Some people believe that a home is not complete without a pet. While dogs are viewed as valuable members of the family, the truth is that they can cause personal liability. Any accident caused by your pet might result in a difficult lawsuit.
In some states, the law requires pet owners to have pet liability coverage that provides a wide range of animal liability solutions. Whether your dog has a bite history or not, if you would like some extra peace of mind, seek dog bite insurance to prevent the risk of liability for your dog’s injuries. Here is all you need to know about dog bite insurance:
Dog bite insurance is a form of third-party coverage
Dog bite insurance will protect you in the event of injuries caused by your pet. Being a form of third-party coverage, it compensates others (victims) but not you or members of your household. In addition, the “dangerous dog” insurance cover protects you if an injured party decides to sue you in a court of law. It might take you off the hook for thousands of dollars.
Dog bite insurance will not cover any damages your dog causes on your property. That means that you won’t be compensated for the injuries caused by your dog to any of your households.
The insurance covers medical payments
Pet bite insurance plays a great role when your dog causes serious injuries. However, sometimes the injuries caused are reportedly minor. If the victim needs to go to the doctor for a few stitches, especially if it was an accident or their fault, in such cases, your insurance coverage may stand in for medical payments coverage. In other words, this is no-fault insurance whose coverage depends on what happened, not why it happened.
Dog bite insurance has breed restrictions
When taking a pet insurance cover, note that some insurers won’t cover your home and any dog bites of certain kinds of dogs you have. This policy is known as breed restrictions and can make it harder to buy home insurance without paying attention to the type of dogs you have.
Aside from the breed, the ability of an insurance company to cover your dog may also depend on where you live. Some states have strict laws that ban home insurance companies from denying coverage based on the breed of dog. It is therefore important to have additional personal liability insurance in case your insurer won’t cover your dog based on its breed or locality.
The Bottom Line
The statistics show that homeowners without liability protection spend tens of thousands of dollars. If the law requires that you acquire liability insurance, you’ll be personally responsible for related medical and legal bills if your dog injures someone. It, therefore, pays to protect yourself with liability insurance that covers dog bites if you own a dog as a pet.
However, you must make sure the dog bite insurance you are taking offers reliable cover for every breed of dog you own, including dangerous breeds. Any reputable dog liability insurance should protect you from huge financial responsibilities if your pet injures a person.
