Dogs and dog bites have long been a concern among insurance personnel. Underwriting has to determine whether or not to write a policy when a dog is in the house, and claims adjusters have to settle claims when a bite has occurred. Each state has statutes dealing with the issues of liability laws, a definition of dangerous dog, and leash laws. As there is a volume of information, charts are provided for each section. Other topics can be found at Dog Bite Statutes Part I—Liability Laws" and Dog Bite Statutes Part III—Leash Laws. The statutes are listed with each section.

While at one time states allowed statutes governing ownership or possession of particular breeds under the assumption that some breeds are more dangerous than others, states have moved away from that and now define dangerous dogs based on behavior alone, and not breed.