Insurance Covers Damage By Pets
Sydney Morning Herald
Saturday March 19, 1994
Dog owners whose pets run amok and injure people and who have domestic insurance are covered by their policy for any damage caused.
The chief executive officer of the Insurance Council of Australia, Mr Chris Henri, said ordinary household insurance or contents insurance could offer pet owners protection of up to $10 million.
On Thursday, the NSW Court of Appeal ordered Mr Paolo Zappia to pay$131,000 in damages to a cyclist who fell off his bike and suffered concussion after a dog charged at him from Mr Zappia's Riverstone farm on October 8, 1985.
A normal household insurance policy covered owners of domestic pets for any injuries their pet might cause to anyone who entered their property, Mr Henri said.
Domestic contents insurance provided automatic coverage for damage done by a pet anywhere in Australia.
"The insurance industry long ago recognised that these things occur, that a dog or a trailer can run away or a garden hose can be left across a footpath and trip up someone jogging by in the dark," Mr Henri said.
"Every household policy includes this coverage, even if they don't have a pet. If you left it up to people to protect themselves by a special pet policy they would not do it and they could find themselves up for a very large sum of money if something went wrong."
However, for the owner to be able to claim on the policy, he or she must be proved guilty by a competent authority, usually a court, Mr Henri said.
Thursday's court ruling was the second in 18 months in which an owner has been ordered to pay substantial damages to a person for injuries caused by a pet.
In August 1992, a man was ordered to pay $175,000 to a motorcyclist who suffered serious injuries when the man's German shepherd dog ran into the wheels of his motorcycle.
North Sydney Council is being sued by a jogger who broke his leg when he allegedly fell over a dog in a park.
© 1994 Sydney Morning Herald
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