Either dogs are getting feistier or their owners are. Last year, the number of dog bite claims increased almost 6 percent to 17,359, according to the Insurance Information Institute, breaking the record for number of claims set in 2003. With an average cost per claim of $27,862—up 45 percent over the past decade—those dog bites accounted for more than a third of all homeowners insurance liability-claim dollars paid out in 2013. In some respects, these numbers are still relatively low. The CDC estimates that dogs bite 4.5 million people each year.