Florida Insurance Network

Writing a regular newspaper column is easy. Making it consistently worth reading is not. So, we’ll pass on snarky cheap shots at Sue Carlton’s column in last Saturday’s (Aug. 8, 2009) St. Pete Times.

She raises a good issue, even though she misses the point, which is that abiding an unleashed dog is plumb crazy for two primary reasons: 1. It risks serious bodily injury (often involving children) 2. It represents a major liability – i.e. $$$$$$ and more $$.

Chew on these statistical bones:

• A survey by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (“CDC”) says that dogs annually bite nearly 2% of the U.S. population or about 4.7 million people each year.

• An American has a one in 50 chance of being bitten by a dog each year. (CDC.)

• Almost 800,000 bites per year (one out of every six) are severe enough to command medical attention. (Journal of the American Medical Association 1998;279:51-53)

• Dog bites send nearly 368,000 victims to hospital emergency departments each year (1,008 per day). (Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 2003;52:605-610)

• An average of between 15 and 20 people die each year from a fatal dog attack.

• The chances that the victim of a fatal dog attack will be a burglar are one in 177; the odds that it will be a child are seven out of 10.

• Researchers from the CDC estimated that the direct medical costs of dog bites per year equal $164.9 million in the USA.

Here’s some more kibble for thought:

• In Florida, some insurance companies exclude certain breeds of dogs from homeowner’s policies. In other words, they refuse to insure your home because your dog represents unacceptable risk. Why? See above.

• Insurance companies that accept dogs generally cap canine liability coverage at $25,000. Maybe that will be enough to cover Rover’s bad behavior. Maybe not. If not, we hope you have lots and lots of cash on hand to pay doctors and lawyers and such. That’s especially true if Rover happens to seriously chew up a child’s face or hand.

Maybe you should reconsider a leash while you can still afford one.