If you’ve been bitten by a dog in California, you may be wondering what kind of insurance will cover your costs.
The costs associated with dog bites will often be covered by a homeowners insurance policy or renters insurance policy.
The thing is, the compensation given to you by insurance might not always result in the compensation you deserve. The insurance company doesn’t want to pay you what you deserve, and if you can’t sue them and win over a low ball over, they simply won’t.
If you or a loved one has suffered a dog bite injury, call us today for a free consultation. Once the insurance company knows you’re represented by our experienced dog bite lawyers, they’ll know you can sue them and win over a low ball offer and be much more willing to offer you the compensation you’re entitled to.
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Dog Bites?
In the State of California, dog bites which happen off of your property are typically covered by homeowners insurance when they are the result of negligence. Specific details regarding coverage will vary based upon what policy you have, though. The majority of homeowners insurance policies will typically provide coverage regarding dog bite incidents which happen off-property since they can constitute a liability risk regarding your home.
You may be wondering, “does pet insurance cover dog bites?” Animal liability insurance usually provides personal liability coverage regarding dog bites. Pet insurance offers financial protection when your dog damages property or injures someone. It’s vital to review your dog liability insurance policy details for exclusions and specific coverage terms, though. Some pet liability insurance policies, though, only pay regarding injuries that a specific dog breed causes. These animal liability coverage policies might limit payments to particular amounts which don’t cover the entirety of your expenses. Animal liability insurance does not fill the role of pet health insurance.
Homeowners insurance may provide medical payments coverage which covers medical costs when guests are bitten by your dog on your policy.
Insurance companies typically only cover a dog’s first bite. This is due to many homeowners policies containing language excluding subsequent claims by dog owners. Some insurance companies won’t cover specific dog breeds like Rottweilers or pit bulls.
Certain homeowners insurance policies will reduce dog attack coverage when the attacks happen away from home. As an example, injuries which are connected with vehicles are excluded by some policies. If a dog owner were to walk a dog at a park and a bite happens, the injuries would be covered. Yet, when dogs bite others through car windows, these dog bite claims would not be covered by these policies.
If you are bitten by a dog and its owner has no dog insurance for bites, they are still typically responsible for paying for your medical expenses and other damages.
Does Renters Insurance Cover Dog Bites?
Renters insurance might cover damage by pets as a part of the liability coverage of your policy. This might assist in protecting your finances when a pet of yours injures someone or damages property. Renters insurance will not cover it when your dog damages your own property, though. Your landlord’s repairs may end up coming out of the security deposit you made.
If you have a pet like a dog in your rental home, renters insurance might assist in protecting you from liability that you assume as the dog’s owner. Most renters insurance includes coverage for pets under liability coverage. Personal liability coverage usually gets divided into bodily injury liability and property damage liability.
Bodily injury liability might protect you when you’re liable for any injuries that your dogs cause.
Property damage liability may pay out when your pet ends up damaging somebody else’s property. As an example, this coverage might cover you when your dog digs up your neighbor’s garden.
Renters insurance usually covers dog bites under bodily injury coverage. Different policies have different rules, though, including dog breed restrictions. Some policies will exclude certain breeds, like pit bulls. Dogs who have a history of biting people may also be excluded.
Renters insurance won’t cover dog bites which happen to those who reside in your home, but will cover houseguests.
Not all renters insurance policies will cover dog bites which happen off of your property, like during walks.
Your landlord may be held liable for a dog bite if they were negligent and knew a dangerous dog was on the premises.
Insurance Restrictions
There are possible restrictions that both homeowners insurance and rental insurance might have regarding dog bites.
For example, it is common for homeowners insurance to not cover bites for restricted breeds. These breeds may include:
- Pit bulls
- Huskies
- Wolf hybrids
- Rottweilers
- Doberman Pinschers
- Akitas
- Mastiffs
- Alaskan Malamutes
- Chow Chows
- German Shepherds
It is common for these breeds not to be covered since they typically lead to the most dog bite claims.
If a dog has already bitten someone, subsequent bites might not be covered by homeowners or renters insurance. Dog bites involving vehicles might not be covered by homeowners or renters insurance.
Policies may not cover dog bites when those residing in the same home as the dog are bitten. Renters insurance policies may not cover bites which happen off property.
Other Types of Insurance That Might Cover a Dog Bite
Car insurance might cover dog bite claims when:
- Dogs bite someone inside the car of the owner
- Someone in a pickup truck’s back gets bitten
- A bite happens when the head of the dog is out of the window of a slowly moving or parked car
In cases like these, you might contact your homeowners insurer. It will probably argue that your losses should be covered by your car insurance, though. An argument like this might delay payment. However, a dog bite attorney can help to resolve disputes and make sure your financial needs get covered.
Pet insurance which usually covers health-related or medical costs for pets might cover a dog bite if it’s not covered by auto, renters or homeowners insurance. Most of these policies typically only apply when dogs get injured or sick. Some will cover costs when insured pets bite someone, though. They will typically only cover a dog’s first bite, though.
Umbrella insurance policies are another type of policy which may cover dog bites.
What If My Insurance Doesn’t Cover All My Costs?
If your insurance won’t cover all of your costs, a lawyer can help.
We will guide you through the legal process and help you get the compensation you deserve.
Studies show that injury victims who hire attorneys recover a lot more money for their injuries than injury victims who don’t hire law firms, even after attorney fees are taken into consideration. This is because insurance companies know that when they offer injury victims like dog bite victims low ball offers, the victims’ only way to force them to offer more money is to sue them and win over the low ball offer. Insurance companies know that dog bite victims can’t win a lawsuit without a lawyer of their own, so if you don’t have a lawyer, the insurance company is simply not going to offer you what you deserve because they know they don’t have to.
Hiring an experienced dog bite law firm sends a message to the insurance company that you mean business. You can sue them and win if they don’t offer you what you deserve. We have been representing dog bite victims since 1990 and have recovered over $750 million for our clients. Insurance companies know that when we take dog bite lawsuits to court, we win. This is why almost all of our dog bite cases settle out of court.
If you’re struggling to get all of your dog bite related costs covered by insurance, hiring a lawyer is the best way to make it happen.
What Damages Can You Recover
If you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog, our lawyers can help you recover financial compensation for:
Medical Bills
You’re probably already facing dog bite-related medical bills. If your dog bite injuries were particularly severe, you might also need future treatment which will generate additional medical expenses. We can help you recover financial compensation for all past and future medical bills related to your dog bite injuries.
Lost Wages
Your dog bite may have injured you so badly that you were unable to work for a period of time. You might have also had to miss work to get your dog bite injuries treated. We can help you recover financial compensation for any wages you were unable to earn due to being bitten by a dog.
Loss of Earning Capacity
You may have been left disabled by a dog bite attack, and this disability may represent a loss or reduction of your earning capacity which we can help you recover financial compensation for.
Pain and Suffering
Dog bites can cause tremendous physical pain. They can also cause mental suffering, such as post traumatic stress disorder. Our experienced dog bite attorneys have been helping dog bite victims accurately calculate the value of their pain and suffering and recover full, fair compensation for it since 1990.
Wrongful Death
Unfortunately, some dog bite attacks are fatal. If you have lost a loved one to a dog bite attack, we can help you recover financial compensation which will make sure your family doesn’t need to undergo financial hardship due to the loss of your loved one. We can help you recover financial compensation for dog bite-related damages such as burial bills, funeral bills, your grieving and suffering, and the loss of your loved one’s income, love, companionship and household services.
Will Insurance Cover the Cost of a Dog Bite Lawyer?
Insurance will not cover the cost of a dog bite lawyer.
However, if you have been bitten by a dog, you don’t need to worry about the cost of a lawyer. This is because our firm represents dog bite victims on a contingency fee basis. This means that if you have been bitten by a dog, we will represent you without charging you any fee until and unless we recover compensation for you. Our only fee to handle your dog bite case will be a percentage of any compensation we recover for you. We won’t charge you any upfront or out-of-pocket fees to handle your dog bite case.
Connect With a California Dog Bite Lawyer Now
Call us today, fill out this page’s free case evaluation form or text us from this page if you or a loved one has been bitten by a dog. We can help you recover compensation for medical bills, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, wrongful death and more after a dog bite.
If you can’t afford treatment for your dog bite injuries, we can get you to doctors who will treat you on a lien. What this means is that the doctor won’t charge a fee to treat your dog bite injuries until your case is over. Doctors do this for our dog bite clients because they know we get great results for our clients.
We’ve recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for clients and have been representing those bitten by dogs for over three decades. We have the expertise and experience to recover the most compensation possible for you. Best of all, we won’t charge a fee until and unless we recover money for you, so there’s no risk behind calling us today for a free case evaluation.
Call us today.
