Your dog's bite could bankrupt you (home owners insurance) (tenants, agent, settlement)
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I will put this up here since many home owners have dogs and need to be aware. I have 2 dogs myself and have them always on a leash except for when we are at the dog beach where all the dogs are without a leash.
By Liz Pulliam Weston
The Santa Rosa, Calif., case was horrifying: A 90-pound American bulldog attacked a woman walking her own dog to a school bus stop to meet her children, biting off her nose.
The bulldog's owner insisted the animal had never bitten anyone or even behaved aggressively the previous times it had escaped from her yard. That didn't do much to sway the judge.
The owner was sentenced to four months in jail and 100 hours of community service.
The victim, who endured several surgeries to rebuild her face, was later awarded $900,000 in a civil settlement. Her husband and children were awarded $33,000 each, for a total settlement of $1 million -- the upper limit of the dog owner's insurance policy.
I will be getting married next year, and at some point, getting homeowner's insurance. We are planning on adopting a few dogs, in addition to the one my fiancee already owns. They will go through advanced obedience training...because a bad-mannered dog is a nuisance to everyone and reflects badly on all dogs.
If you are a land lord and one of your tenants own a dog and that dog bites someone, you as the land lord can get sued.... I know because this is happening to one of my customers, and yes this is in california. I recommend all my land lord clients to purchase renters insurance for their tenants then build the cost of the insurance into their rent. it's usually only about $20 a month and comes with $500,000 liability.
As a retired insurance agent, I can tell you that a lot of insurance companys will only insure homes with certain kinds of dogs in them. Certain kinds of animals at all. Most carriers have a restricted list of animals. So the best thing to do before you get a dog, snake, any reptile is to call your insurance agent and see if it will affect your policy. I have Welsh Corgis (hence my screen name) and they are on the accepted list but you would be surprised what is not on the list and it does vary from company to company.
I have a Golden Retriever who is as gentile as a lamb. My insurance company removed the dog bite coverage from my home and umbrella insurance coverage this year. GEICO said they would no longer cover any breeds for dog bites.
We will change our insurance company next year, not because there is any chance our dog would bite someone,just on principle!
I don't feel any sympathy for dog owners. I've been bitten, in the course of doing my job. They ALL say their dog would not bite anyone! Yeah, right.
Well I have been bitten by a dog when I was in high school and the dog was walking on our school yard. Although the dog shouldn't have been there (chow chow) it was also my fault..I should never have tried to pet a dog that I don't know. I have learned my lesson, and luckily the bite was not so bad.
I have 2 dogs and I'm shocked how many people walk over to pet them specially my English Bulldog. Most people just reach out with their hands without knowing the dog. My dog is very sweet but I keep telling them not do it and wait until the dog approach you. I don't want to be liable and my small dog isn't so happy when strangers walk up to him.....
So I believe that most bites are the peoples own fault except for the aggresive dogs that are treatened so bad that they will attack any one.
We have to remember that many dog owners are treatening their dogs so bad...having them in the sun on aleash for hours, put them all day in their garage with just alittle air by opening the door 1 inch, etc....that isn't how a dog owner should treat a dog that they decided to get.
Yes! Unfortunately these new home communities that do not allow for fences are making it even harder!! Fortunatley we were at least allowed to put up a semi-private fence, but I would have preferred a full privacy fence. Simply because my terrier (like a lot of terriers) is territorial and bark-y and if a child puts their hand through the fence, who knows what would happen?
As a result we never leave our dogs in the fenced yard for longer than a few minutes without checking on them, and not at all if neighbors are outside. We also didn't fence to the edge of our property line (so you would have to well and truly TRESPASS to get to our fence).
I love my dogs. They are great dogs. However my older dog is scared by children. My fence is their to protect my dog and protect your children .. just keep in mind that my priority is MY dog and my homeowner's insurance - not your child (though I would feel bad if a child was bitten).
A lot of new communities don't allow fences at all - and that's just setting up bad situations. Even the friendliest dog, if provoked or harmed, can bite.
[quote=Briolat21;6708838]Yes! Unfortunately these new home communities that do not allow for fences are making it even harder!! Fortunatley we were at least allowed to put up a semi-private fence, but I would have preferred a full privacy fence. Simply because my terrier (like a lot of terriers) is territorial and bark-y and if a child puts their hand through the fence, who knows what would happen?
As a result we never leave our dogs in the fenced yard for longer than a few minutes without checking on them, and not at all if neighbors are outside. We also didn't fence to the edge of our property line (so you would have to well and truly TRESPASS to get to our fence).
I love my dogs. They are great dogs. However my older dog is scared by children. My fence is their to protect my dog and protect your children .. just keep in mind that my priority is MY dog and my homeowner's insurance - not your child (though I would feel bad if a child was bitten).
A lot of new communities don't allow fences at all - and that's just setting up bad situations. Even the friendliest dog, if provoked or harmed, can bite.[/QUOTE]
The part in red is what most people forget! And always it is the dog who is to blame...not the kids or parents who stick out their hand a start running of walking fast upon a dog who hasn't seen them coming and just acts because it wasn't aware of some one touching him. My dogs have never bite any one but it is a concern. I did have one person in my community calling the police about one of my dog and he told the police my dog bite him...My dogs are never without a leash and I had witnesses who saw us before walking them and the man was on the other side. The police did see a dog walking without a leash and since the neighbor couldn't describe my dog, nothing else happened, but I told the police I would file a complaint about wrongfully accusing some one and their dog...I was shocked it happened but this same person had incidents with more than 5 other dog owners and called the police before, all without anything real against these owners, just that he hates dogs. (the man is dealing with a stroke, and has ment issues due to it)
They don't call me Dogmom for nothing...we have had all kinds of dogs, I don't totally trust any of them..We carry the maximum insurance and liability we can on our homes. You never know..
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