We often receive questions in regards to dog bites and homeowners insurance.  It’s an important topic that we thought we should put together a couple of blog posts to outline how serious dog bites have become and how your insurance policy will respond.

Today’s post will focus on some statistics showing how prevalent dog bites have become and the lawsuit damages associated with dog bites.   Our next post will show you how your insurance policy will respond and what you can do to ensure you have the right coverage.

By The Numbers

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs every year.  And over half of those victims are children.

A USA Today article from May of last year stated that State Farm Insurance alone paid out over $109 million in dog bite-related claims the previous year!  And the Insurance Information Institute estimates that a total of $479 million in claims were paid out across the industry in that same year.

Over one-third of all liability claims are paid out by insurance companies from dog bites, with the average claim totaling almost $30,000!

And since total claims are rising by over 10% every year, our Arvada and Denver dog owners should be concerned with how their insurance policy will react in the event of a claim.

Our next post will break down how your homeowner’s insurance policy will help protect you.