In honor of the upcoming National Dog Bite Prevention Week, which runs from May 15 to 21, State Farm released its list of states with the most dog bite claims.
With nearly 5 million annual dog bite victims in the United States, there is no doubting that dog bites are a serious problem, and result in significant physical and emotional damage to the many victims. Compounding these problems, at least for insurers, is that they are on the hook for sizable claims costs.
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The results of the insurer's study follow, with the number of total claims State Farm received from a given state and the estimated claims paid in parentheses.
1. California — 369 claims ($11.3 million)
2. Illinois — 317 claims ($9.7 million)
3. Ohio — 215 claims ($5.7 million)
4. Texas — 202 claims ($3.7 million)
5. Michigan — 166 ($5.2 million)
6. Pennsylvania — 155 claims ($3.9 million)
7. Florida — 146 claims ($5.6 million)
8. Minnesota — 139 claims ($3.4 million)
9. New York — 119 claims ($4.3 million)
10. Indiana — 114 claims ($1.8 million)
Last year's III study went on to note that dog bite claims costs had risen 30% from 2003 to 2009, with the average cost of a dog bite claim rising to $24,840 in 2009 from $24,461 in 2008.
