Insurers wary of dog bites

[bigdoglover]

Tennessean

By Gethan Ward

If you own a pit bull, Rottweiler, Doberman pinscher or another dog labeled as a "vicious" breed, don't expect every insurer to sell you a homeowner's policy. Some companies will write insurance coverage but won't cover damages linked to dog bites by some breeds.

Such restrictions are becoming more common today as insurers try to limit their losses from incidents such as last month's mauling death of a Franklin County woman.


The practice of denying or restricting homeowner's coverage has animal-welfare groups concerned, but their attempts to pass legislation blocking companies from denying coverage based on breed have failed in several states, including Tennessee.

"What they're doing now is profiling dogs," said Charles E. Trotter, vice president of the Nashville Kennel Club. "You just have to be a certain breed, then you're a mean, vicious dog."

At stake in the dogfight is the more than $300 million in dog-bite liability claims insurers pay out annually. The average claim rose 28 percent to $21,200 per incident between 2002 and 2005, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

"We certainly aren't trying to criticize anyone's choice of a pet, but our greatest responsibility is to consider all of our policyholders," said Anthony Kimbrough, vice president of government relations for Tennessee Farm Bureau Insurance. Its homeowner's policies don't cover incidents that stem from attacks by pit bulls, Rottweilers, chows or akitas.

Limits on owners increase

If your dog bites someone, you're liable for treatment and recovery costs. That could include medical expenses as well as payments for pain and suffering, disfigurement or lost wages. Most homeowner's insurance provides liability coverage of $100,000 to $300,000. Last year, dog bites accounted for 15 percent of liability claim dollars paid nationally under the policies, the insurance institute said.

Restrictions on dog owners have increased amid the rising popularity of owning "vicious" dogs, said Bob Hartwig, the Insurance Information Institute's chief economist.

In one landmark case, a San Francisco lawyer was sentenced to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and was ordered to pay $6,800 in restitution after her two Presa Canario pets attacked and killed a woman in the doorway of the victim's apartment in early 2001.

In the Franklin County incident, the family of library clerk Dianna Acklen — who was mauled to death by three dogs while taking her daily walk — decided not to demand prosecution of the dogs' owners.

Today, the practice of insurers not covering people with certain breeds or with dogs that have a history of biting is more of the rule than the exception.

"Usually, if you had a dog that was fine. When it bit the first time, that's when they started to question," said Coit Holbrook, director of the actuarial services unit at the state's Department of Commerce and Insurance. "Now (insurers) question just the fact that you have a dog and, in particular, certain breeds."

In the past few years, questions on insurance applications about pets have been expanded to ask about breed, said Bud Zander, president of Zander Insurance in Nashville.

"If they see a Rottweiler, I'm not going to be able to write it," Zander said. "It's the same thing with trampolines. If you've got a trampoline, they won't write it."

Dogs bite more than 4.7 million people each year, with 800,000 requiring medical treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An analysis of fatal attacks for 20 years through 1998 implicated pit bull-type dogs and Rottweilers in more than half of deaths.

Insurers consider statistics on bites and fatalities to decide which breeds to blacklist. Lists can vary by state or region.

Among insurers surveyed in Tennessee, homeowners with pit bulls, Rottweilers or chows were among those most likely to be denied coverage or have restrictions enforced. Practices and underwriting guidelines vary by company.

A bill introduced in the just-ended state legislative session by Rep. Steve McDaniel, R-Parkers Crossroads, would have barred insurers from denying or canceling someone's homeowners' or rental coverage based on breed of dog — except in cases where the animal had a history of violence.

He abandoned the bill after learning of opposition from the insurance industry.

"I have many other priorities in my legislative agenda and decided this wasn't one of them," McDaniel said. Similar bills introduced in Kentucky, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and New York didn't go far either. Another is pending in committee in New Jersey's legislature.

"If you start telling insurers who they can or cannot write, they're going to pull out completely," said Ira Zuckerman, a Vermont-based insurance industry analyst. Insurers, reeling from losses from last year's hurricanes, are becoming more cautious about risks overall, Zuckerman said.

Mary Pat Boatfield, executive director with the Nashville Humane Association, said her big fear is the insurance industry might increase rates for pet owners regardless of the breeds they own.

"They keep adding different dogs to the list," she said. "I think the issue is the pet owner has to really be responsible."

The Nashville Kennel Club's Trotter has problems labeling certain pets as "vicious" dogs. "There are instances where Great Danes, because their ears were trimmed, are called pit bulls," he said. "If you have the most wonderful, sweet docile Rottweiler, he's considered mean. It doesn't matter, it's just because of the breed … and you cannot judge dogs by the breed they are."

[elegy]

you know what the real bummer in all of this is? there ARE no good statistics on dog bites, with the exception of fatalities. there ARE no good stats on how many dogs bite, what breeds, and how much damage is done. the numbers put out by the cdc are so far extrapolated as to be stupid.

i was lucky- i had no trouble getting homeowner's insurance even with two pit bulls. my insurance agent lives in the same town as i do, has a rottweiler himself, and the company (state farm) has no breed-specific blacklist. they'll drop you in a heartbeat if your dog bites somebody, however. or at least that's what i've heard (not planning on testing that myself, thanks).

it's so unfair. you can own the nastiest labrador retriever or mixed breed dog on the planet or be wholly irresponsible and never train or socialize your dog and not be subject to this nonsense.