Dog Bites may Increase Home Insurance Rates

The fact that there are more than 15,000 insurance claims filed each year as a result of dog bites is shocking enough. But even more distressing is how much it’s costing insurance companies – who, in turn, end up passing along the costs to their customers to the grand total of over $400 million per year. In 2010 alone, the figure grew to $412 million, the highest number on record since 2007. The next time you get a homeowner quote that makes last year’s figure sound cheap, you can thank irresponsible dog owners.

According to the Humane Society, dogs that haven’t been spayed or neutered and that haven’t received behavioral training are the greatest risk. Needless to say, this puts the responsibility squarely in the laps of owners that haven’t “owned up” to the admittedly challenging task of raising their canines properly.

Although in many cases, insurance companies are recouping their losses by raising homeowner insurance rates on customers who own bully breeds (like pit bulls and bull terriers) or who have had files claimed against them, there’s still a chance instances such as these could affect the rates of non-dog owning customers.

In order to keep one step ahead of rising costs, it’s suggested that all homeowners compare home insurance prices at least once per year and obtain homeowner quotes from various agencies, switching providers as necessary to save on rates.