Study: Dog Bite Claims Up 8.7% in 2008

September 17, 2009

  • September 17, 2009 at 7:28 am
    Tia Colombo says:
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    the numbers I read about the claims for dog bites were stagering. I am not sure why the increase. Maybe it is from the increased popularity in vicious type dogs. Owners of these dogs say how harmless they are even after they have mauled someone. I love dogs but would never want to own a breed of dog that has shown itself to be so unpredictable.

  • September 17, 2009 at 10:35 am
    WK says:
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    I wonder if they have statistics on the breeds that caused all these claims. I would love to see it broken down by breed. You would think they would record that information. Just curious how it would turn out.

  • September 17, 2009 at 12:26 pm
    Gina says:
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    people are quick to assume that larger dog breeds always have the worst bite, but some of those little dogs can be very mean
    http://www.insweb.com/news-features/dog-breed-bans-reduce-bites.htm

  • September 17, 2009 at 12:27 pm
    WK says:
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    That is why I would like to see the statistics. I would like to see how many bites by breed. I think people would be surprised to see it.

  • September 17, 2009 at 12:43 pm
    Rosie says:
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    given it was the Bush years in 2008. I’m sure now that Barry is president, the number will go down in 2009 because the world is a better place :)

  • September 17, 2009 at 1:16 am
    Joey says:
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    Shhhh… let’s see how many people bite on Rosie’s rhetoric, thinking that her (his) posts are real and that she (he) isn’t just instigating arguments on stupid topics.

  • September 17, 2009 at 1:34 am
    Clifford says:
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    So severity is flat. OK, that’s understandable. But frequency is up. Why is that? Any suggestions?

  • September 17, 2009 at 1:38 am
    avg joe says:
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    Could be that claim frequency as a whole has increased.

  • September 17, 2009 at 1:49 am
    LMR says:
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    not the dog. The owners are the problem.

    If you don’t believe me watch Cesar Millan on the National Geographic channel and you will see it for yourself. Dogs are an exact mirror of their owners – for bad or for good. I have seen Cesar make the most vicious pit bulls become sweeter than candy.

  • September 17, 2009 at 1:58 am
    Realist says:
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    And you should be ashamed of the stuff BHO and his gang of thugs, tax cheats and criminals are doing to America.
    Now we just caved in to Russia on missile defense, breaking a promise.
    I guess if you have no morals, that doesn’t matter.

  • September 17, 2009 at 2:18 am
    wudchuck says:
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    here’s the funny thing, many of you probably don’t realize and this is failed in this article to explain, that many insurance companies will not insure your house if you have a certain breed in the house. (SHAME!) because, like an earlier blog, it’s the owner who make them that way. it’s also a shame that when dogs are teased by other folks, they do bite at no fault of their own, yet it sounds like the owner are responsible. this is not funny! it would be like you teasing a monkey at the zoo or lion for that matter! who’s gonna be at-fault? the teaser! some cities have banned certain breeds of dogs as well, which again is a shame because it’s the owner who creates the manners of the dogs or any pets!

  • September 17, 2009 at 2:32 am
    the dog says:
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    The CDC website has the breed statistics. Why have incidents gone up? Folks aren’t watching/teaching their kids how to treat dogs. Not all dogs are big pushovers, and a kid in a house with a pushover dog doesn’t understand that some dogs really get ticked if you pull their tail. Teach the kids, bites will go down.

  • September 17, 2009 at 3:23 am
    sankykid says:
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    I agree that the owner of a dog can influence that dogs behavior. However, the jaw of a Pitbull, Akita, Rottweiler etc. has the potential to cause much more damage than most other breeds.

    Since it is impossible to know how the insured has raised and treated their dog, insurers must manage the risk the best way they know how: exclude breeds that can potentially cause the most damage.

  • September 17, 2009 at 4:05 am
    Realist says:
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    Its uncharted waters for some……..

  • September 18, 2009 at 7:58 am
    LMR says:
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    personality and chances you are not a leader. There are no vicious dogs. There are only weak owners. Dogs are wild animals. If you do not practice calm assertive energy with your dog, he/she will control you because remember, someone has to lead the pack. Puppies – no matter the breed – aren’t born vicious. The problem with the so-called “vicious” breeds is that the
    owner(s) simply do not have a strong personality to match that of the dog and therein lies the problem. Me and my wife actually appeared on one of Cesar Millan’s epdisodes (episode #32) and because of that experience I learned quite a bit about me, my family and my dog and today I have a completely difference dog simply by letting the dog know I am the boss.

    And ps* it is pit bull.

  • September 18, 2009 at 8:24 am
    George says:
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    Swear to you…they are more vicious than any pit bull. Yeah, a pit can rip your face off…but a Chihuahua will TRY to rip your face off much more often. Curse paris hilton for making that dog popular…they scare me more than snakes and spiders.

  • September 18, 2009 at 9:42 am
    Ron says:
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    I am not disagreeing with any of who you state that it is about the owner and how the dog is raised. But based on this arrticle, bog bite frequency is increasing.
    Now, being that this is an insurance blog, I would like to submit this idea. Make animal liability an exclusion under the homeowners form with a buyback option. Rates could be determined by species, breed, etc. You would schedule the animals you would like covered and if your animal causes harm and is not listed, liability coverage is denied. This way those who do not have an animal will not subsidize those who do and do NOT know how to raise and/or handle their animal. Those who believe their animal will never harm anyone could choose not to purchase the buyback and “take their chances”.

  • September 18, 2009 at 11:09 am
    Dog Owner says:
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    I have had many pets in my 42 years. I have had pit bulls, rottweilers, dobermans, white english bulldogs,
    beagles, and mutts. Not one of my dogs
    ever bit anyone. I loved and adored all
    of them. My children were raised to
    respect dogs. I have never been afraid
    of a dog–had healthy respect for some–
    but was not afraid. I was raised with the
    knowledge that I had to show dogs who
    the boss was. I have only been bitten
    once as a child– and I bit the dog back.
    But those little ankle biting, rat looking
    varments called Chihuahuas make me nervous. My best friend has one that has
    a sneak attack stragety for visitors–she
    gets them on their way out. She only tried
    this with me once and I scolded her and
    told her no. I speak to her and she allows
    me to pet her now. I do not like these
    ankle biters.
    My thoughts on the rise of claims is that
    people are broke and can’t afford to pay
    the medical expenses themselves, because
    they have lost their health insurance with
    their jobs. Is it a coincidence that the rise of claims corresponds with the rise
    of jobless?

  • September 18, 2009 at 6:16 am
    wudchuck says:
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    i think what we tend to forget is the original breeding of these dogs. some of them were meant for war, some for hunting big cats and even some to hunt and run down rats! this makes the dog a tougher pet to keep sometimes under control. but in the long run, it should not matter what they have been bred for in the past. we just need to treat these animals with love and respect. they in turn, will do the same. if you have kids, yes, you need to teach them to love the pet. we know that some dogs are just easy with kids and others need a little bit of a hand.

  • September 21, 2009 at 9:10 am
    batman says:
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    could just be that reporting has increased; now that this type of statistic is desired, or is deemed useful, people start keeping records about it. You’ll have to wait for a couple of years to get a meaningful sample in order to interpret the information.

  • September 21, 2009 at 9:18 am
    the other side says:
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    I noticed the title of the subject…do you think anyone would take you seriously if all you can do is name-calling? And the meat of your post is full of what used to be communistic rhetoric…”gang of thugs” and where to you get tax cheats? the tax code has yet to be updated since the election. I know Rosie doesn’t seem to be all that well-informed either but your response is a little on the light side too. too bad you don’t do some real thinking instead of relying on sloganeering so you don’t have to use your own brain. too difficult? take some aspirin and think of what President (republican) Eisenhower said in 1959, that those who rely on other’s opinion as their own cheat themselves and everyone else for no doing their own thinking. We teach our kids in school to do their own work but some folks as the get older prefer to let it up to someone else as long as it sounds good and is full of the same bigotted positions. One thing I do know is that you should be careful of how you treat others, as someone else said, or you will be treated the same…what ever happened to civics classes and civility? The internet and the information age simple allow bigots to share their “logic” with a larger audience. that is where you’ll find the “realist” thugs!

  • September 21, 2009 at 11:57 am
    FurriePrincess says:
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    Ron, not a bad idea. Extra credits for dogs with canine good citizen certificate or other behavior classes and designations, regardless of breed, showing the dog has had training – as well as the owner. I think one of the largest reasons for the increase in the number of bites is the lack of training of the dog owners and the owners total lack of consideration for others. The biting dogs are often those that are “off-leash” in an area where animals are supposed to be on leash or under voice command – the inconsiderate owners don’t care if their dog goes after another dog and it’s human on the end of a leash.

  • September 23, 2009 at 11:42 am
    TX Agentman says:
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    But there would be a potential of fraud. Your guest gets bitten by your pit bull, which you have excluded, but you tell the guest “tell the insurance company it was my labador (which is not excluded) or else the claim won’t get paid” It would be better to either not except the policy or exclude all animals.

  • December 11, 2009 at 12:31 pm
    Cynical says:
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    There is an easy answer…Attorneys



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