Dog Bites Accounted For More Than One-Third Of All Homeowners Liability Payouts Last Year As Cost Per Claim Soars To More Than $37,000 Per Bite

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- Dog bites (and other dog-related injuries) accounted for more than one-third of all homeowners insurance liability claim dollars paid out in 2015, costing in excess of $570 million, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) and State Farm®, the largest writer of homeowners insurance in the United States.

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An analysis of homeowners insurance data by the I.I.I. found that while the number of dog bite claims nationwide decreased 7.2 percent in 2015, the average cost per claim for the year was up 16 percent. The average cost paid out for dog bite claims nationwide was $37,214 in 2015, compared with $32,072 in 2014 and $27,862 in 2013.

"The average cost per claim nationally has risen more than 94 percent from 2003 to 2015, due to increased medical costs as well as the size of settlements, judgments and jury awards given to plaintiffs, which are still on the upswing," said Loretta Worters, a vice president with the I.I.I.

ESTIMATED NUMBER AND COST OF DOG BITE CLAIMS

(AND OTHER DOG-RELATED INJURIES), 2003-2015

Year Value Of Claims Number Of Claims Average Cost Per Claim

Keywords for this news article include: Homeowners, Real Estate, Insurance Information Institute.

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