Millions of people are bitten by dogs each year, which results in a lot of costly homeowners insurance claims. According to the Insurance Information Institute, in 2013 insurers across the country paid over $483 million in dog bite claims.
Aside from emotional trauma, dog bites can cause severe physical injury. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, 26,935 reconstructive procedures were performed in 2013 to repair injuries caused by dog bites.
One of the most concerning stats related to dog bites is how often children are the victims of dog bites. According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control, dog bites were the 11th leading cause of nonfatal injury to children ages 1-4, ninth for ages 5-9 and 10th for ages 10-14 from 2003-2012. The Washington, D.C.-based American Humane Association reports that 66% of bites among children occur to the head and neck.
Recommended For You
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free PropertyCasualty360 Digital Reader
Your access to unlimited PropertyCasualty360 content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to asset-and-logo-licensing@alm.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
