Shenzhen's first insurance to cover attacks by dogs has been introduced, the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported yesterday.

The scheme, offered by Shanghai-based China United Property Insurance Company Ltd., is designed to resolve disputes between dog owners and their victims, which increased to more than 200 cases last year, the paper quoted Zhu Xiaofan, head of Shenzhen Pet Association, as saying.

The annual premium ranges from 60 yuan (US$7.74) to 1,000 yuan, depending on the breed, said Wang Xiaobing, manager of the company's pet-business department. A dog owner, whose dog is insured with a 60-yuan policy, will be compensated 5,000 yuan for each attack, up to 10 times a year, according to Wang.

Wang said the insurance only covered government-registered dogs.

The insurance will not apply in cases where an owner deliberately lets his dog attack other people, Wang said, adding that the insured dog owner and his family members are not entitled to any compensation.

But the introduction of the policy has raised doubts and questions from many dog owners in the city over the clauses.

A woman who only gave her family name Lu and owns two dogs said many clauses are too "vague" to protect the insured dog owners. "It is very difficult to define 'deliberate attacks' and 'accidents,' and there is no objective standard to decide whose fault it is when a dog attacks a person," she said.

Many people also question the positive effect the insurance will have. "Many dog owners won't be as careful as they used to be with their dogs after they have their dogs insured as they won't have to pay any compensation for attacks by their pets. They will feel more at ease having insurance, which may result in an increase of attacks," said another dog owner surnamed Lai.

Similar insurance policies received a cold shoulder from the market when they were introduced in Guangzhou and Nanjing of Jiangsu Province a couple of months ago, the newspaper said. The annual sale of dog insurance policies in the cities remained "very low," the report said without giving an actual figure.

But Wang is confident about the new insurance. "The Shenzhen government has adopted a friendly policy on keeping dogs as pets, which has resulted in an increase in the number of registered dogs in the city. That means there is a broad market for the insurance."

Shenzhen canceled the former mandatory dog registration fee, apart from significantly lowering the annual 2,000-yuan management fee to a more affordable 300 yuan in September last year.

The city has a good record in dog management, according to official statistics. Futian District hasn't recorded a case of rabies since 1989, said Lan Chou, founder of the non-profitable www.szdog.org, which has 100,000 members. Lan said as to the few cases of rabies last year, one in Luohu District and others in Bao'an District, the victims were attacked by dogs outside Shenzhen.

Editor: Yan