{"id":28107,"date":"2022-09-15T10:57:58","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T10:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/?p=28107"},"modified":"2022-09-15T10:58:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-15T10:58:00","slug":"dog-bite-at-the-dog-park-what-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/dog-bite-at-the-dog-park-what-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Dog Bite at the Dog Park, what to do"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- SEO Ultimate Plus (https:\/\/seoultimateplus.com) - Code Inserter module -->\n<script async>(function(s,u,m,o,j,v){j=u.createElement(m);v=u.getElementsByTagName(m)[0];j.async=1;j.src=o;j.dataset.sumoSiteId='b68b392479b5981b8acf46565e9fe32a0734fc21a1f7c1e60121eaa6ca1a1c64';v.parentNode.insertBefore(j,v)})(window,document,'script','\/\/load.sumo.com\/');<\/script>\n<!-- \/SEO Ultimate Plus -->\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It happens in the blink of an eye. Your normally docile and sweet dog has bitten someone at the dog park, and now that you\u2019ve gotten your pup settled down, you are panicking about how much this is going to cost you. Well, if you\u2019re a homeowner, there\u2019s no need to panic immediately because <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mjqlaw.com\/san-francisco-dog-bite-lawyer\/dog-parks\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">homeowner\u2019s insurance can help after a dog bite in a dog park<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Even if your dog was provoked into biting someone, you could be covered for the expenses resulting from the injury.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Liability Coverage for Dog Bites<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You may already know that, in many cases, homeowner\u2019s insurance covers dog bites on your property. Still, you might be surprised to learn that your policy might also cover dog bites off your property, such as at a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/advisor\/pet-insurance\/best-cities-for-dogs\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dog park<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The personal liability portion of your homeowner\u2019s policy covers medical expenses for the injured person in the dog bite incident. It will also cover any legal expenses you incur from the dog bite.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This coverage is always capped at a specific amount, which is specified at the time you take out your policy. The more coverage you have, the higher your premium will be, but most insurance companies in the US offer between $100,000 and $500,000 in personal liability insurance. Dog bites can be expensive, especially if they are severe or get infected, so make sure your policy includes enough liability coverage for the worst-case scenario.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Exclusions<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As with any insurance policy, there are some exclusions to dog bite coverage on a homeowner\u2019s insurance policy. Specific dog breeds considered to have a higher risk of biting people or other animals are often excluded from standard homeowner\u2019s insurance policies. These breeds include pit bulls, chow chows, rottweilers, Dobermans, and others. Make sure you check your policy if you have one of these breeds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can usually still get coverage for many of these breeds, but you must take out an extra rider on your policy. In other words, you must pay more to get a dangerous dog breed covered, even if you are confident your dog won\u2019t bite anyone. Insurance companies have had to pay for dog bite injuries from these breeds too often for them to take chances.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some insurance companies will examine your dog\u2019s history before issuing a policy or providing coverage rates. Additionally, if you\u2019ve been a customer of a specific insurance company for a long time, they may be more flexible with dangerous breed coverage. You might even be able to obtain coverage for your dog by submitting a certificate of training that shows you have taken steps to prevent dog bites from happening.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Bite History<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your insurance company will also consider your dog\u2019s bite history before determining if they will extend coverage for you under your homeowner\u2019s policy. If your dog has previously bitten another person or animal, your insurance company may deny coverage for dog bites for that dog. This is because your dog is now deemed \u201chigh risk\u201d, and insurance companies don\u2019t like risks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some states have a \u201cone bite rule,\u201d which means that if your dog bites someone one time, you may not be held liable for injuries related to the bite. But, you are \u201cput on notice\u201d that your dog has a propensity for biting, and if it bites someone else, you will be held responsible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, you might be able to take out a special rider on your high risk dog or pay a higher premium for a policy that does cover a subsequent bite from your dog. If you\u2019re in this situation, check with your insurance company to see what options are available to you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Strict Liability<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other states are considered \u201cstrict liability\u201d states, and your dog\u2019s past biting history is not considered. In these states, even if you take all the precautions you can to keep your dog from biting someone, you will still be liable for expenses if your dog bites someone.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The only caveat to this law is that the dog bite has to occur in a public space or where the victim has a lawful right to be (i.e., a guest in your home). If the victim trespasses on your property or if your dog is on private property and the victim taunts your dog, you may be able to successfully avoid liability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No one wants to think that their dog is capable of biting someone, but when you take your pet to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/rudest-things-you-can-do-dog-park_l_62913388e4b0cda85dbea549\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dog park<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, anything can happen. If your dog gets scared, is provoked, or is just out of its comfort zone, it might act in a way you don\u2019t expect. Be sure your homeowner\u2019s insurance policy is up-to-date with dog bite coverage to protect yourself in case you find yourself in this situation.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><\/span><\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #999999;\">Ref: 3009.26489<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It happens in the blink of an eye. Your normally docile and sweet dog has bitten someone at the dog park, and now that you\u2019ve gotten your pup settled down, you are panicking about how much this is going to<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/dog-bite-at-the-dog-park-what-to-do\/\">Read more &#8250;<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":45,"featured_media":28108,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wl_entities_gutenberg":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"wl_entity_type":[602],"modified_by":"Editor","_wl_alt_label":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/dog-6960835_1920.jpg","wl:entity_url":"http:\/\/data.wordlift.io\/wl0502\/post\/dog-bite-at-the-dog-park-what-to-do-28107","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28107"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/45"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28107"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28107\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28109,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28107\/revisions\/28109"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28107"},{"taxonomy":"wl_entity_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thehouseshop.com\/property-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wl_entity_type?post=28107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}