Hello,
I am a new member and I've been struggling with the best thing to do and where to go regarding our situation. Speaking with my homeowner's insurance and googling has only gotten me more and more confused. I hope that someone will be able to give me some general guidance. I appreciate it and thank you in advance!
Here's our situation. We are CT residents, first time homeowners (only 2 years). Insured by Providence Mutual. 2 dogs in the home (accepted/non-banned breeds). In early September, my 40lb dog was with us (leashed) on the beach in Maine. He became scared of a woman with a large sunhat and big sunglasses on and he lunged and bit her in the thigh. We provided information, filled our a police report. She was a very kind woman and we feel absolutely horrible. We offered to pay and expenses. She required 3 sutures - a medical bill of $375. The urgent care insisted we go through home owners. We are new and didn't know what else to do, so we agreed. We filed the claim. Insurace paid an additional $7000. That was in December.
I know this part doesn't matter but it makes me feel better: since then we hae done full work up at the vet, to ensure there was no physical reason for the attack. We have worked with a trainer and modified our dog's environment to ensure he feels safe and this does not happen again.
We have recieved notice that we will not be re-newed as of April 2 - due to liability. The CLUE report says dog bite.
I have spoken to our agent and she has not been much help. She says she's looking but the best she could some up with was a Lloyds policy for over 3x what we paid and it does not include the dogs and has slightly less coverage overall.
Dog insurance is absolutely necessary, but I understand most standard carriers will not cover the dogs, so I have been trying to find canine liability coverage.
So, now that you have all the confusing information, here is what I am getting confused trying to figure out:
1: Does anyone have any experience wth canine liability coverage? If so, do you have any advice or recommendations? There aren't many, but we are looking at eihorn (they cover dog bites) and FIDO (not sure if they cover dog bites). I've also ready about Lester Kalmanson Agency and Evolution Insurance (xinsurance).
2: considering we are being non-renewed due to the dog bite. Why would be still be rejected from carriers if we do not include the dogs? I thought maybe if we could provide proof of canine liability insurance, we could be picked up for less than 3x what we are currently paying.
3: Somewhere, on this forum, someone said the key to liability is negligence. I'm not sure how we were negligent since the dog was leashed and we were on a dog-friendly beach. Is there a way I can find out more information? My agent hasn't been very forthcoming.
4. I read we might be eligible for a "non-admitted HO-2" or a an "expensive HO-3". Is a lloyds policy considered an HO-3?
Ultimately, I have to figure this out and will probably go with my agents suggestion of the expensive Lloyd's policy and purchase some kind of canine liability but I feel there has to be another way to go. I'm just struggling because there is so much information, not much time and a HUUUGE learning curve.
Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Thank you in advance
Jen
I am a new member and I've been struggling with the best thing to do and where to go regarding our situation. Speaking with my homeowner's insurance and googling has only gotten me more and more confused. I hope that someone will be able to give me some general guidance. I appreciate it and thank you in advance!
Here's our situation. We are CT residents, first time homeowners (only 2 years). Insured by Providence Mutual. 2 dogs in the home (accepted/non-banned breeds). In early September, my 40lb dog was with us (leashed) on the beach in Maine. He became scared of a woman with a large sunhat and big sunglasses on and he lunged and bit her in the thigh. We provided information, filled our a police report. She was a very kind woman and we feel absolutely horrible. We offered to pay and expenses. She required 3 sutures - a medical bill of $375. The urgent care insisted we go through home owners. We are new and didn't know what else to do, so we agreed. We filed the claim. Insurace paid an additional $7000. That was in December.
I know this part doesn't matter but it makes me feel better: since then we hae done full work up at the vet, to ensure there was no physical reason for the attack. We have worked with a trainer and modified our dog's environment to ensure he feels safe and this does not happen again.
We have recieved notice that we will not be re-newed as of April 2 - due to liability. The CLUE report says dog bite.
I have spoken to our agent and she has not been much help. She says she's looking but the best she could some up with was a Lloyds policy for over 3x what we paid and it does not include the dogs and has slightly less coverage overall.
Dog insurance is absolutely necessary, but I understand most standard carriers will not cover the dogs, so I have been trying to find canine liability coverage.
So, now that you have all the confusing information, here is what I am getting confused trying to figure out:
1: Does anyone have any experience wth canine liability coverage? If so, do you have any advice or recommendations? There aren't many, but we are looking at eihorn (they cover dog bites) and FIDO (not sure if they cover dog bites). I've also ready about Lester Kalmanson Agency and Evolution Insurance (xinsurance).
2: considering we are being non-renewed due to the dog bite. Why would be still be rejected from carriers if we do not include the dogs? I thought maybe if we could provide proof of canine liability insurance, we could be picked up for less than 3x what we are currently paying.
3: Somewhere, on this forum, someone said the key to liability is negligence. I'm not sure how we were negligent since the dog was leashed and we were on a dog-friendly beach. Is there a way I can find out more information? My agent hasn't been very forthcoming.
4. I read we might be eligible for a "non-admitted HO-2" or a an "expensive HO-3". Is a lloyds policy considered an HO-3?
Ultimately, I have to figure this out and will probably go with my agents suggestion of the expensive Lloyd's policy and purchase some kind of canine liability but I feel there has to be another way to go. I'm just struggling because there is so much information, not much time and a HUUUGE learning curve.
Any and all suggestions are welcome.
Thank you in advance
Jen