Most insurance agents and companies routinely ask in their application forms whether a potential client owns a dog and can deny coverage if the risk is considered too high, and many companies send out periodic renewal questionnaires asking consumers to list their risks and exposures. Mary Dunkel, an independent agent in State College, Pa., points out that personal responsibility is the key to avoid being bitten by a lawsuit or your insurance company. She says that dog owners too often ignore the risks their pets can pose to others. I urge people who want pets that there are many good training programs that help people gain control of their dog. The client must exercise some judgment.
Bad owners can be much more dangerous than bad dogs.
Dunkel remembers a client whose dog became a neighborhood scourge, biting four or five different times. The woman s insurance company bent over backward to accommodate her through the first few claims, but cancelled her after the last incident when she failed to take precautions to prevent her dog from attacking again. She now has no insurance. Going without insurance is what some agents fear consumers will do if they feel they are at risk. Without insurance, victims and their lawyers will go after your personal assets.