This is the question that we get when little scruffy bites someone. You could be sued or they may simply file a liability claim under your home insurance. Either way, you are responsible if your dog bites someone. Your home insurance will pay for these medical damages that are caused. Your home insurance could also be sued for additional costs outside of the medical damages.
Home Insurance will Defend you from Lawsuit
Dog bite claims can get very, very expensive. Specifically if the bite results in a scar. If there is a more severe injury or a scar, you will likely be sued. Your insurance company will either defend the claim with their in house lawyers or they hire a law firm to defend the insurance company and your interest. The defense costs of hiring an attorney are covered under your home insurance liability.
Home Insurance Liability
We strongly recommend that you carry a minimum of $500,000 of home insurance liability, whether you have a dog or not. Liability insurance is to protect you from lawsuit. Carrying the maximum amount of liability insurance is inexpensive compared to the rest of the policy. This is the type of loss that you can’t afford to have, so you want to have as much coverage as possible.
Umbrella Liability Insurance
We also recommend carrying an umbrella liability policy. The umbrella liability policy is additional liability insurance above and beyond your car insurance and home insurance. It’s primary purpose is to protect you from lawsuit. We cover this more in depth in our Ameriguard Insurance Blog post https://www.ameriguardinsurance.com/umbrella-liability-insurance/.
What happens to your home insurance if you have a large liability claim such as this? There is a good chance that your home insurance may be canceled. This is one of those claims that insurance companies are not lenient on. If the insurance company does keep your home insurance, you will likely have to get rid of the dog. You can also expect a large surcharge on your home insurance. This means your rates will go up.
Can I Find Home Insurance After a Dog Claim?
You can still get home insurance, but most likely not on the standard insurance market. You will likely have to go to the non-standard insurance market to place your home insurance. The non standard home insurance market provides a home insurance option for households that may have a loss or to many insurance losses, or have unacceptable maintenance condition for the standard market.
For more information on your Minnesota Home Insurance policy or for a free quote on your home insurance policy, contact us directly at (763)767-0522 or fill in our short contact form.