What Happens to Your Renters Policy After a Dog Bite Claim

Your dog nips a neighbor in the apartment courtyard, and the neighbor needs stitches. You call your insurer, the claim gets paid, and the matter feels closed.

The payment covers the neighbor’s bills, but the claim stays with you. A renters insurance dog bite claim can change what you pay for coverage and whether your current insurer, or the next one, will cover your dog at all.

What Your Renters Policy Pays After a Dog Bite

The first question is how much of the courtyard claim your policy pays. According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), renters insurance dog bite coverage typically extends up to the policy’s liability limit. If the neighbor’s medical bills and any settlement cost more than that limit, you owe the difference yourself.

III puts typical liability limits at $100,000 to $300,000. Dog Bite Quote puts the average cost to close a claim at $80,000. Some claims cost more. Check your policy’s liability limit so you know how much of a claim you could owe yourself.

The limit only helps if the policy covers your dog in the first place. Some renters policies exclude certain breeds or dogs that have bitten someone before. Read the animal liability terms in your policy so you know whether your dog qualifies.

The Claim Stays on Your Insurance Record

Once the insurer opens the claim, it becomes part of your insurance history. When an insurer starts, denies, or pays a claim, it submits a report to the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE), a claims database run by LexisNexis. The report generally holds up to seven years of auto and property claims history, including the type of loss and the amount the company paid. Because insurers report denied claims as well as paid ones, a bite claim can appear on your record even if your policy didn’t cover it.

An insurer may request your CLUE report when you apply for coverage or ask for a quote. The company uses your claims history to decide whether to offer you a policy and how much you’ll pay. Insurers rely on that history because their studies show a relationship between past claims and future claims. A claim on your report can therefore raise your price or lead an insurer to turn down your application.

Moving to a new apartment can trigger that review. When you move, you may buy a renters policy from a different insurer. The new insurer can pull your CLUE report, see the courtyard claim for up to seven years, and weigh it in your application.

You can check what your report shows before an insurer does. You can request one free CLUE report from LexisNexis every 12 months. If you find an error, you have the right to dispute it, and LexisNexis must investigate at no charge. You can also attach an explanation to an item, and it will appear on future reports. A short note about the circumstances of the courtyard bite gives the next insurer context.

What Changes at Renewal and Your Next Lease

Your current insurer can act on the claim before you ever shop for a new policy. After a bite, III says an insurer may raise your premium, non-renew your policy, or exclude your dog from coverage. A higher premium raises the cost of keeping your current coverage. A non-renewal sends you shopping for a new policy, where the next insurer sees the claim on your CLUE report. An exclusion means the policy no longer pays for injuries your dog causes.

An exclusion also creates a problem at your next lease. Some landlords require tenants to carry canine liability coverage before renting to them. A renters policy that excludes your dog can’t meet that requirement, so you need coverage from another source.

A standalone canine liability policy gives you dog coverage that doesn’t depend on your renters policy. Dog Bite Quote offers one. It covers all breeds, including breeds some renters policies exclude.

A past bite doesn’t automatically disqualify your dog, either. Dog Bite Quote’s quote system reviews each dog’s bite history individually and asks follow-up questions about past incidents. For a dog with a bite on its record, the review considers what happened that day.

Location makes a difference, too. Not every renters policy covers a bite that happens off your property, such as at a park or a friend’s home. Dog Bite Quote’s policy covers incidents away from home, so a bite on a neighborhood walk falls under the same coverage.

Your landlord can benefit as well. Dog Bite Quote can add your landlord as an additional insured. The endorsement covers you and your landlord for the injured person’s medical expenses, plus defense and settlement costs. For a landlord who requires canine liability coverage, the endorsement extends that protection to the landlord as well as you.

Plan Coverage for the Dog You Have Today

A paid claim settles the neighbor’s bills, but it stays on your record long after the stitches heal. Before your renewal or your next move, request your CLUE report and confirm your renters insurance dog bite coverage still applies to your dog. If it doesn’t, get a free quote for canine liability coverage based on the dog you have today.

About the Author

Debbie Turner is the president of Florida-based Dean Insurance Agency, where she has spent more than three decades specializing in canine liability insurance. Driven by a deep passion for dogs and a strong understanding of their behavior, she developed the Canine Liability Insurance Policy (formerly known as F.I.D.O.) to help protect dog owners from unexpected risks. Since founding the agency in 1994, Debbie has helped issue thousands of policies nationwide, offering coverage for all breeds and supporting responsible pet ownership. Dean Insurance is rated A+ by the Better Business Bureau and serves clients across the U.S., except Alaska and Kentucky.

About Dog Bite Quote

At Dean Insurance Agency, we’ve been providing protection to dog owners since 2012, with more than 10,000 policies issued. Our underwriting criteria and years of experience providing this coverage enable us to offer competitive and fair policy premiums. Our policies are available in every state except Alaska and Kentucky. The quote is free, and there is NO obligation to purchase!