Dog Bites – Protecting Your Assets and Preventing Claims

In 2012, dog bite claims included a lot more than one-third of all home insurance liability claims.? These claims are more expensive than $489 million. The volume of claims this year actually decreased with the prior year, the normal cost per dog bite claim ($29,752) was really a growth over 2011.

Your property insurance policy typically provides liability for dog bite claims; however, the key action you are able to take is usually to prevent dog bites from occurring to begin with.

Protecting Yourself and also your Assets

• Liability for dog bites is typically included homeowners and renters insurance policies.
• You are responsible for any claims costs, including legal expenses, more than the liability coverage you could have.? Discover sure what your liability limit is, get hold of your Leavitt Group insurance consultant to learn.
• Your insurance premium mustn’t be affected if you ever own a dog; however, but if your dog does bite someone, you might have to pay an increased premium or even the insurer may choose to exclude dog-related injuries in the liability coverage.
• Most states allow insurance vendors to deny or cancel coverage for some breeds of dogs, set up dog has not been linked to a compensation claim or bitten anyone in past times.
• A lawsuit for any dog bite claim can finish up costing you big money in attorney’s fees and lost wages.? The private computer liability at a standard homeowners policy probably are not enough to shield your own personal assets.? To shield against claims such as dog bites that will impact an amazing portion of your assets, you really should think about a personal excess liability policy, better known as an umbrella policy.? To learn more about umbrella policies, visit: http://www.leavitt.com/Personal/Umbrella-Coverage.aspx

Prevention is Key

Melissa Berryman, author and dog owner adviser, stated, “By understanding and respecting how dogs’ instincts and natural behaviors consist of ours, canine owners can prevent bites and insurance headaches.”? Here are some ideas for preventing dog bites:

• Obey the local leash and license laws.
• Avoid situations that may provoke your pet dog.? Even dogs that will be normally docile may bite when frightened or agitated.
• Never leave younger children alone using your dog, and teach your children proper behavior around dogs.
• Train your puppy to calmly alert you of someone’s approach.? Then take control over the situation to greet someone arriving yourself.
• Pay focus to that your gesture and also the words affect your canine.? When your dog barks when someone is a your doorstep, happily reassure your canine friend as a result it understands your guest is not a threat.? Should you yell for the dog to prevent barking, the dog interprets this as agitation on your side and thinks you believe threatened by whoever is in the too (understanding tone, not language) which then makes your canine friend feel more anxious and vulnerable.

References:
http://www.propertycasualty360.com
http://www.iii.org