dog insurance lmao

<TABLE width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-TOP: 4px" vAlign=top colSpan=2>[font=Book Antiqua, bold, italics]Insurance for pit bulls hits owners in their wallets[/font]
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[/font]</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=bottom colSpan=3><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD colSpan=3>[font=Book Antiqua, bold, italics]Ed Sisler can pretty much bet on one thing when he sees a pit bull come into the Clark County Humane Society.

The dog's owner — if it has one — doesn't carry liability insurance on the dog.

Many insurance companies don't cover the dogs in homeowners' policies. The state requires pit bull owners to carry a policy with at least $100,000 coverage.

That doesn't mean everyone gets it. Sisler, Humane Society executive director, guesses that only 1 percent of pit bull owners who come through the Humane Society's doors have insurance on their dogs.{M6

There's a reason for that.

"They're looking at a minimum of $1,000 per dog," said P.J. Miller, a partner in the Wallace & Turner insurance agency, 616 N. Limestone St.

Some people don't realize the law requires the insurance, or they don't think they'll get caught without it.

Most people don't think through the liability involved in getting a dog for protection, Sisler said. If someone breaks into another person's home and the dog attacks, the burglar could sue the owner.

The owner is civilly liable for medical costs, damages and potential disability if the dog hurts someone.

The Humane Society requires pit bull owners to show proof of insurance before letting them claim their dog.

Sisler used to refer dog owners seeking insurance to Wallace & Turner Inc. But the agency scaled back the sale of policies last October, Miller said.

The agency got one or two calls a week for the policies but now directs those who want only the vicious dog insurance to the Ohio Insurance Exchange in Lancaster.

Getting a quote for a vicious dog policy is an involved process and time consuming, Miller said.

Insuring vicious dogs is a high risk for an insurance company. The severity of that risk has been reflected in the way premiums have skyrocketed over the past couple years, he said. Premiums used to run around $425, Miller said.

Insurance companies are almost defenseless against vicious dog claims, especially when children are involved, he said. The claims usually are expensive to settle, he said.

The penalty for not carrying insurance is light enough that some pit bull owners just decide to take their chances. The offense is a first-degree misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

In Clark County, a $25 fine is typical, Sisler said.

"There really is nothing that would motivate them. The penalty that's in place is not being utilized to stimulate the individual to really go out and get the appropriate coverage that they really should have," Sisler said.

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/newsfd/auto/feed/news/2004/06/06/1086495626.02632.9180.5920.html

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Theres alot of place's that you have to do that, to keep your dogs