Ancient Egyptians worshipped cats. Broadway performers singabout them (in “Cats”). In grunge rock circles, people still speakin awe of Bill the Cat (and the Boingers).

So just what is it with homeowners insurance and dogs? Lately itseems claims for either damage to or damage caused by caninesappear at every turn. Pit bull attacks appear regularly in thenews. Dog questions arrive at IIABA's Virtual University and areraised in E&O classes. An outbreak of dog claims led to newrestrictive ordinances and endorsements in many states.

Clearly dogs have attained front-burner status with homeownersunderwriters. So it seems appropriate to review just what coverage,if any, exists for such claims in the typical ISO homeownerspolicy. Dog owners, listen up! (Note to cat owners: Don't getcocky. As a co-resident with two cats owned by my wife and son-I'ma dog guy, myself-I can assure you that intimidation is the onlyreason cat claims are reported less frequently than dog claims.)Clear your desks, get out your 2000 edition of the ISO HO form andlet's have at it!

First, let's see what coverage is provided for direct damage tothe dog. None. Well, that was easy. Section I, paragraph 4 of thehomeowners form, “Property Not Covered” has a single, unambiguoussentence: “We do not cover: b. Animals, birds or fish.” So,regardless of the cause of loss, there is no Section I coverage fordirect damage.

Is this a problem? Considering deductibles, is there trulyenough at stake here to care? How do you assign value to a dog?While some pets are mutts who wander into your yard and lack theenergy or ambition to leave, the heritage of others has beencarefully documented. Some dogs are simply house pets, and othersare highly trained specialists in protection, hunting or guidance(for deaf or blind humans). Clearly we shouldn't assume that adog's value is minimal.

And the value issue doesn't pertain solely to dogs. Manyhomeowners have spent large sums on pure-bred or exotic pets forcompanionship (dogs, cats), novelty (pythons and tarantulas) ordecoration (large fish aquariums). Any of these pets may be asignificant part of a homeowner's loss in house fires, hurricanesor earthquakes, yet there is zero coverage. Perhaps now would be agood time to ascertain how many of your current clients possesssuch valuable specimens and consider what type of coverage may benecessary to protect their investments-before they discover after aloss that their homeowners policies do not provide all the coveragethey (or you) had assumed.

Got that under control? OK, then onward to Section II!

Good news! (For you, not the carrier.) Section II does notcontain an “animals, fish or birds” exclusion similar to the onefound in Section I. Dog-bite claims are subject to the normalprohibitions against collecting for damage caused to your ownproperty or injury to an insured. But as long as the dog has thegood sense to attack someone other than an insured or damageproperty other than an insured's, the homeowners policy willrespond just as it would to any other covered liability claim.

To see if anything unique to dog claims will be affected by thespecific form wording, let's walk through the Section II exclusionsand limitations and see if or how they apply to dog liability.

Exclusion A (motor vehicle liability): Unless the dog getsbehind the wheel (don't laugh; they do it in the news all thetime), this one doesn't apply. (And I'm going to ignore the obviouscomments about permissive use, golf and pizza delivery.)

Exclusion B (watercraft liability): Same as A, except here I'mgoing to ignore the water skiing jokes.

Exclusion C (aircraft liability): Ditto, although Snoopy and theRed Baron are my heroes.

Exclusion D (hovercraft liability): Ditto again.

Exclusion E.1 (exclusions for bodily injury or property damageexpected or intended by an insured): There is some question aboutdogs and intelligence, but since the animal is clearly not an“insured,” this doesn't apply.

Exclusion E.2 (businesses): The dog isn't in business, but thisexclusion should give pause to those home-based business folks whodeduct their dog as a “security system.”

Exclusion E.3 (professional services): Only of concern if theinsured is a dog breeder or trainer, and the animal is aclient.

Exclusion E.4 (an insured's premises that is not an “insuredlocation”): This one may give you some trouble. Keep in mind,however, that in a dog-bite scenario, the injury or damage arisesout of the dog, not out of a premises. While one might argue thatthe bite would not have occurred if the bitten person had not comeonto the insured's property, whether the dog was on an “insuredlocation” at the time of an incident is immaterial to the nature ofthe claim-the bite. For the same reason, if you hit someone with agolf ball at the driving range or cause injury with a spear gunwhile scuba diving, the liability claim will be covered. Incontrast, if the claim arises from a location (slip and fall), itmust occur at an “insured location” for coverage to apply. But an“action” claim, like a dog bite, can arise anywhere in the policyterritory, which is worldwide.

Exclusion E.5 (war): Despite the term “dogs of war,” thisexclusion is not applicable during peacetime or when civilians areinvolved.

Exclusion E.6 (communicable disease transmitted by an insured):Tempting, but a dog is not an “insured.”

Exclusion E.7. (sexual, physical or mental abuse): I believe the“physical or mental abuse” tag is intended specifically forcats.

Exclusion E.8 (controlled sub-stance): Not applicable, althoughthe possibilities boggle the mind.

Exclusion F.1 (liability for loss assessments in connection withproperty owners associations, corporations or communities): Isuppose a loss assessment or contractual claim could arise from adog (and then this exclusion would have to be reviewed), but theassessment still would be covered elsewhere, and the contractlikely meets the exception in the exclusion.

Exclusions F.2 and F.3 (damage to property owned, occupied orused by an insured; rented to an insured; or in an insured's care):Discussed earlier in article; this type of damage is excludedregardless of the cause (unless, in regard to property not owned bythe insured, the dog starts the fire).

Exclusions F.4 and F.5 (workers compensation and nuclear): Whathave these to do with dogs?

Exclusion F.6 (injury to you or an insured): Dog bites an“insured,” no coverage; dog bites anyone else, no exclusion.

Exclusion G.1 (medical payments coverage for residenceemployees): Dog bites residence employee? It could happen, andcoverage exists if the claim meets specified exceptions. If the dogbites the employee on the premises, you can kiss that claimgoodbye.

Exclusions G.2 and G.3 (medical payments coverage for thosecovered by workers compensation and similar laws or in connectionwith a nuclear incident): See F.4 and F.5 above.

Exclusion G.4 (medical payments for anyone other than aresidence employee): Dog bites tenant, forget about coverage.

We're out of exclusions, so we've evidently covered the subject.To review, homeowners and dogs: direct-damage coverage, no;liability coverage for damage or injury to others, most likely yes;medical payments, sometimes yes, sometimes no.

It's all quite simple, like a dog's love for its master or afire hydrant. To those who think otherwise, may all your pets becats.