Dangerous Dogs
You may have heard the saying, “there are no bad dogs, only bad owners.” Whether that is true or not is up for debate, but the insurance industry clearly thinks certain breeds are inherently bad.
In fact, certain breeds are blacklisted by insurers. How does that affect someone who is attacked and injured? The answer is any number of ways. Owners of breeds deemed dangerous by insurers may face a number of restrictions on their homeowners policy. They may be required to sign a liability waiver and take out a dangerous-animal rider or even face outright denial of coverage- especially if the homeowner never reported ownership of the dog to the insurer.
Dog bite victims can get bitten twice, once by the dog and once by the insurance industry. Washington law holds a dog owner liable for their dog’s actions even if the dog has never bitten anyone or acted aggressively before. This “strict liability” standard helps protect those bitten by dogs recover for their injuries, yet, as you can see the insurance industry is clearly working hard to limit or deny recovery to dog bite victims by restricting coverage on breeds they deem “dangerous”.
Sources:
https://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=16.08.040
