Home Insurers Bitten by $350M in Dog Claims; Average Claim Tops $24K

June 25, 2008

  • June 26, 2008 at 10:19 am
    Reagan says:
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    Jaime: By relating that she is a public school teacher, here is PA, was to show just how truly stupid and entitlement minded she is. Not sure where you’re from, but here, public school teachers are generally a cross beteen fools and felons.

    Dustin: I hear ya, I ask if she can be put down obviously in a facetious manner, but really, when my wife is outside walking with our two year old, do you run inside and get a beast that with one lunge could take his head off? and then continue to stand there with a grin that says I should be playing pattykake instead of teaching kids, when my wife tells her to move back with the dog, only doing so after another neighbor steps between the beast, idiot, and my son?

  • June 26, 2008 at 10:30 am
    Jamie says:
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    I am with you on this and I do understand.

  • June 26, 2008 at 12:25 pm
    Jace says:
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    Florida has a dog bite statute which places absolute liability on the owner. Most of the (few) companies writing in state have in recent years added endorsements completely excluding coverage on animals. Those who live in states where the coverage is available may want to consider educating themselves and training their dogs. Which, of course, most won’t do.

  • June 26, 2008 at 12:36 pm
    Bill Rempel says:
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    OOOOHHHH, I’m scared, dog bites are 1/3 of all HO liability claims! Help me, Mommy!

    That statistic fits the OTHER actuarial definition of I.B.N.R. ~ interesting but NOT RELEVENT.

    Take industry data from Texas homeowners for example – it’s available for free from the TDI. Throw out the Rita losses. Over the past five years of available data, aggregate the loss costs per $100 of coverage for Wind+Hail+Lightning (EXCLUDING RITA, as I said above), Fire, Discharge+Water, Liability+MedPay, and “All Other.”

    LIABILITY LOSSES REPRESENT ONLY 3.15% OF ALL HOMEOWNER LOSS COSTS FOR THOSE FIVE YEARS.

    So dog bites being 1/3 of all the liability claims becomes a bu11$#it statistic, Interesting But Not Relevant, in light of the fact that liability claims are less than 1/33 of the homeowners policy loss costs.

  • June 26, 2008 at 12:47 pm
    Big Dog says:
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    Geeze…cat pee in your Cheerios this morning? Wife whoop up on you again?

    If you live in Texas, as your post seems to indicate, you’re all too aware of the number of people that have been seriously injured by dogs (mostly pit bulls, rottweilers, bullmastiffs).

    While, to you, it may be an insignificant and trivial issue, if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of a dog attack, you’d have a whole different outlook.

    Let me know what insurance agency you work for, so I make sure I don’t do business with them.

  • June 26, 2008 at 2:39 am
    Dawn says:
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    How many of these claims were from people who were trespassing, breaking and entering, (and yes, if your dog bites someone robbing your house you’re still liable) or tormenting the dog in your home?

    ITA that people should be held accountable the instant their dog leaves their property. BUT if you want your dog to bite you, that’s your problem. Keep it in a fence and protect the neighborhood. Or the dog should be fair game to someone with good aim.

    Don’t get me wrong. I love animals and hate to hear about any dog being hurt or killed because their owner is a moron. BUT I have animals of my own and children. If either were ever injured by a dog that shouldn’t be out in public I would not hesitate to tear the dog apart AND the owner.

  • June 27, 2008 at 8:52 am
    Dawn says:
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    It says that 50% of them happen on the ownder’s property.

    Not a breakdown of how many, IF they were honest, deserved to be bitten.

    It doesn’t seem to matter what that statute says. If the injured party has a good lawyer, even if they broke a window and climbed in to steal your TV they can win a judgement.

  • June 27, 2008 at 10:27 am
    L Gonzo says:
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    It’s important to take dog bite claims statistic into perspective.

    “While dog bites are serious events for those who are bitten, the dog bite problem is not the public health crisis that the insurance industry has made it out to be. Some perspective is in order. The number of fatalities due to dog bites is very low when compared to the number of people who die from heart disease, cancer, accidents, suicide, and diabetes. Likewise, nonfatal bites are responsible for a small number of injuries when compared to other accidental, unintentional injuries. Falls (11.5 million), motor vehicle accidents (4.3 million), drugs (3.3 million), sports (2.0 million), insect bites (1.7 million), bicycle accidents (1.4 million), poisoning (.7 million), and knives (.6 million) all individually outrank dog bites (.5 million) as public health problems. [FN461] Similarly, claims paid out by homeowners’ companies for dog bites are miniscule when compared to payouts for property damage. Damage due to fire, water, wind, and theft represent much larger problems for homeowners’ insurance companies.” Larry Cunningham, The Case Against Dog Breed Discrimination by Homeowners’ Insurance Companies, 11 Conn. Ins. L.J. 1 (2004)

    I fear that the insurance industry (among others) tends toward criminalizing a large population of dog owners for the shortcomings of a few while simultaneously ignoring the scientific evidence that owning dogs provides both physical and emotional health benefits.

    Encouraging and rewarding responsible dog ownership practices sounds like a more effective solution for everyone.

  • June 27, 2008 at 2:20 am
    John Smith says:
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    Anyone know what the law is in New York State?

  • June 27, 2008 at 2:21 am
    John Smythe says:
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    Anyone know the law in New York State?



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