If Your Dog Bites A Neighbor Child, It Could Affect Your Homeowner's Insurance Status

Big dogs sometimes translate into big payoffs for insurance companies.

As a result, many firms are taking a closer look at what breed of pooch you own and how well it is contained.

A few have even resorted to breed-specific clauses in their homeowners policies, meaning they refuse to insure that breed when a potential client lists it on an application form.

However, if you are an existing policy holder and purchase a Rottweiler or German shepherd after your golden retriever has passed on, it's highly unlikely you'll be turned down.

Dog bites result in 18 deaths a year, according to the Independent Insurance Agents of America and American Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, which joined forces last month to provide an awareness of the problem during a national dog-bite prevention campaign.

According to the agencies, almost $165 million is spent annually treating an estimated 800,000 dog-bite related injuries.

Bites cost society over $1 billion a year, with insurance companies paying almost $250 million of that in liability claims.

As many as one-third of all homeowners' insurance liability claims may be associated with dog attacks, according to industry estimates.

Sixty percent of all attacks are directed at children, with 73 percent of those seen in hospital emergency rooms bitten on the face, neck and head.

"Homeowners and renters who own dogs should never go without liability insurance, or they may be in for a rude awakening if sued," says Madelyn Flannagan, IIAA director of research and information. "Dog owners must be aware of the financial as well as the physical implications of letting dogs roam and not taking precautions to prevent injuries. This holds true even at home, because an estimated 70 percent of dog attacks occur on the owner's property."

According to IIAA there was a 37 percent jump in medically treated dog bites from 1986 to '94, a span in which the estimated dog population rose less than 2 percent.

Flannagan adds, "More dogs are attacking partially due to lack of proper training and to the fact that more crime-cautious customers are training dogs to be more aggressive. And more unwitting victims are suing."

It shouldn't surprise you which breeds cause more major injuries or deaths. According to a study by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and the Humane Society of the United States in Washington, D.C., they are the American pitbull terrier, Rottweiler, German shepherd, Alaskan husky, Alaskan malamute, Doberman pinscher, Chow Chow, Great Dane, St. Bernard and Akita.

Claims for dog bites have been increasing 2 percent a year and each averages about $12,000, Mary Boone, a spokeswoman for State Farm, told the Wall Street Journal.

According to Melissa Harris, a State Farm spokeswoman in DuPont, Pierce County, the company paid $75 million last year alone on dog-bite related cases.

A check with more than a half dozen companies in Washington state showed only one, Unigard Insurance Group, that would reject a new applicant based on the breed of dog he/she owns. Unigard will not insure newcomers with either a Rottweiler or American pitbull terrier.

Cindy Woodford, Unigard product manager for property, "Generally, our underwriters look at each case individually. There's a high awareness by our agents of the all the media attention surrounding those two breeds. But we recognize there are many good pitbulls and Rottweilers out there, too."

John Engel, Mutual of Enumclaw vice president of claims, "There is no more preventable claim than the dog bite. With proper containment, sound obedience training and early socialization, many attacks could be prevented.

"It breaks my heart to pick up the paper and read about a child being mauled and sometimes killed by a neighbor's dog. Even when they survive, they carry emotional scars for years. No amount of settlement can repay the grief a family suffers."

Virtually all spokesmen for insurance companies within the state say there has not been a plethora of animal-bite claims against homeowners' personal liability coverage, but rather a substantial jump in settlement agreements.

Most firms, however, are taking a sharper look today at the impact of dog bites in our litigious society. In the '80s, the application form of many didn't ask anything more than if you owned a pet and, if so, what. Today, a growing number want to know what breed of dog and if it has a biting record.

The American Kennel Club has been an advocate for state legislation forbidding breed discrimination clauses in homeowners' policies.

The AKC, says Stephanie Pier, canine-legislation coordinator, believes insurance companies should determine coverage of a dog-owning household based on the animal's deeds, not breed.

Pennsylvania state law prohibits firms from discriminating against homeowners based on the breed they own. Similar measures before Washington, New York and Connecticut legislatures this year failed to pass.

Rep. Brian Sullivan (D-29th Dist.) introduced House Bill 1103 in Washington state which added this section to the state law: "An insurer licensed to write homeowners' insurance in this state may not deny or refuse to renew an application for a homeowners' insurance policy on the basis that the applicant owns a dog, unless the dog is a dangerous dog as defined in RCW 16.08.070."

Pier suggests the following options until such a measure passes your state's legislature:

-- If you are seeking a homeowner's policy, shop around. Ask your dog-owning friends which company they use and if they have had problems.

-- If one agent for a particular company turns you down, try another agent for that company. Some exclusions may not be written in stone. They may be prejudices of an agency and not the insurance company.

-- Find an agent who will work with you to locate an insurance company that does not penalize for dog or breed ownership.

-- If all else fails, consider buying a separate liability policy or separate rider to your existing policy that is specifically directed toward your dogs.

-- Contact your state insurance commissioner and request a list of all insurance companies doing business in your state. This will give you plenty of options to which your can direct your inquiries.

-- Encourage your state senator or representative to become involved in backing a bill that would address underwriting policies and breed-specific discrimination.

What if you own a mixed breed?

If an apparent high percentage of its heritage is a breed seemingly prone to attack, it, too, could be rejected.

Le Roi Brasherars, a Safeco Insurance Co. spokesman, adds, "No breeds are excluded from our policies. When someone comes to us after being terminated by another firm we won't necessarily exclude the individual but we want to find out all the particulars before making a decision."

"We examine each case individually," explains Michael Sullivan, executive director of Farmers Insurance Group of Washington. "If someone has a good track record and suddenly his or her dog injures a neighbor's child, we'll investigate the matter thoroughly. Maybe the child taunted or provoked the incident? Maybe the dog was running loose and does so every day?

"There are many possible scenarios in dog-attack cases, and it's unfair to indict a breed."

According to the Insurance News Network, the Massachusetts-based Quincy Mutual Fire Insurance Co. has a blacklist of 20 breeds and cross-breeds it will not insure.

"It's not something that we care to share with the general public," said Quincy Mutual senior vice president Kevin Meskell, when asked for a copy of the list. He did, however, confirm it does include pitbulls, Rottweilers, wolf hybrids, huskies, Dalmatians, Airedales and Great Danes.

A report in the News Lansing (Mich.) newspaper July 8, 1998, noted that MetLife Auto & Home insurance company no longer writes coverage for people who own a pitbull, Rottweiler, chow chow, German shepherd and bull terrier.

"Our overall position is that if you have one of those breeds in your household, we will not insure you because we don't believe there's a way to match the risk with the rate," said Richard Bernstein, a MetLife vice president.

Many elements factor into an insurance company's decision to accept or reject a potential client/dog owner. Some include the underwriter's experience (and or prejudices) with that breed, the reputation of the breed, its biting propensity, the applicant's longtime claims record, the containment security for the animal and others.

"The risk factor is not just on the company but other policy owners, too," concludes All-State's Harris. "If there are many sizable settlement payouts on dog bites, for instance, it can affect others' rates, too. The bottom line is owner responsibility."

Microchip clinics

Safeway and the Seattle-King County Veterinary Medical Association are conducting pet microchip clinics on weekends this summer at a wide cross-section of Safeway stores.

Volunteer veterinarians and veterinary technicians permanently identified more than 1,000 pets last year at similar clinics.

About the size of a grain of rice, the microchip contains an individual identification number that is registered into a national database, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing you to be notified almost immediately when your pet has been found.

The clinic price is $15, which includes national registraion. The micropchipping clinics are from 1-5 p.m. Check your local Safeway for dates and locations.

For each chip sold, $4 will be donated to the Doney Clinic, a weekend veterinary clinic for homeless and indigent people in Seattle.

The next scheduled clinics are July 10-11 and 17-18.