Most dog bite claims are paid through the dog owner's homeowners' or renters' insurance. Understanding how insurance coverage works helps you pursue your claim effectively and ensures you recover the compensation you deserve.

How Homeowners Insurance Covers Dog Bites

Standard homeowners' and renters' insurance policies include liability coverage that pays for injuries the policyholder (or their pets) cause to others. This coverage applies to dog bites that occur on or off the insured property. If the owner's dog bites you at a park, someone else's home, or while being walked, the owner's homeowners insurance typically still provides coverage.

Typical Coverage Limits

Homeowners' liability coverage typically ranges from $100,000 to $300,000. If your damages exceed the policy limit, you may only recover up to that limit unless the owner has additional assets or umbrella insurance.

Umbrella policies provide additional liability coverage beyond the standard homeowners policy—often $1 million or more. In severe injury cases, determining whether umbrella coverage exists is important for assessing your potential recovery.

What Insurance Covers

Liability coverage typically pays for medical expenses including emergency care, surgery, and rehabilitation; lost wages from missed work; pain and suffering damages; scarring and disfigurement compensation; psychological trauma treatment; and legal defense costs for the dog owner.

Filing an Insurance Claim

You can file a claim directly with the dog owner's insurance company. Steps include:

1. Identify the owner's insurance carrier. Ask the owner directly, or an attorney can help identify coverage.

2. File a claim by contacting the insurance company and reporting the incident.

3. Provide documentation: medical records, bills, photos of injuries, and proof of other damages.

4. The insurance company will investigate, potentially taking recorded statements and reviewing medical records.

5. The insurer will make a settlement offer or deny the claim.

Insurance Company Tactics

Be aware that insurers work to minimize payouts. Common tactics include quick, lowball settlement offers before you know the full extent of injuries; requests for recorded statements that can be used against you; delays in processing claims; disputing medical treatment as unnecessary; and arguing you provoked the dog or were partially at fault.

You're not required to accept the first offer or give recorded statements. Consider consulting an attorney before engaging extensively with the insurance company.

When Coverage May Be Denied

Insurance companies may deny dog bite claims for several reasons:

Policy exclusions: Many policies exclude certain "dangerous" breeds entirely.

Prior bite history: If the dog bit someone before and the insurer wasn't informed, they may deny coverage.

Intentional acts: If the owner commanded the dog to attack, coverage may not apply.

Policy lapse: No coverage if the owner failed to pay premiums.

Fraudulent application: If the owner lied about having a dog on their insurance application.

Breed Exclusions and Restrictions

Some insurance policies exclude specific breeds commonly considered dangerous, including Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Akitas, and wolf hybrids. If the dog that bit you is an excluded breed, the owner may have no coverage—though some carriers offer limited coverage or specialized policies for excluded breeds.

If the Owner Has No Insurance

Uninsured dog owners present challenges. You can still sue, but collecting a judgment requires the owner to have personal assets. Some options include your own health insurance for medical bills, your own auto insurance if the bite occurred during a car-related incident, and MedPay coverage under your auto policy. An attorney can help identify potential sources of recovery when the owner lacks coverage.

Dealing with Your Own Insurance

Your own health insurance may cover medical treatment, but the insurer may have subrogation rights—the right to be repaid from any settlement you receive. Understanding how to handle health insurance claims alongside your dog bite case avoids surprises when settling.

Getting Legal Help

An attorney can help navigate insurance issues—identifying all applicable coverage, countering insurer tactics, negotiating fair settlements, and pursuing uninsured owners when necessary. Most personal injury attorneys offer free consultations and work on contingency, taking fees only from successful recoveries.