If Your Dog Bites, Better Be Ready to Pay

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but according to a growing number of insurance companies, they can also be a homeowner’s greatest liability.

Dog attacks are taking a multimillion-dollar bite out of the insurance industry, prompting some agencies to charge higher premiums or simply refuse to write policies for homeowners with what they determine to be aggressive dogs.

Most insurance companies say they judge policies involving dogs on a case-by-case basis, a contention that some dog owners dispute.

“What I’m being told by most people who own pit bulls or Rottweilers is that insurance companies are telling them, ‘If you have those dogs, we’ll drop you,’ ” said Tia Torres, who operates Villa Lobos Rescue Center from her Agua Dulce home.

A survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta concluded that dogs bite more than 4.7 million people, or nearly 2% of the U.S. population, eachyear. About 12 people die from dog attacks annually.

The number of dog bites requiring medical attention rose 37% over an eight-year span ending in 1994, a year when more than 800,000 dog bites nationwide required medical care, according to a CDC study.

Insurance companies are feeling the pain of such bites in the form of millions of dollars they pay to victims--who are frequently among society’s most vulnerable members.

“Dog bite attacks are one of the leading public health risks to children 12 years or younger,” according to Brandon Shamim, a spokesman for State Farm Insurance, which has launched a national campaign to prevent such attacks. “More than 50% of all dog bite attacks are focused on that age group.”

Dog bites cost State Farm $80 million in 1996 for 14,000 claims, roughly a third of the company’s bodily injury and medical payments, Shamim said. Nationwide, insurers paid an estimated $250 million in 1997 in medical and liability costs from dog-bite-related injuries.

Pit bulls, Rottweilers, shepherds, huskies, malamutes and Dobermans led the list of dogs most frequently involved in fatal attacks, according to a CDC study, followed by chows, Great Danes, Saint Bernards and Akitas.

Though pinschers and shepherds were once the canines of choice for those seeking aggressive dogs, they have since been surpassed in popularity by pit bulls and Rottweilers, according to Ric Hill, vice president of corporate relations for Woodland Hills-based 20th Century Insurance.

“In some cases it’s not uncommon to find households that have two or three pit bulls or Rottweilers,” Hill added.

In one case--in which a child’s face was severely damaged by a pit bull--Hill said his company paid out “hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

Animal shelter owner Torres blames society’s criminal element for attacks involving pit bulls and Rottweilers.

“It’s the gang members, druggies and thugs,” she said. “It’s their pets that are going out and attacking everybody, yet it’s we as responsible homeowners who are suffering.”

Torres, who cares for from 20 to 40 pit bulls at any given time, said she and other pet owners pay the price in the form of higher insurance premiums or by having to go without insurance altogether. Torres pays about $300 a year for a special policy to cover her dogs.

“I don’t want to say that insurance companies are picking on pit bulls because I understand their concern because of all the pit bull attacks,” Torres said. “But I wish they would look at it on a case-by-case basis.”

The issue of breed, according to Shamim, has become a major sticking point with homeowners as it relates to their insurance policies.

“The breed issue is in many ways irrelevant,” said State Farm’s Shamim, who said his company does not discriminate based on breed. “One thing we’ve found from our research is that it’s the socialization and behavior of the dog [that determines] whether it will bite or not.

“We’ve had instances [when] Cocker spaniels have bitten people,” Shamim said.

20th Century’s Hill added that his company tries to refrain from passing judgment based solely on a dog’s breed.

“We try not to make that type of judgment unless we have advance notice,” Hill said. “If we go to inspect a property and the inspector is attacked by a dog, which has happened, that tells us something.”

In such cases, or if a dog bites someone after a policy has been written, Hill said 20th Century will either charge the policy holder more or ask them to exclude the dog from liability coverage.

New Jersey-based Prudential Property & Casualty Insurance Co. will insure a homeowner with a dog unless the animal has bitten before, been attack-trained or is a wild breed not intended for domestication.

“We do . . . ask what kind of dog,” spokeswoman Laurita Warner said. “If they have a breed known to have aggressive tendencies, we will ask more questions.”

Unlike 20th Century, Warner said, Prudential does not charge more if they believe a dog poses a substantial risk.

“We either grant the policy or we don’t,” she said.

Insurers like Hill and Warner emphasize that trying to establish the level of risk a policy is assuming because of a problematic dog is no different from sizing up a home with poor electrical wiring or one with an unfenced pool.

“It takes underwriting judgment,” Hill said. “We don’t have one size fits all.”

The problem in Southern California, according to some animal workers, is being fueled by more people choosing dogs for security purposes and the spread of illegal dog fighting throughout the region, which has led to a proliferation of vicious dogs ready to attack.

Sample surveys of dogs at Los Angeles city shelters indicate that 40% to 45% are pit bull or pit-bull mixes and 20% stem from Rottweiler or chow breeds. “We believe the population of dogs that go through the city shelters is reflective of dogs in the city,” said Gini Barrett, director of the American Humane Assn.’s Western regional office in Encino. “I’m not aware of another city in the United States that is as addicted to big aggressive dogs.”

Phyllis Daugherty, co-director of Los Angeles-based Animal Issues Movement, contends that irresponsible breeders are to blame.

“For a pit bull or Rottweiler to attack a human 15 years ago was almost never heard of,” said Daugherty, who believes breeders should be required to get state licenses. “But what has happened over the years is the inbreeding and deliberate creation of bad-natured dogs.”

Added Barrett: “It’s not so much what breed you have but whether it has been neutered, obedience trained and has adequate confinement. . . . Those are the risk factors that homeowners need to be looking at.”

For those who choose not to take precautions, the consequences can be devastating. Consider the case of Christopher Wilson, which some observers believe served as a wake-up call to the insurance industry to the dog-bite problem.

The 11-year-old was waiting at a school bus stop last year when he was fatally attacked by three Rottweilers in front of his little brother and 17 classmates. In addition to repeatedly biting Christopher, the dogs crushed his spinal cord and severed a carotid artery and jugular vein.

“He had absolutely no blood” when a deputy got to him, Sheriff Bill Deppish said following the attack.

Authorities shot and killed all three dogs, which neighbors said had terrorized the rural subdivision of Milford, Kan., for years.

These days Christopher’s parents, Brian and Violet Wilson, derive little satisfaction from the fact that the dogs’ owner, Sabine Davidson, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, Geary County Atty. Chris Biggs said.

“There’s just no way you can compensate them for the loss they’ve suffered,” Biggs said of the Wilsons. “This has had a devastating effect on their family and the whole community.”

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Tips for Keeping Safe

Children are the most frequent victims of dog bites, but there are a number of precautions parents can take to keep their kids from becoming victims:

* Never leave a baby or small child alone with a dog.

* Start teaching young children--including toddlers--to be careful around pets and not to run past dogs.

* Children should be taught not to approach strange dogs and to ask permission from a dog’s owner before petting a dog.

Kids and parents can benefit from two more tips:

* If you’re threatened by a dog, remain calm. Don’t scream. If you say anything, speak calmly and firmly and avoid making eye contact with the animal. Try to stay still until the dog leaves or back away slowly until the dog is out of sight. Do not turn and run.

* If you fall or are knocked to the ground, curl into a ball with your hands over your head and neck. Protect your face.

Help Your Dog Behave Well

There are also a number of precautions homeowners can take to reduce the chance of a pet biting someone:

* Socialize your dog so it feels at ease around people and other animals.

* Don’t put your dog in situations where it may feel threatened or teased.

* Obey leash laws. Don’t let your dog roam free.

* Neuter your pet. Neutered dogs are less likely to bite.

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Source: State Farm Insurance.

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For more information, visit State Farm’s Web site at: https://www.statefarm.com or send a postcard to Dog Bite Prevention Kit, Public Affairs, State Farm Insurance, One State Farm Plaza, Bloomington, IL 61710.