Cost of claims rises 8.7% to $412m, numbers up 4.8%

Dog bites account for more than one-third of all US homeowners insurance liability claims, costing $412m in 2009, up 8.7% from 2008, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III).

The average cost of dog bite claims was $24,840 in 2009, up slightly from $24,461 in 2008. Since 2003 the cost of these claims has risen nearly 30%. The number of claims has increased 4.8% to 16,586 in 2009 from 15,823 in 2008.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 4.7 million people are bitten by dogs annually, resulting in an estimated 800,000 injuries that require medical attention. More than half the bites happen on the dog owner’s property.

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