Dog attack

bumblebee_tuna

Hiya, need some help please...

My dog has bitten another dog, and I put my hands up and have admitted liability. Steps have been taken to mitigate this issue in future.

They have contacted me to say they want me to pay for vet bills, loss of earnings due to being unable to work for two weeks (their own dog bit them during the incident, and they could not leave dog unattended), alternative treatments and exercise facilities.

They say their insurance will cover most of the vet bills, but want me to pay for everything else or claim on my own insurance. We don't have pet insurance as we have always put money away into a pot. The "everything else" runs into four figures...

Am I liable to pay for all of it? Why would their own insurance not cover the loss of earnings/alternative treatments etc? I feel like I need more advice before I just hand money over. 

Robin9

What household insurance have you got ?

bumblebee_tuna

Robin9 said:

What household insurance have you got ?

buildings and contents? i wouldnt have thought that they would cover anything as it was outside of the house?

sheramber

Contents insurance often had third party liability which might cover you.

Pet insurance will only cover vet fees, nit loss of earnings etc(  no sick pay?). Most pet insurance do not cover alternative treatments unless behavioural treatment.
However, his pet insurance may come to you to reimburse them.

TBagpuss

Their insurance may pay up front but the insurer can then reclaim from you as you were at fault, so it may be a question of you paying the other party direct or you paying their insurer . You may find that the insurer requires them to support a claim against you to recover the vet bills as well

Do check whether you have any legal cover on your home insurance which might enable you to get some advice or help with managing the claim.

You can of course review what they are looking to claim and challenge things where they appear unreasonable or where they have not taken steps to mitigate their losses (for instance, if a dog sitter would have been possible / less expensive than their loss of earnings, whether it was actually the case that the dog could not be left unattended for the full two weeks or whether it was only initially) 

given the amounts you are looking at, it may well be sensible for you to get some advice from a lawyer who deals with this type of claim, to make sure that you don't pay more than you need to. 

bumblebee_tuna

TBagpuss said:

Their insurance may pay up front but the insurer can then reclaim from you as you were at fault, so it may be a question of you paying the other party direct or you paying their insurer . You may find that the insurer requires them to support a claim against you to recover the vet bills as well

Do check whether you have any legal cover on your home insurance which might enable you to get some advice or help with managing the claim.

You can of course review what they are looking to claim and challenge things where they appear unreasonable or where they have not taken steps to mitigate their losses (for instance, if a dog sitter would have been possible / less expensive than their loss of earnings, whether it was actually the case that the dog could not be left unattended for the full two weeks or whether it was only initially) 

given the amounts you are looking at, it may well be sensible for you to get some advice from a lawyer who deals with this type of claim, to make sure that you don't pay more than you need to. 

So, just to clarify, even if I pay the reduced amount they are offering their insurer could then pursue me separately for the remainder of the cost?

OK this brings up a second question then, its been nearly 2 months since the incident and we have changed insurance provider since then - would this claim be with the old insurer I had in place on the date of the incident? Or for the new one as I have only just received the invoice?

bumblebee_tuna

sheramber said:

Contents insurance often had third party liability which might cover you.

Pet insurance will only cover vet fees, nit loss of earnings etc(  no sick pay?). Most pet insurance do not cover alternative treatments unless behavioural treatment.
However, his pet insurance may come to you to reimburse them.

That explains why they haven't claimed for the rest of the items they've listed then, they've said that it is because they "have not yet put in the claim" but it could simply be that it isn't covered?

sheramber

I would think ot would be the insurance in force when the incident occurred.

bumblebee_tuna

sheramber said:

I would think ot would be the insurance in force when the incident occurred.

Thank you. I have logged a claim with my previous insurer, just waiting to see whether they will accept it.

AnnieB2018

Now you also need the notify your new insurer about the claim (as you probably said ‘no recent claims’ when took the new insurance out)

elsien

It seems a tad extreme for both of them to have to give up work for two weeks because they couldn’t leave their dog unattended.  Why couldn’t they leave it, and why did it need both of them to take time off? And what is the reason for alternative treatments and the need for exercise facilities - is that for them or their dog, by the way.
I’d be asking a lot more questions because even if your dog triggered the incident it wasn’t your dog who bit them and some of the extras could potentially be taking the proverbial.  On the face of it, their requests may not be entirely reasonable.