees, and more.
A Mistake Worth Tens Of Thousands Of Dollars?
How would a surprising $33,000 expense impact your life? That is the average claim payment for dog-related injuries. And that is with an insurance company working on your behalf. Without insurance, you could end up shelling out more than that.
So what’s the best thing to do? Go to an independent agent and discuss your particular circumstances. If you decide not to file a claim, which is your right, you will still get professional’s guidance to help you assess your risks.
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