We live in SC and my husband believes that my trained personal protection dog would be covered under our USCCA insurance if something were to happen to her. We train every other week so her training is maintained and I myself am trained to handle situations similar to my gun, meaning we have run scenarios and she would only be deployed as a last resort if necessary. However, not many pet insurances cover a “working dog” and my concern is if she were to be injured when protecting me – would this insurance cover her vet bills for any treatment on injuries received while protecting me?
Very Interesting Question.
Yeah… very interesting question that can be easily answered by USCCA / Delta Defense personel… ![]()
PH: 877-677-1919
@Karacal .. anything you’d like to add? ![]()
I would think they’d cover defense liability under the “any weapon” clause if my corsos dismembered someone in a fight, but the insurance is for hiring legal assistance after the fight, not fixing anything. You might be able to make a claim against the $20k incidental coverage after you’ve paid for your pet’s vet bills, but you’d have to ask for clarification. I just pay the vet and put the claim to my pet insurance, if they ask -“someone attacked my poor little 120lb Deimos” and I doubt they’d blink.
It would not cover the dog(s), no. This is a third party, liability, policy, not a policy for first party damage. Further, most first party policies exclude pets.
If your dog(s) was injured, unfortunately, you’d also find difficulties getting any coverage through the attacker’s insurance due to the exclusion for intentional acts that exist in every policy I’ve ever seen.
Uscca insurance is to protect you from going to jail if you are in a lethal self defense situation.
@Maria18 Welcome to the community! Possibly not, but I agree with Jerzees’s comment, call the number he provided for an accurate answer to your question.
@Maria18 introduce yourself here ![]()
Welcome Maria18.
You can call and email the USCCA to ask in advance, don’t wait until an incident, it’s good to know where you stand in advance as you weigh your decisions.
Food for thought? :
Does our USCCA insurance cover medical bills if we get hurt during an incident, or our mental health care if we need it post event?
If your incident has not actually happened, but theoretical, you are smart to mention you are in South Carolina. As often resources and laws differ by states.
I’m surprised I have not heard this mentioned before, or maybe other states don’t have it: All of you might be interested in and benefit from studying if your state has a Crime Victim Reimbursement Program. Post event; Make a police report, save the report number, save all of your receipts, you can be “reimbursed” for expenses. Mainly if it was violent, you were the victim, not perpetrator, some nearly up to a total of $20,000. Free via state fund by your taxes. That’s your money.
What I’m curious about is what if we had to utilize our dog in self defense? Legal protection, legal expenses for both us and our “best friend”?
From Google AI
XINSURANCE: Offers customized, all-in-one liability insurance for trained guard dogs, security dogs, and working dogs. They will cover any breed and can include animal liability self-defense endorsements.
Prime Insurance Company: Provides animal liability coverage for pets and guard dogs, specifically catering to animals with previous bite histories or breeds restricted by standard carriers.
Federation of Insured Dog Owners (F.I.D.O.): Offers Covered Canine Liability Insurance for any breed of dog, with policies starting around $75 per year, plus membership fees.
These are good examples, but similar to the USCCA policy, they’re for liability. That means that, barring exclusions, they cover what the dog(s) does, not what happens to the dog.
Dog bites an attacker or intruder, AND you (the owner) and the dog are found liable for the bite wound(s) to the attacker, covered (again, barring exclusions.
Same scenario and the attacker kicks the dog breaking a rib, the injury to the dog is not covered.
Companies like Trupanion and Nationwide Pet Insurance offer traditional accident and illness health plans that accept service and working dogs.
Thanks for sharing this! I wasn’t getting these answers in Google but very likely on how I was asking it. This is helpful!
I also have her on trupanion right now but they have increased our rates in the last two years so I was looking for other options and comparing so that we can make the best informed decision – either keep the insurance and pay the cost increase or switch to something comparable that would be less costly. Obviously less costly isn’t always the best. But my husband and I have this insurance and he wanted me to double check as we are researching all options. Thanks again!!!
That’s exactly the question my husband and I are facing! Thanks for the food for thought! Yes, we are definitely trying to find out all we can to make an informed decision about her insurance, which is Trupanion currently but rates have increased a lot in the last 2-3 years. I work in (human) insurance but it’s always good to look at options as rates increase. Dog insurance is definitely different so I want to make sure we are reviewing everything. I appreciate all the comments on my post!