Need help! Homeowners insurance after dog bite?

[mookie]

I don't have a lot of time, and I haven't read the entire thread, but I promise I will follow up. We also had a dog that bit someone and had a claim filed. We have Secura insurance...not sure if they service your area, but they have been great for us...and definitely willing to work with us and our ordeal. (Our situation was a bit different, the person was a vet that he bit and was negligent, but we still had to pay for damages.) Hope that helps some. I'll be back to read through everything...since I've been there/done that I'm hoping I can provide at least a little bit of insight and help, but at the very least you might want to see if our ins company can help. Good luck!

 

[erin1715]

We went to the neighbor the evening after it happened and apologized because of course we felt awful. We told them we put our dog to sleep immiediately and we would pay for the damages and/or for a new dog eventually.

The neighbor did try to get between the two dogs and got a little cut on his finger trying to break the dogs apart. I'm sure he contacted his insurance company which went after ours. The dog wasn't a show dog, it was a yorkie, and he did take it to the vet so maybe they tried to save the dog and incurred vet bills that way.

 

[snykymom]

That's the thing....we never even knew that the neighbor went to our insurance company and that they paid him until after it was all finished. Our insurance policy never notified us that this was happening.

This could be another reason you are being dropped. Insurance policies require that you notify them in a timely manner of any potential claim. You didn't do that.

I also find it strange that they paid out for a dog attacking dog situation. Did the dog destroy any of their property or hurt someone in the family?

Yes, the dog destroyed some of the neighbors' property - their dog! It is not unusual at all for insurers to pay on dog cases, even when it's dog-on-dog. And if the vet bills were extensive, the neighbors are entitled to be reimbursed.

 

[kellydizfan]

The New York Fair plan does not offer Liability coverage. Basic form property coverage only. You really don't want to go that route. Ask them to check with Wholesalers that they deal with or possibly Foremost Insurance. The Bulldog is probably the problem. Have you had any other losses or other issues? I am shocked they didn't cancel the next renewal after the dog bite.

 

[erin1715]

The New York Fair plan does not offer Liability coverage. Basic form property coverage only. You really don't want to go that route. Ask them to check with Wholesalers that they deal with or possibly Foremost Insurance. The Bulldog is probably the problem. Have you had any other losses or other issues? I am shocked they didn't cancel the next renewal after the dog bite.

We have never filed a claim before or after the incident, never been late on payments, never made a peep to the insurance company before. I will take the blame for not contacting them immediately when the incident occured, but I think they should have contacted us when we were being sued.

 

[erin1715]

I don't have a lot of time, and I haven't read the entire thread, but I promise I will follow up. We also had a dog that bit someone and had a claim filed. We have Secura insurance...not sure if they service your area, but they have been great for us...and definitely willing to work with us and our ordeal. (Our situation was a bit different, the person was a vet that he bit and was negligent, but we still had to pay for damages.) Hope that helps some. I'll be back to read through everything...since I've been there/done that I'm hoping I can provide at least a little bit of insight and help, but at the very least you might want to see if our ins company can help. Good luck!

Thank you for understanding! I checked and that insurance company doesn't offer coverage in our area. But it is encouraging that there are actually insurance companies who will work with a family instead of just being out to make money off people. Hopefully I can find another company!

 

[C.Ann]

Did they already drop you - or do you have time to get a new policy in place before they do?

Your home is your most valuable asset and you can not take the chance of not being covered for even 1 hour.. If the choice is the dogs or keeping coverage on your home with no lapse, I'm afraid the dogs are going to have to go.. Sorry..

Good luck..

 

[si-am]

What I want to know is why the insurance company decided three years later not to renew your policy? That seems odd.

 

[My3kiddos]

We had a house fire last year and our dogs were home and had smoke inhalation. Our agent (Liberty Mutual) told us they would pay for physical property (dog cages, food, collars, fish tank, etc) but not for any living animal or vet bills. Taking that into consideration I wouldn't think that your insurance paid for the actual dog, so I'm not sure where $3500 came into play unless they were paying for your neighbors doctor bills and his "pain and suffering". I feel your pain about what your neighbor did. I would have thought he would have came to you first. Our "slumlord" neighbor tried to file a claim against our insurance 6 weeks after our fire and say she had smoke damage to the inside of her house (she called them 2 weeks after her tenants moved out and she couldn't rent it out). Thankfully the previous tenants had told us about a problem they were having with their furnance shooting black soot out of the vents and they had told the said slumlord about it but she wouldn't fix it. Sad to say some people are just out to make a buck. My neighbor didn't get diddly squat thankfully.

 

[ziggyn42]

I work for an insurance co(please don't flame me as I do not agree with everything they do, but I need a paycheck) We are in a different state and every state is different. I know the company I work with will sometimes make exceptions for "bully" dogs if you take them to good citizen training. I would contact some of the companies in your area and see if they will insure you if you agree to do that. It is a little costly, but may be worth it if you can get coverage and pay a decent rate.

 

[java]

Well I'll take your English bulldog off your hands if you want! Those are my hands down favorite dog (shh don't tell my 2 dogs) I'm sorry you are going through this. It seems like you did everything you could at the time.

 

[a1tinkfans]

We have never filed a claim before or after the incident, never been late on payments, never made a peep to the insurance company before. I will take the blame for not contacting them immediately when the incident occured, but I think they should have contacted us when we were being sued.

IF you were sued you would have been served, required to be personal service (in NY followed by nail/mail they'll tack it on your door). The carrier was served with a claim, vastly different. It likely was not brought by another carrier unless the person who had the dog had there own dog insured, (and they subrogated: tried to re-coup the costs they paid out) many do not however. Carriers do not generally make any decision without first investigating the claim..so to say they never spoke to you about your dog seems odd, how'd they confirm it was even your dog??? Does not make sense and would not be typical.....Even with a documented Police Report or Health Dept report, they generally call insureds.

Different carriers have different policy exclusions and policies requirements...so they will not even consider writing you... ....some will not take you... if you have a gun in the house, a trampoline in the yard, a dog of a certain breed,...the list goes on and on...
As far as paying out on a dog "incident" that is actually quite typical. Claims can include various items....loss of pet, med bills etc are usually the factor that costs the most..
All ins policies have "duties" for policyholders, by not contacting them in a timely manner (which varies by circumstance) you are Risking that you will Not be covered (despite having paid the lofty premium) which is crazy since the purpose of the insurance is to take the risk away form YOU and place it on the carrier.
Also interesting, some carriers take a "hard" position that IF your dog had not bitten anyone before, they will defend rather than pay..here in NY there is actually a law on the books that carriers try and use, (mostly I have not heard of much success in the long run though).....they say that since it was not "known" dog was a biter, there is no negligence thus no payment....it gets rather involved.
No carrier will agree that there'd be no liability coverage for certain circumstances you'd want to pay out of pocket...it just is not feasible. You'll just need to look around more to try and get a policy. It may not be easy, but I wish you luck. Sorry you are in this position...best of luck!

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I'm sorry, that stinks. I've heard of companies dropping those who have even one claim filed against their homeowners insurance. I'm not sure why, I'm sure you've paid them at least $3500 over the years so it's not like they're in the red with you.

I hope you find a new company that's more reasonable. We have two bulldogs, they just lay around and snore. Not very dangerous except to our sleep.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

No carrier will agree that there'd be no liability coverage for certain circumstances you'd want to pay out of pocket...it just is not feasible.

That may be true in practice, but the law, as per the website I added the link to state clearly that a dog exclusion for homeowner's insurance is legal and has been upheld in court.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Just a thought, but if you are a AAA member, I'd try through them. Companies that get their business work really hard to get those contracts and have to provide superb service to millions of members or they won't keep them around very long.

I googled around a bit this afternoon when I first saw this ("homeowner's insurance after dog bite), and I saw in some writings that there may be a type of "ryder" you can get in order to insure the dogs over and above your regular homeowner's insurance. It may be pricey, though, but then you know that.

The other thing I thought of when I came across the Dog Law website, is that you might consider hiring a "Dog Attorney" to see if your rights were somehow violated here and what else you can do. Will it be expensive? I expect it would be. But consider the alternative. I would also leave no stone unturned in order to keep my dogs under the circumstances you've described.

http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/insurance.htm

This is Boston's animal law attorney, Stephen Wise http://literati.net/Wise/ You might give them a call, or maybe you can find New York's version of him.

As far as Canine Good Citizen certification, yes, that's a good thing to have. But it would be very difficult to obtain in a month unless the dogs have been very well trained in obedience all along (and even if they have). There are criteria to pass the test that most dogs would have trouble with unless they're very well trained, and classes and certification sessions are not always easy to find. They may require taking training classes with them as well, before they offer a certification exam.

Good luck with this.

 

[DebbieB]

We had a house fire last year and our dogs were home and had smoke inhalation. Our agent (Liberty Mutual) told us they would pay for physical property (dog cages, food, collars, fish tank, etc) but not for any living animal or vet bills. Taking that into consideration I wouldn't think that your insurance paid for the actual dog, so I'm not sure where $3500 came into play unless they were paying for your neighbors doctor bills and his "pain and suffering". I feel your pain about what your neighbor did. I would have thought he would have came to you first.

I work in insurance (commercial). You are talking about 2 different coverages. Property coverage covers your loss. Liability covers your negligence to other people. Animals are not considered property under a property coverage, unless you specifically insure them. In this case, the homeowners paid for the OP's negligence that caused the claimant a loss. The fact that it was a dog doesn't make a difference under liability. My bet is they settled with them for $3,500 to avoid going to court, which would have been more expensive and the OP would have probably lost. I find it odd that the company did not contact the OP for a statement before settling the claim.

 

[golfgal]

What I want to know is why the insurance company decided three years later not to renew your policy? That seems odd.

Because insurance companies change what they will and will not cover all the time. It is most likely a case of them dropping ALL policy owners that have had dog claims in the past, not just the OP. If it was just the OP she most likely would have been dropped sooner, not given several months to find a new policy.

 

[snykymom]

Also interesting, some carriers take a "hard" position that IF your dog had not bitten anyone before, they will defend rather than pay..here in NY there is actually a law on the books that carriers try and use, (mostly I have not heard of much success in the long run though).....they say that since it was not "known" dog was a biter, there is no negligence thus no payment....it gets rather involved.

This also depends on both state law and local ordinances. Some states have a "first bite free" type of statute - no liability unless the dog is a known biter. Some states have absolute liability - it makes no difference if you knew the dog was a biter or not. And even in "first bite free" jurisdictions, there are often exceptions which create absolute liability for certain breeds of dogs - pit bulls come to mind. The local jurisdictions can have ordinances governing dog bites and certain breeds, etc. It does get very involved. Just looking up dog bites & homeowners insurance on the Web isn't going to get anyone very far.

OP, contact NY's Department of Insurance - they should at least be able to tell you where to start looking for other coverage.