Tara the Cat took the internet community by storm last year, saving her four-year-old owner, Jeremy Triantafilo, from the savagery of a neighbor’s vicious Labrador-Chow mix. However, the damage was still done—and it’s not an uncommon tale (no pun intended).
In fact, dog assaults cost the insurance industry $483.7 million last year, according to new data from the Insurance Information Institute and
State Farm Insurance Co. The insurer shared the top 15 states for dog bite claims, according to its own history.
Last year, the nation’s most active dogs resided in the following locations:
1. California -- 449 claims, $14.7 million paid
2. Illinois -- 309 claims, $8.9 million paid
3. Ohio -- 221 claims, $4.2 million paid
4. Texas -- 207 claims, $4 million paid
5. Pennsylvania -- 180 claims, $5.8 million paid
6. Michigan -- 162 claims, $3.9 million paid
7. New York -- 149 claims, $6.4 million paid
8. Indiana -- 146 claims, $3.5 million paid
9. Minnesota -- 120 claims, $4 million paid
10. Georgia -- 106 claims, $2.1 million paid
11. Arizona -- 105 claims, $2.8 million paid
12. Florida -- 93 claims, 5.5 million paid
13. Oregon -- 91 claims, $1.4 million paid
14. Missouri -- 88 claims, $2 million paid
15. New Jersey -- 86 claims, $4.3 million paid
At the same time, the US Postal Service proved that the dog’s long-standing vendetta against the postman is no joke—5,581 postal service workers were bitten by dogs last year, according to another recently released report.
“The average cost per claim nationally has risen more than 45 percent in the last decade (2003-2013), due to increased medical costs as well as the size of settlements, judgments and jury awards given to plaintiffs, which are still on the upswing,” said Loretta Worters, vice president with the I.I.I.
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