[fw2014]

Hi;
My dad, who owns the house I live (with him) in has had a homeowners insurance policy with the same company for 30+ years. Recently, he received a questionnaire asking him if he owned a dog, and if so, what breed.

We have a 4-1/2yr old neutered mixed breed male that is a mix of Shepherd, Boxer, Pit Bull, and maybe one or two others. His name is Tate.
Tate is a very friendly dog; much more likely to lick you than to bite you. We have never had an incident with Tate.

My dad just received a letter that apparently (I have not seen the letter myself; just going on what he has told me) stated that they do not want to renew his policy because of the dog.

I find this extremely frustrating, and unfair. While I understand that insurance companies are in business for one purpose, and only one purpose - to make money - that they consider certain breeds of dogs as higher risk, and therefore do not want to insure those homeowners who own them.

Wouldn't it make more sense if the insurer were to simply refuse to insure against damage/injury caused by the dog, but continue to insure the home and its contents against other liabilities. Or, if they just added an extra fee to insure the dog.
But it seems that in today's point & click (or tap and swipe) world that these companies have become object, rather than subject oriented. Perhaps it has always been this way, and I am the naive one.

I believe we can find another company that is willing to write a policy with the dog in the house, but I fear that eventually, the actions of insurance companies are going to destroy whole breeds of dogs which they deem to be too high a risk to insure.
I suppose that the answer will be that new companies who write policies specifically for dogs will become the norm, but during the transition period (now) it may indeed be difficult for people owning certain breeds of dogs to obtain the necessary home policy.

It is very unfortunate that things have to work this way. If only the insurance company would send a representative to our house to meet Tate, they might see things in a different light. But I know that is asking for too much.

I would be interested to know who are the best insurance companies to work with when you have a dog who's breed is on the "high-risk" list.

Thanks for your help

FW

 

[MastiffGuy]

It has been this way for a while.
A Mutt is a Mutt, if he or you listed GSD or Pitbull in the description of your dog, most likely there where 2 big strikes.
Anytime doing this list your mixed breed as 57 hienz, "No idea of all breeds in the mix".

Trust me you can see GSD or Pit in about any mix even if they have neither in it, so unless you have a dna test it is simply a mutt.

 

[fw2014]

It has been this way for a while.
A Mutt is a Mutt, if he or you listed GSD or Pitbull in the description of your dog, most likely there where 2 big strikes.
Anytime doing this list your mixed breed as 57 hienz, "No idea of all breeds in the mix".

Trust me you can see GSD or Pit in about any mix even if they have neither in it, so unless you have a dna test it is simply a mutt.

I guess we are too honest. I wasn't actually the one who completed the questionnaire. I think it was my mom, and she is more honest than I am.
Actually, we indicated "Staffordshire Terrier", which is the true name of the Pit Bull breed.
In the future though, I will take your advice on the 57 hienz.

 

[Shell]

State Farm covers all breeds and only uses bite history to discriminate, except in places where local law supercedes that.

If a dog is listed ANYWHERE on paperwork as a breed that an insurer may not cover then don't risk it, pick an insurance that covers all breeds. By anywhere, I mean anything from adoption papers to previous vet file etc.

Any dog owner would be well served to carry a high liability coverage or an umbrella liability policy.

Insurance companies are actually shifting away from breed based coverage and more towards bite/incident history coverage because that is what the data supports. I think Travellers also covers all breeds.

 

[fw2014]

Thanks for the info.
I did Google "dog friendly insurance" and State Farm was on a short list I found.
My mom told me that she had written "Mutt" as the breed on the original survey, but the insurance company asked for more info, including which breeds are in his mix, and asked for photos, which we provided.

 

[3GSD4IPO]

FWIW my insurance company was OK after I told them the dogs are behind two fences, are highly trained and never are loose. The two fences are gated and locked. One fence is an outdoor kennel (10x10 runs with wire over the top) and the other is a solidly built back yard enclosure fence that the kennels are in. We do not discuss "breed." I also clearly state that my dogs do no fraternize with guests, workers or anyone else on the property.

So far, so good.

 

[Jen2010]

I have actually never heard of this before. Maybe it's different in Canada?

 

[Bluemoods]

Yep, same here, hence mine are just mixed breed as far as insurance knows. They don't insure homes with certain breeds, including pit bulls, GSD, wolfdogs, Rottweilers, Dobermans, etc... Breed they deem prone to biting people. The way they see it it isn't IF your dog will bite somone and, you will be sued, it's when and, they aren't insuring what they see as a guaranteed claim waiting to happen.

 

[airillusion]

What about getting a DNA test? Your mutt might not even have the Pit Bull, GSD or other so called "likely to bite" breeds in him.

 

[Barklee]

Hi;
My dad, who owns the house I live (with him) in has had a homeowners insurance policy with the same company for 30+ years. Recently, he received a questionnaire asking him if he owned a dog, and if so, what breed.

We have a 4-1/2yr old neutered mixed breed male that is a mix of Shepherd, Boxer, Pit Bull, and maybe one or two others. His name is Tate.
Tate is a very friendly dog; much more likely to lick you than to bite you. We have never had an incident with Tate.

My dad just received a letter that apparently (I have not seen the letter myself; just going on what he has told me) stated that they do not want to renew his policy because of the dog.

I find this extremely frustrating, and unfair.

My homeowner's insurance has a similar policy. I know it's frustrating, but it's not necessarily unfair. Sending out a representative to meet the dog is NOT, by any stretch of the imagination, a reliable means to gauge any dog's temperament, and if I were a rep for an insurance company, I'd refuse to do it outright. Situations arise when dogs are bound to act like dogs, and the problem with certain large breeds is that if they do bite, even a nip can cause extensive injury. I was once bitten by a 35lb dog that punctured the radial artery in my left arm. I lost about 2 pints of blood and still have nerve damage. It was actually a very controlled, benign bite that happened to just be very deep. If it was a German Shepherd or a pit bull (or mix thereof) I could have had half a million in hospital expenses from the same type of bite, or even have lost an arm.

The insurance companies look at bite statistics and whether that breed has ever killed a person before. They can't afford, both metaphorically and literally, to evaluate ever single dog on every single policy. Another thing is that they are going to be on the hook for an exorbitant amount of money if you are ever sued or if a certain type of doe ever does bite. It's about as fair as many insurance companies refusing to insure homeowners that live in flood zones. The homeowner is screwed, but the company would literally go bankrupt filling all the claims if they weren't prudent as to who they insured. Then no one would have insurance. It does stink, but there are companies who who will insure large breed dogs, so you do have other options, thankfully.

 

[Shell]

Yep, same here, hence mine are just mixed breed as far as insurance knows. They don't insure homes with certain breeds, including pit bulls, GSD, wolfdogs, Rottweilers, Dobermans, etc... Breed they deem prone to biting people. The way they see it it isn't IF your dog will bite somone and, you will be sued, it's when and, they aren't insuring what they see as a guaranteed claim waiting to happen.

Having insurance that excludes wolfdogs (et al) while posting about your wolfdogs on the internet is a great way to have any claim denied and get dropped by you carrier too.

Bite stats by breed are horribly unreliable and highly subjective reporting based on phenotype and the best (or just lazy) guess of the owners and insurance adjusters.

If dog owners in general switch to carriers that insure all breeds, insurance companies will tend to shift towards that to follow the money.

 

[MastiffGuy]

State Farm covers all breeds and only uses bite history to discriminate, except in places where local law supercedes that.

If a dog is listed ANYWHERE on paperwork as a breed that an insurer may not cover then don't risk it, pick an insurance that covers all breeds. By anywhere, I mean anything from adoption papers to previous vet file etc.

Any dog owner would be well served to carry a high liability coverage or an umbrella liability policy.

Insurance companies are actually shifting away from breed based coverage and more towards bite/incident history coverage because that is what the data supports. I think Travellers also covers all breeds.

States/cities also can effect your coverage.
reynoldsburg ohio just recently lifted it's ban on pitbulls, which they used as a blanket to cover many breeds which are not even related to bully breeds, so a insurance claim was denied because your breed was in a area that did not allow it.

 

[fw2014]

Why can't insurance companies simply refuse to write a policy that includes injuries/damage caused by the dog, rather than refusing to write ANY policy at all?
From what my dad told me, the insurance company he has been with for 30 years was refusing to renew his homeowners policy at all.

 

[MastiffGuy]

Why can't insurance companies simply refuse to write a policy that includes injuries/damage caused by the dog, rather than refusing to write ANY policy at all?
From what my dad told me, the insurance company he has been with for 30 years was refusing to renew his homeowners policy at all.

The debate them would be "if" the dog did it or not.