Homeowners Insurance - DOG BITE - PLEASE HELP

katielee102

New Member
1
Good afternoon,
I am in need of advice, I have been looking around all day to try to figure out what I can do. We currently have State Farm as our home owners insurance. Recently our dog, who is ten years old and has NEVER been anything but a sweet, laid back dog, got upset jumped the fence and got into a fight with another dog whose owner was walking. The owner broke up the fight and got bitten by our dog in the process. She had to go to the hospital because there was broken skin. There were no stiches, etc needed but our homeowners will be paying for the medical bills (shots and followup, lost day of work).

They are not suing us and we are not having any other issues, we have spoken to them and all they want is payment for medical bills. We are keeping careful watch and taking precautions with our dog. We had just moved and believe he was very stressed and trying to adjust.

Come to the present day: we get a letter from State Farm requesting we remove the dog from the property. Honestly, we are not going to do this. The neighbor he bit has been over to see him, as well as animal control and everyone admits it was a freak thing. But...what can do we. should we assume they are going to drop us from their coverage? Can they do this since we already paid for a full year?

Does anyone know of homeowners insurance companies that will cover us after this incident or any ideas or similar stories?

Thank you so much for your help, this is certainly causing a lot of stress!
 
If you don't remove the dog I would assume they will non-renew your policy. I would contact your State Farm agent to verify what options you have if any with them.

I would also begin shopping your policy, be sure to open and up front about the dog bite.

What kind of Dog it is? Many companies have a restricted dogs list and many more will not take a dog with a bite history.

What state are you in? maybe an agent can give you more state specific information about who might be able to help.
 
They will issue you a cancellation/non renew if you do not remove the dog.

There are other carriers who will take you but they wont take more than 2 dogs and certain breeds.

And if its in NY, none of the carriers will accept if the dog is still on premises.
 
It may be time to do some shopping around for a new carrier..

SF knows your not going to get rid of the dog so this is there way of showing you the door since they no longer want to take on the risk..

You can find a carrier who will be willing to take on that policy with the dog included. I wouldn't surpised if the rates are higher then State Farms because now you have a homeowners claim on file and that always raises your rates.

What state are you located in, maybe someone on here can help.
 
No preferred carrier will insure you with a dog that bit someone still in the house. You will have to get a high risk policy which costs more, covers less and probably excludes the dog. I wouldn't get rid if my dog either.
 
Been a homeowner for well over 20 years and not once have I been asked about dogs. What I would do is send dog to family or friend for a month. When insurance company asks if dog is gone answer yes. Once policy is renewed and issue has blown over then "adopt" a dog. Wow this "new" dog looks a lot like my old dog.
 
The answer is different in different states.
Not to many carriers will cover the dog liability wise going forward. Once a biter..... more claims to come mentality.

In some areas, perhaps in yours, you can just exclude the dog for liability reasons. Realize the risk of doing this before you just jump at it, but it may be a possibility.

Dan
 
Don't listen to deadhead. This could cause you to have no coverage for any loss. It's called material misrepresentation. Companies are investigating claims more than ever. I own an agency and am familiar with this scenario.
 
Come to the present day: we get a letter from State Farm requesting we remove the dog from the property. Honestly, we are not going to do this.

The dog hurt someone. We have about a dozen standard carriers, all the usual suspects. Not a single one of them would take you on after this. It is going to show up on your CLUE report for years, and every one is going to ask if the dog is gone. You will be stuck with a non-admitted HO-2, most likely, or a very expensive HO-3.

What I would do is send dog to family or friend for a month. When insurance company asks if dog is gone answer yes. Once policy is renewed and issue has blown over then "adopt" a dog.

I think you probably know this is a terrible idea.
 
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