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Member, Beacon International Group, Ltd.
With the number of dog bite claims and their costs increasing, lists of the most-dangerous canines are finding their way into media stories.
A Forbes column, for example, recently warned that insurance companies tend resist covering 11 types of dogs, including any mix of the 11.
This month, the Insurance Information Institute reported that dog bites accounted for more than one-third of homeowner insurance liability claims payouts in 2011.
The total cost reached nearly $479 million with the number of claims increasing 3.3% from 15,770 in 2010 to 16,292 in 2011.
Meanwhile, the average cost of a dog bite claim jumped to $29,396 in 2011, up 12.3% from $26,166 in 2010.
From 2003 to 2011, the average dog bite claim cost increased by 53.4%,” the III reported. Medical cost expenses and an increase in settlements and judgments are to blame for the rising costs.
So what are the riskiest pooches? According to Forbes, they are:
• Pit bulls and Staffordshire terriers
• Doberman pinschers
• Rottweilers
• German shepherds
• Chows
• Great Danes
• Presa Canarios
• Akitas
• Alaskan malamutes
• Siberian huskies
• Wolf hybrids
But State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. says that a dog's tendency to bite depends on factors such as heredity, obedience training, socialization, health, and the victim's behavior.
“There are good dogs and bad dogs within every breed, just as there can be responsible and irresponsible owners of each breed,” State Farm reports.
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