They may be known as ‘man’s best friend’ but dogs are not insurer’s best friends. Dog bites resulted in a third of all claims on homeowner insurance policies in 2015. That’s according to data from the Insurance Information Institute and insurer State Farm which revealed that an average claim due to dog bite or other canine-related injuries cost $37,000.
The total cost of claims in the US last year reached $570 million and although the cost per claim was up 16 per cent, the number of claims was down 7.6 per cent to 15,352 during 2015. California, Illinois and New York had the highest numbers of claims.