Your New Jersey Homeowners Insurance Liability & Dog Bites
In today’s world, it’s more important than ever to save money. If you’re a dog owner, that may mean a check up on your home insurance. Why? More than one-third of homeowners insurance liability claims paid last year were due to dog bites. This means that nearly $479 million in the United States was paid out. When it comes to liability, the cost of claims for dog bites has risen 48% in less than 10 years. The largest writer of homeowners insurance paid $109 million alone for nearly 3,800 dog bite claims last year. Now is as good a time as ever to sit with your agent and talk about what would happen if your dog bit someone.
Due to the growing size of settlements and medical costs, you could end up paying $29,396, which is the average cost nowadays for a claim. Wondering why the price is raising so much? More and more people are becoming dog owners and living closer together, raising the risk for incidents. There is one dog for every four people in the United States (a large number if you think about it). After the incident happens, people are also more likely to get aftercare. Years ago a dog bite wasn’t as big of a deal, but now you will take that trip to the doctor or hospital because you are more aware of the risks.
If you’re a dog owner, make sure you know what would happen to you if your dog were to bite someone. Some laws will protect you from your dog’s first bite, but in other states you will be liable for all damages caused by dogs. The best thing to do is to figure out what you would be liable for and what kind of coverage you have before an incident takes place. Talk with your insurance agent about your NJ home insurance policy. Ask questions and find out how you could get more liability coverage if you’re worried about an incident happening. You can’t predict the future, but you can prepare for it with the help of your insurance coverage.
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