Dog bites pack $24,511 average punch on homeowners insurance?
June 25, 2008 :: Posted by Bob Graham, Executive Editor
Filed under: Property-Casualty.
Bob Graham, Executive EditorJust in time for the dog days of summer comes a report from the Insurance Information Institute that one-third of all homeowners insurance claims are the result of dog bites. The liability claims cost about $356.2 million last year, up 10.5% from the prior year.
Doggone it!
The average cost of a claim rose 11.5% last year, to $24,511. That’s some bite! Are we talking police attack dogs trained to attack when the trainer yells “Sacco-Vanzetti.” (Don’t tell the cops I told you the secret phrase.) My two dogs, Dabney and Barkly, who are no longer with us, would have licked someone to death, leading to a claim over slobber-covered clothing.
Since 2003, the cost of these claims has risen nearly 28%, the institute said, noting that the number of claims paid by insurers remained flat over the last three years at 14,500.
Throw me a bone!
Who knew that more than 4.7 million people are bitten each year, with about 800,000 needing a doctor, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The majority of these bites occur on Fido’s home turf, which the institute says is causing concern among insurers.
I’m concerned as well. How is $24,500 the average cost of claims? If that’s the average, then that means lots of the claims meant even larger payouts. Do people get bitten, fall down a 50-foot cliff, land on a concrete driveway, break 10 bones and suffer lacerations to their face forcing the need for reconstructive surgery? No way. The bite doesn’t seem to match the bark.
This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 25th, 2008 at 5:19 pm and is filed under Property-Casualty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:41 am
There are some understandable errors in this piece. First, the 4.7 million number is a 14 year old estimate designed by the CDC to include every exposure of a human to a dog’s teeth and nails, even nips by puppies, bites to groomers and vets, etc etc. The number was extrapolated from a very small sample size and is largely understood to be statistically illogical (see Bradley, “Dogs Bite…”). Meanwhile, the actual number of reported dog bites has been fallen drastically over the past 30 years (despite the media’s obsession with them).
Second, it’s important to take “dog bite claims” 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 more effective solution for everyone.
Respectfully,
Laura Gonzo
Director, Communications and Public Relations
National Canine Research Council