Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog

When you get a dog, the responsibilities run much deeper than just feeding or walking the dog. You also have a responsibility to train and monitor the dog's behavior and to have financial responsibility for injuries caused by your dog. This was the topic a recent piece on MSN News.

According to the author, there are 4.7 million dog bites every year, a million of which require medical attention. There were 32 fatal dog bite attacks in 2007. Claims against homeowner's insurance policies for dog bite attacks cost the industry $356 million last year. The average claim paid by insurers was $24,511 -- a figure no doubt driven by a few truly catastrophic, horrific attacks and many smaller ones.

In addition to sending your dog to training and obedience classes and constantly monitoring his behavior for aggression, it is strongly recommended that you disclose to your insurer that you have a dog. Failing to disclose the ownership of the dog may result in a loss of coverage. You should also be careful to disclose the breed of dog you have and make sure that your dog is covered by your homeowners policy, as some insurers are now excluding some breeds of dogs known for aggression and severe attacks such as put bulls, rottweilers, German Shepards, presa canarios and chows from coverage. Finally, it is also strongly recommended that you obtain an umbrella policy which would cover you for liability up to $1 million. Often these policies can be obtained for under $500 per year.

Labels: dog bite attacks