Pet Liability Insurance for Florida Dog Bites

Pet Liability Insurance in Florida

Pet liability insurance is a type of insurance coverage that compensates animal bite victims including victims of dog bites. Pet liability insurance is a way that animal bite victims may recover for their damages even if the animal’s owner can’t pay damages with their own funds.

What Does Pet Liability Coverage Include?

Insurance that covers animal liability includes:

• Third-party bodily injury (e.g., medical expenses from dog bites).
• Property damage (e.g., your pet chews else’s property).
• Legal costs if sued.

Coverage limits typically $25,000–$100,000; pet liability insurance is your first line of defense for pet-related incidents. Many pet owners have liability insurance even if they don’t realize it through their homeowner’s policy.

When pet liability insurance applies, it steps in and pays damages when a pet owner would otherwise have legal liability for an injury caused by an animal.

What Isn’t Covered?

• Damage to your own personal property
• Your pet’s veterinary costs (that’s pet health insurance)
• Injuries to well-behaved pets under policy limits
• Claims exceeding coverage (consider umbrella policy)

Dog Bite Liability Insurance in Florida

Dog bite liability insurance may come from the pet owner’s homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance. It may also be a stand-alone policy that a person purchases when they own a pet. Sometimes, pet liability insurance is automatically a part of a homeowner insurance policy or a renter insurance policy. A person can have a pet liability policy without even knowing that they have it.

Dog Breeds Typically Excluded from Coverage

Many insurance companies exclude certain dog breeds deemed high-risk: Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, wolf hybrids. Florida policies often limit or exclude these; check your homeowner’s insurance policy. Coverage for exotic pets or poisonous reptiles is rare due to unpredictability.

Does Pet Liability Insurance Cover My Dog Bite Injuries?

To see if pet liability insurance covers your dog bite injuries, it’s important to read the insurance policy in question carefully. While pet liability insurance covers many types of pets and many kinds of injuries, there are still some limitations and exclusions. It’s important to read what the policy has to say.

For example, some homeowner’s policies and renter’s policies don’t cover pet liability at all. Other times, a person has pet liability insurance with exclusions for specific breeds. Sometimes, homeowner’s insurance doesn’t apply if the pet has a bite history. The only way to know for sure if a pet liability insurance policy applies to pay a claim is by looking at the actual language of the insurance policy itself.

Renters Insurance vs Pet Health Insurance

Renters insurance with pet liability covers third-party damages (dog bites, property damage); pet health insurance covers your pet’s medical bills. Liability: ~$13/month basic; health: varies. Not the same – get both for canine liability coverage.

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Florida Laws Are Helpful to Dog Bite Victims and Favor Pet Liability Insurance Payments

Although victims filed fewer claims in 2018 than in 2017, the average payment per claim keeps rising. The Insurance Information Institute says that pet liability insurers paid out a total of $675 million in 2018 for pet liability claims.

Florida residents rank second nationwide for the number of dog bite claims. Floridians made 1,281 dog bite claims in 2018. The average payment in Florida is $43,893 per dog bite claim. That figure is higher than the average payout nationwide which is $39,017.

Florida Pet Liability Insurance

Perhaps the reason that Florida ranks second nationwide in the number of dog bite insurance liability claims is that Florida law protects victims of dog bites. Florida is a state that holds the pet owner liable in all dog bite cases unless an affirmative defense applies.

In some other states, a pet owner can escape liability by claiming that they’re unaware that the pet has a bite history. However, in Florida, the pet owner is liable for their pet’s damages the first time that the pet causes harm. Unless one of the exceptions to dog bite liability applies, the pet owner must pay the victim for their damages. The fact that Florida has strong laws that favor dog bite victims may explain Florida’s high rate of dog bite liability insurance claims.

How to Add Animal Liability Insurance to Your Policy

1. Review your renters insurance policy or homeowner’s insurance for exclusions
2. Contact your insurer or agent for a free quote
3. Provide pet details (breed, history)
4. Add endorsement for $25–$95/month. Tampa landlords/HOAs often require it

What Do I Have to Prove to Recover for My Dog Bite Under a Pet Liability Insurance Policy?

You may recover from the pet owner’s liability insurance policy if the insurance policy applies under the facts of the case and the same terms that the pet owner bears legal liability for the dog bite. It’s important to examine both the law that applies and the pet owner’s insurance policy terms. Even if the pet owner liability insurance doesn’t apply, you may still bring a legal claim and seek to collect payment directly from the pet owner.