My irresistibly-cute little Shi* zhu (shitzhu, shitzu, various other spellings) dog bit the hand of somebody who reached down to pet her. This occurred when she was on a leash, being walked in the neighborhood. And, actually, it happened on two separate occasions, to two separate persons. Neither one of these adult neighbors required medical treatment beyond hydrogen peroxide and a band-aid.
One day I was talking to my insurance company about an unrelated matter, and (out of the blue) the rep asked, "Do you have a dog?" Yes, I answered. "Has it ever bitten anyone?"
As soon as I answered (truthfully) that she had, I knew that bad things were going to happen.
Sure enough, a few days ago I received a notice in the mail stating that my umbrella policy was being cancelled. Except for hail damage to a roof, I have never made a claim on the policy in the couple of decades that I've had it.
Has this happened to others here, and any suggestions? Is it difficult to get a new policy if your old one has been cancelled?
Note: We now firmly warn people not to pet the dog.
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I had a similar situation occur. It had to do with obtaining a Homeowners Insurance Policy. The question, do you have a dog? Response, yes. (thinking that a dog would help as far as protection for my house). Next question, what kind of dog? Response, Rottweiler. The next thing I knew, I was denied insurance from that particular company! After that experience, I never volunteer any information and hope that I'm not asked about my dogs.
I'm guessing if he was asking verbally that somewhere in the policy it says that dogs void said policy. In any case I would read any policy very carefully to make sure it covered dog incidents.
LordB said:I'm guessing if he was asking verbally that somewhere in the policy it says that dogs void said policy. In any case I would read any policy very carefully to make sure it covered dog incidents. That is a good guess, but actually I was asking about adding some rental property to my homeowner's policy. So it was a surprise when the agent asked if I had a dog at my house...we weren't even talking about the insurance at my house.
Was there barking in the background? Anyways good luck getting new insurance... it is good to know and be aware of this as I have a dog (though he has never bit anyone).
I must say I am a bit surprised they canceled over a tiny dog... i don't see how such a small dog could even conceivably hurt someone for the amount of injury it would take for an umbrella policy to kick in. Though perhaps the ins company just doesn't want to go through the trouble of saying only dogs up to a certain weight are covered.
2. How long was it between the first and second biting?
3. How old was the second victim?
4. When you say neither required medical treatment, is that because they told you so or is this your presumption?
5. Do you know for a fact that neither victim sought professional medical treatment for the biting and that neither sought professional medical treatment for any other condition (pre-existing or not) subsequent to the biting?
6. How long was it between the 2nd biting and the conversation with your agent?
edit: corrected grammar
Message edited by: BEEFjerKAY on 2010-02-07 17:03:02 CST
I guess being "irresistibly-cute" can get away with lots of bitings. BBB is right, the dog should be taken care of.
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Message edited by: nycll on 2010-02-07 20:53:56 CST
I don't understand the attitude of insurance companies.
Dog bite claims are skyrocketing? Then add a clause and charge for it.
Problem solved.
Separately, if some states consider some dogs "vicious" (legal definition, nontheless), then these states should simply prohobit having such a dog as a pet.
IMO - and this is strictly my opinion - dogs such as pit bulls are too dangerous to be had as pets.
Message edited by: tolamapS on 2010-02-07 17:59:04 CST
tolamapS said: IMO - and this is strictly my opinion - dogs such as pit bulls are too dangerous to be had as pets.
So the OP's shitzu that has repeatedly attacked people has more of a right to be a pet than a pitbull that has never attacked anyone?
Pitbulls can be trained to be aggressive, but they are not aggressive genetically. Laws against pitbulls are the same as laws against short-barrel shotguns and butterfly knives. A .45 handgun is ridiculously more deadly than a short-barrel shotgun but movies portrayed SBS as deadly so laws were made against them. Butterfly knives are slower to open than a regular spyderco folding knife, but they are illegal because movies and TV depict them as "deadly."
In "less civilized" countries laws are based on "God," and in "more civilized" countries, laws are based on Hollywood.
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