Skip to content
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Treaty
      • Accident & Health
      • Agriculture / Crop
      • Aviation & Marine
      • Cyber
      • Energy
      • Engineering
      • Entertainment & Contingency
      • Financial Guaranty
      • Traditional Casualty
      • Management & Professional Liability
      • Medical Professional Liability
      • Mortgage Indemnity
      • Property
      • Surety, Trade Credit & Political Risk
      • Terrorism
    • Facultative
    • TransRe Applied Data
    • Insurtech Partners
    • Mortgage Partners
    • Blue Marble Microinsurance
  • About Us
    • About us
    • History
    • Leadership
    • Financial Information
    • Press Releases
    • Social Conscience
      • Social Conscience
      • Global Volunteerism
      • National Coastal Resilience Fund
  • Contact Us
    • Office Locations
    • Regional Business Units
    • Global Portfolio Management
  • Insights
  • Events
  • Legal
  • Careers
menu

Close
  • Home
  • What We Do
    • Lines Of Business
      • Lines of Business
      • TREATY
        • Accident & Health
        • Agriculture / Crop
        • Aviation & Marine
        • Cyber
        • Energy
        • Engineering
        • Entertainment & Contingency
        • Financial Guaranty
        • Traditional Casualty
        • Management & Professional Liability
        • Medical Professional Liability
        • Mortgage Indemnity
        • Property
        • Surety, Trade Credit & Political Risk
        • Terrorism
      • FACULTATIVE
        • Engineering
        • Entertainment & Contingency
        • Management & Professional Liability
        • Medical Professional Liability
        • Property
        • Traditional Casualty
    • TransRe Applied Data
    • Insurtech Partners
    • Mortgage Partners
    • Blue Marble Microinsurance
  • About us
    • About Us
    • History
    • Leadership
    • Financials
      • Financial Highlights
      • Financial Highlights: Tokyo
      • Ratings
      • FATCA Compliance
      • Solvency and Financial Condition Reports
    • Press Releases
    • Social Conscience
      • Social Conscience
      • Research & Resilience
      • Global Volunteerism
      • National Coastal Resilience Fund
  • Contact Us
    • Office Locations
    • Regional Business Units
    • Global Portfolio Management
  • Insights
  • Events
  • Legal
  • Careers

Podcast

August 22, 2019

US Dogbite Liabilities

In this podcast, Sue Zdroik, the US Custom Leader for the Northeast, discusses the growing issue of dogbite liability exposure:

  • Why we launched the research
  • How the findings have affected Sue, as a dog owner and as a reinsurer


Can’t listen now? Read the transcript

How did you get onto this subject?

This dog bite issue started last year in a conversation with a customer in the Midwest that writes homeowner’s policies. They were really struggling with some losses regarding dog bite claims and they were wondering if TransRe had any insights as to how they could mitigate or reduce some of those losses.

And frankly it was a topic I hadn’t thought about. So I said ‘you know what – I’m sure we’ve seen some things. Let’s take a look’. So I started with our claims department and Frank DeMento was fabulous as well as Wesley Sherman. But when we looked up our dog bite claims historically here at TransRe, we didn’t really notice very many trends, mainly because our homeowner’s reinsurance treaties are mainly excess of loss, which means that a lot of the claims could conceivably be beneath the treaty retention.

So we didn’t get much information there but we at least saw a little bit of some of the larger claims trends. Then we surveyed some of our other homeowner’s customers that we have on the treaty side and asked them what they do with dog bite claims, and how they try to mitigate that exposure in homeowner’s and personal umbrella policies. They ask about the presence of dogs in their applications. They also follow up to make sure that there was proper training and education of the policyholders.

As a dog owner, how has this research affected you?

I am much more aware now about dogs and their propensity to bite you. I know a lot of dogs and your first reaction is to go pet this dog. After this research, I thought ‘oh, you know I’m going to just maybe put my hand out there a little bit differently’ or look at the owner who is with that dog and say ‘you know is this OK to pet your dog’. It definitely makes me think differently about how we train our dogs and how we restrain them – whether they are fenced in or tied up, that sort of thing. I also understand more about the science behind what makes dogs act more or less aggressively.

As a reinsurer, what have you learned from this research?

My first lesson did not surprise me. The first response of many insurers is to exclude it ‘we’re going to put a canine liability exclusion on homeowner’s policies as well as personal umbrella policies’. Other insurers might tailor coverage to exclude breeds considered more dangerous such as German Shepherds, Rottweilers et cetera.

I did learn that there are insurance companies that actually write dog bite liability policies, separate from a homeowner’s policy. I didn’t know that. And I think these companies have a really interesting niche market because many homeowner’s carriers simply will not cover pitbulls or Rottweilers. If you have such a dog, and even if you’ve trained it properly, have a good rapport, and you’re pretty comfortable with it, you stiill may not be able to get coverage, so these standalone dog liability policies really fill a customer gap.

To read the article click here: http://online.anyflip.com/nqoq/ehql/mobile/index.html#p=42

TransRe We value risk

TransRe We value risk

TransRe We value risk

  • Home
  • What We Do
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Insights
  • Events
  • Legal
  • Careers
  • PartnersOpens in new window
  • Employees
  • Website Accessibility Statement
  • Opens in new window
    LinkedIn Logo
  • Opens in new window
    Twitter Logo
  • Opens in new window
    Youtube Logo
  • Global Privacy Notice
  • Calpe Insurance Privacy Notice
  • Terms & Conditions

© Transatlantic Reinsurance Company

    To





    (Attachment limit 4MB)

    Click here to read the policy. (PDF)

    The Best’s Company Report(s) reproduced on this site appear under license from A.M. Best and do not constitute, either expressly or implied, an endorsement of (Licensee)’s products or services. A.M. Best is not responsible for transcription errors made in presenting Best’s Company Reports. Best’s Company Reports are copyright © A.M. Best Company and may not be reproduced or distributed without the express written permission of A.M. Best Company. Visitors to this web site are authorized to print a single copy of the Best’s Company Report(s) displayed here for their own personal use. Any other printing, copying or distribution is strictly prohibited.

    Best’s Ratings are under continuous review and subject to change and/or affirmation. To confirm the current rating, please visit the AM Best web site, www.ambest.com.

    See Report