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Insurance That Covers
Dog Bites and Animal Attacks

Personal Liability Coverage: Home and property owners regularly carry liability insurance to protect themselves from claims for personal injuries that occur on their premises including when the dog bites the mailman, or a guest is injured inside your home or anywhere on your premises, you're protected against a lawsuit. Your insurance company would pay the dog bite claim, and would also provide you with a legal defense.

Property Damage Coverage: This provides additional coverage for torn clothing, broken glasses and other property damage losses sustained by the victim.

Medical Payments Coverage: This gives you further protection if your dog bites or injuries someone. It pays for that person's medical bills up to a certain limit.

Automobile Coverage: If your dog was in your car when the dog attacked a person, then your automobile policy probably covers the incident.

Landlord Insurance: This type of insurance protects the landlord (but not the tenants) from claims that result from the actions of their tenant's dogs. If you have insurance on rental property, it most likely covers you against claims for "landlord liability" or "landlord negligence" arising from a dog attack in California.

Workers' Compensation Insurance: Workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for a gardaner, landscaper, or housekeeper bitten by your dog on your property and bars the personal injury action against the homeowner under Civil Code §3342, a strict liability statute for personal injury caused by dog bites.
Dog Owners and Insurance Coverage in California

It is absolutely essential for every dog owner to have homeowners insurance or renters insurance. Period! Make sure that your insurance policy does not exclude accidents caused by your dog and INCLUDES protection against canine-inflicted injuries. Never purchase a homeowner policy or renters policy that excludes canine-inflicted injuries unless there is a supplemental policy that covers you. 

Some insurance companies are attempting to sell homeowner insurance policies that exclude dog-inflicted injuries or refuse to sell homeowner insurance to the owners of breeds of dogs that have a reputation for biting and vicious attacks. Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, Akitas, and Chow Chows raise yellow flags to some insurance companies including some in California.

Watch out for insurance industry trends now attempting to reverse homeowner policies in regards to dog attacks, upon renewal of your policy, that protected you when you originally bought it. If you are a homeowner in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Riverside or San Diego--anywhere in California ... be sure to read and understand all notices sent from your insurer in case they eliminate coverage for accidents and injuries caused by your dog or any dog on your premises. If this happens, you must get a different policy that provides you the type of dog-animal insurance protection that you need. Some insurance coverage plans, or "umbrella plans," even provide you with legal assistance or an attorney and pays all court costs if you are sued by someone claiming your dog is responsible for their loss, pain, injury, and so on.

As of dog owner how much insurance coverage protection do I need in California?

This will depend upon your upper policy limits and deductible if it applies to your policy, your assets,and what kind of dog you have. In other words, get enough insurance to protect what you have. Under certain circumstances you may be required to purchase insurance in order to keep your dog, especially if your dog is declared dangerous or vicious.

As an "industry rule" your policy should have a limit of at least $100,000 for personal liability insurance. There are much higher limits upward to $1,000,000, usually available through your homeowners and renters policies by an "umbrella" policy" or specific extended coverage (addendum) added to the policy. Bottom line, get enough dog bite-injury-accident insurance to pay an appropriate amount of compensation for all but the most extreme accidents caused by a dog. Because research has shown it is usually your own relatives, friends and neighbors most likely to get bit, or tripped, or pushed, attacked, and so on by you own dog, having a dog bite insurance policy usually equates to protecting the ones in your life you cherish most.

Industry groups, profit and non-profit alike, suggest a limit of $300,000 or more if you own big dog or your breed of dog appears on the list below. So if your breed of dog is not on the list you may be able to consider purchasing a lower amount of insurance. But be careful, especially in California, to obtain at least $100,000 of insurance protection (even if you own a small dog not on list) in case, for example, a child gets bit in face by your dog (this could require extensive medical bills and plastic surgery expenses-often multiple plastic surgeries), or the mail delivery person has your dog nipping at his or her heals and they trip or fall causing a broken hip or bone ... you get the idea.

The "dangerous breeds" as statistics have revealed over the years:

Insurance
German Sheperd             Doberman     Bull Dog
DOG OWNER ALERT:
Be sure to consult with a professional, licensed, and experienced insurance agent about your coverage needs.
This Web site compliments of: Law Office of Steven L. Weiner and Associates
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Statements regarding medical, legal, and insurance help should not be construed as a guarantee, warrantee or prediction regarding the result or outcome of one's health, insurance claim or legal matter.