Kester asked:
My son was bitten by a dog at our friend’s house. My insurance, BC/BS, will not pay for the injury to be treated claiming that our friend’s ‘Homeowners” insurance should pay for it. However our friend’s are renters and have NO insurance, and NO money. Am I going to have to pay for this myself out of pocket? I feel like my insuance company has abaondend me and my son. If my son was to get injured at my house (which has happened before) BC/BS would and has paid for it and not claimed that my homeowners insurance should pay for it. Any ideas on how to proceed? Suing our friends who have no money will only cost me money and result in getting zero from them.
My son was bitten by a dog at our friend’s house. My insurance, BC/BS, will not pay for the injury to be treated claiming that our friend’s ‘Homeowners” insurance should pay for it. However our friend’s are renters and have NO insurance, and NO money. Am I going to have to pay for this myself out of pocket? I feel like my insuance company has abaondend me and my son. If my son was to get injured at my house (which has happened before) BC/BS would and has paid for it and not claimed that my homeowners insurance should pay for it. Any ideas on how to proceed? Suing our friends who have no money will only cost me money and result in getting zero from them.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Well, yes, and then THEY can sue your friend for reimbursement.
Your friend should have had RENTERS insurance, to cover the bite. If your insurance pays for the bite, then they WILL sue your friend – so without insurance, your friend will have to pay for this, or have his wages garnished forever until they get reimbursed. That subrogation clause IS their right, and it’s in the health insurance policy.
It’s HIGHLY unusual for an insurance company to say they won’t pay. Have you told them he has no insurance? I’d tell them that, AND ask them to put the DECLINATION IN WRITING, so you can submit it to your state insurance commissioner for review.
That ought to light a fire under their rumps. And as soon as you have it in writing, submit it – but I don’t think you’ll have to, because I think they’ll pay when you tell them that.
There area few questions to ask here. First, how much are the medical bills and what is the deductible of your health insurance policy? I’m betting, if this is a routine dog bite, you may not exceed your policy deductible.
But, assuming you exceed your policy deductible, you would typically expect your health insurance to cover the expense; HOWEVER, you may have some clauses in your policy which limit certain types of coverage (I can’t imagine you would in this situation, but you might).
Either way, the issue at hand comes back to the dog. The dog is the property of the owner, and the owner’s dog bit you. As previously stated, the owner of the dog is responsible for maintaining their animals. If their dog bit your son, it would be their liability insurance that would cover the issue. Even if your health insurance pays it, they will subrogate, or come back after, the owner of the dog.