Home insurance and dog bite?
06 Oct 2008
My 1 yr old dog mix of beagle/German Shepard bit a neighborhood boy last night. The dog was fenced in and has all shots, he has not have any other prior bites and took me by surprise that he would do that.
But my question is in regards to my Home Insurance Policy. When I got the insurance and bought the house I did not have the dog. I got the dog one or two months later. Am I still covered under the Home Insurance policy?
11 Responses
2008 Oct 09
My guess would be yes, but… insurance companies tend to try to get out of paying anything out. Stand your ground.
BTW, keep that kid away from your dog, he was probably teasing him when you had your back turned.
2008 Oct 12
Typically yes.
Call your company and report it as soon as possible.
2008 Oct 12
Yes, its going to be covered. The only way you could run into a problem is if the dog was a pitbull or chow, etc. (Something dangerous with a bite history). Then, the insurance company might fight it a little bit more. But a dog bite IS covered.
(The only case where it might NOT be, is if you are insured through a mutual company.) ex. United Mutual, Meramec Valley Mutual, etc.
Good luck.
2008 Oct 12
Dog bites are typically covered, HOWEVER, depending on the company, they may want to cancel your insurance after they pay the claim. If this happens it will be very hard to find a new company if you keep the dog. Try as hard as you can to stay with this company would be my recommendation.
I have a dog of my own and would never think that she would bite anyone. Unfortunately, the boy probably teases your dog relentlessly and he had probably had enough. This is a tough situation.
Good luck to you!
2008 Oct 14
There are companies that restrict German Shepards, but in your case we’re talking mixed breed with presumably no bite history so it’s questionable whether they would have written the policy in the first place.
That said, in most states, the insurer has a 60 day underwriting window to discover violations. If you truly got the dog after the policy was in force (and can prove it) then we’re not dealing with misrepresentation. I’d bet the insurer would cover you.
That said, once you file a dog-bite claim, your insurer is going to drop you like a bad habit. For 5 years, you’ll be scouring the country looking for anyone who will write some type of policy on your house (assuming you don’t get rid of the dog). If I were you, I’d be making nice with the neighbors, covering all their out of pocket expenses and apologizing profusely. I’d get a muzzle for the dog, hope my insurer never finds out, and make sure this doesn’t happen again.
2008 Oct 14
Talk to your insurance agent or pay the medical bills yourself.
2008 Oct 17
If you truly did not have the dog when you bought the house & believe me, the company will investigate this (you may need to prove when you got it & from whom), and you do NOT have a dog or animal liability exclusion on your policy, it would be covered. You need to submit this to your insurance company.
If this child was bit in the face or has any permanent scarring, this could be a big lawsuit. If you decide to pay the medical bills yourself, you are on the hook for any payouts awarded in a lawsuit. Don’t listen to anyone that tells you to pay a claim with an injury yourself, this is dangerous to do & you are putting all of your assets on the line.
I will tell you that your insurance company may request that you put the dog down to renew the policy, even if you do that, they may still not renew your policy. If you have put the dog down, you MAY be able to convince your company to keep you, but, you have not been with them very long (sounds like just a year?), so they have no history with you so it could be an uphill battle. If you are nonrenewed, you will have a very hard time finding other homeowners insurance due to this claim, even if you put the dog down.
Good luck to you.
2008 Oct 19
well, consult your policy or agent for that answer.
noone here knows if it will be covered or not without looking at your policy, and almost every policy i write these days excludeds any form of animal liability.
2008 Oct 21
It depends on the insurance co, you should be but some insureance companies charge higher rates for petowners. I know that most insurance co’s will no longer cover any dog bites for you in the future and some insurance co’s will even drop your insurance if you refuse to get rid of the dog, its too much risk for them. You need to call your company and ask them about your policy.
2008 Oct 23
Oh, bummer.
Yes, if you file this claim and/or they sue you, you will have coverage. But the insurance company will either require you get rid of the dog, or flat out cancel you.
I hope the bite isn’t serious. If it didn’t break the skin, I’d imagine there shouldn’t be much of a problem.
2008 Oct 25
Yes it SHOULD be covered, BUT you WILL be non-renewed and NOT be able to find ANY standard insurance company to ensure you for at least the next 5 years because a dog bite claim will be on your record. NO insurance company will Insure ANYONE with ANY kind of dog that has EVER been on record to bite.
I would suggest NOT claiming anything on your insurance and paying out of pocket…