What to watch out for when buying insurance

There are many things to consider when purchasing an insurance policy. You must consider how much the insurance company will pay out if various things happen, and then must balance the cost of the insurance against the size and possibility of your losses. For comprehensive general information, see Insure.Com - The Insurance Website.

A dog owner also must consider, however, whether dog-related injuries are included or excluded from the policy, and whether the policy will pay enough money to compensate a victim.

Some insurance companies provide personal liability coverage but will:

• Exclude dog bites
• Exclude certain types of dogs
• Limit the number of times the policy will pay for the losses of a dog bite victim
• Limit the amount of money that the company will pay. 
• Limit the household residents or other people that are covered

Discuss these issues with your insurance agent and make sure that you and the people you are responsible for will have sufficient coverage if your dog bites or injures someone. The amount of coverage that you purchase should be determined by considering two factors:

• The amount that will actually protect you and your assets if your dog bites a person. A limit of $300,000.00 or more is recommended for all large dogs, all dogs on the CDC list of biting dogs, and all dogs on the CDC survey of breeds that have killed a person (there are 25 breeds on the list). See Dog Bite Statistics to read more about these lists. If your dog does not fall into the above category, then you might consider purchasing a lower amount of insurance, but not less than $100,000.00 because lower limits will not be sufficient to provide for the losses of a child who is bitten in the face.
• The amount that might be required by law. Under certain circumstances, you might be required to purchase insurance in order to keep your dog, such as when your dog is declared dangerous or vicious. Similarly, there are cities and states that require proof of insurance as a condition of keeping all dogs or certain breeds of dog. Find out what the minimum is and then purchase at least that amount.