Dog Bite Claims Rising; What About Off-Leash?

According to this report in Crain's New York Business, "Dog-bite claims for U.S. insurers climbed 5.5% last year to 17,359, breaking the record from 2003, as New York had the costliest attacks among states with the most incidents."  Now, the article doesn't say that claims in New York itself had increased, and says nothing about New York City.  But given the increasing unleashing of dogs nationwide, one wonders how this squares with off-leashers' claims that their pet cause reduce incidents of dog bites.