Am I protected by renter's insurance for vet bills if my dog injured her dog on my property?

Such policies insure humans for any negligence they may have committed which has resulted in damages either to someone else or to someone's property. They do not insured dogs per se. However, every dogbite claim is based upon some negligence of the owner or keeper of the dog or upon a dog bite statute, some of which impose absolute liability.

Was there something that you did which you might consider to be negligence, which caused your dog to make contact with the other dog and cause damages to the other dog? If so, there is a good chance your policy will cover the damages. Since the attack occurred on your property, I doubt there is a leash law which would require you to have your dog on a leash on your own property, however, that is something which a local attorney could advise you on specifically.

I think you were a little too quick to pay for the bills of your neighbor's dog. If your neighbor's dog came onto your property, that dog was obviously not on a leash and not under the immediate control of its master, which would probably make your neighbor liable for the damages. You might want to discuss the factual circumstances of this incident with your insurance agent, without him making a specific notification to your insurance carrier, if he will do that. Alternatively, you could take your policy language to a local attorney and have him or her evaluate the coverage for you. Sometimes making the payment like you did can be in your best interest in maintaining good relations with your neighbors. Ultimately this will be a judgment call by you as to how you wish to proceed.



Legal Disclaimer:

Mr. Lundeen is licensed to practice law in Florida and Vermont. The response herein is not legal advice and does not create an attorney/client relationship. The response is in the form of legal education and is intended to provide general information about the matter within the question. Oftentimes the question does not include significant and important facts and timelines that, if known, could significantly change the reply and make it unsuitable. Mr. Lundeen strongly advises the questioner to confer with an attorney in your state in order to insure proper advice is received.

Your policy's definitions control, and without seeing your poiicy, it's just a guess. I'm guessing that the medical bills exclude vets, and "persons" exclude animals, and that your coverage excludes your dog injuring this other dog, making you responsible. However, case law says insurance policies are supposed to be construced in favor of the insured, with the coverage interpreted broadly and the exclusions interpreted narrowly, so it could be that if you don't see a dog-on-dog liability excluded, that you could argue that it's covered.

I don't think that asking your insurance agent if your policy covers your dog's injuries to another dog would trigger any red flag if you're not going to make a claim, but you might be better off having a lawyer review the policy instead of asking the carrier. You also need to consider that if your dog was able to attack another animal, you have the leash law violation to consider, and whether that precludes your claim.

Disclaimer: Please note that this answer does not constitute legal advice, and should not be relied on, since each state has different laws, each situation is fact specific, and it is impossible to evaluate a legal problem without a comprehensive consultation and review of all the facts and documents at issue. This answer does not create an attorney-client relationship.