Americans love their dogs. In many households, canines are considered part of the family, participating in daily and weekend activities, along with other family members.

  Though dogs can be loving and fun—and offer never-ending companionship—they can also be unpredictable: sweet and docile one minute, and aggressive and dangerous the next, depending on the situation.   With risk like that, homeowners who are dog owners should carefully consider the dog/s they choose to be part of the family and consult with their insurance company before bringing those cute little canines home for good. 

 Insurers Getting Skittish  

Liability insurance covering dog bites and injury should be a part of every dog owner’s financial portfolio. But for those who own certain breeds, finding an insurance company willing to offer coverage for dog bite or injury may be difficult.   In fact, some insurers are beginning to:  
  1. Deny coverage on certain types of dogs
  2. Opt not to cover dog bite or other damage dogs cause
  3. Limit the number of people in the household covered 
  4. Limit coverage extending to particular animals with a history of aggression, or
  5. Non-renew the policies of those who purchase certain types of dog
  Why is this happening? Consider these facts, provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and DogBiteLaw.com:  
  • One-third of all homeowners claims involve dog bites.
  • Dogs bite nearly five million Americans every year.
  • Children are the victims of most serious attacks.
  • Almost one in five require medical attention, with reconstructive surgery often needed.
  • Dogs cause approximately $1 billion in medical and insurance losses annually.
  With statistics like those, you can see why insurers are becoming much more selective about insuring household pets—and why rates for dog owners often run much higher than for non-owners.  

Insuring ‘Problem’ Dogs  

Which dogs make getting insured most troublesome? The CDC published a ‘most dangerous breed’ list, and insurers tend to use it to determine liability insurance rates, along with other factors like the dog’s weight, age, gender and history.   For those who own one of these top ten offending breeds, getting—or remaining—insured may present the most challenge:   —Pit Bull Type —Rottweiler —German Shepherd —Husky Type —Malamute —Wolf-Dog Hybrid —Chow Chow —Doberman —Saint Bernard —Great Dane   If you own one of these breeds of dogs and are wondering what it’ll cost to insure it, here’s a general guideline: You can usually get about $100,000 worth of coverage for $700 to $1,000 per year.   However, due to the inflated cost of medical care these days, many experts recommend you get at least $300,000 in dog bite coverage in case of severe injury. Otherwise, if your dog bites or injures someone, you’ll be paying the difference out of your own pocket.   In addition, if your dog has a history of biting or seriously injuring someone else, you may pay 30 to 50 percent more for the privilege of owning and insuring it.  

Making Sure You’re Covered  

If you’re not sure whether or not your insurance policy extends coverage to your dog, read the fine print or call your agent to find out.   If you find out the dog isn’t covered, you might want to consider purchasing a personal umbrella liability policy, which increases the amount of liability insurance your insurer will pay out on. This protects you from financial harm and devastation if your dog hurts someone and you’re held liable.   No matter what kind of dog you own, we hope you enjoy it for years! Meanwhile, talk to an InsureMe agent to make sure your dog—and you—have the insurance protection you need.

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If you’ve ever shopped for a homeowner’s policy, you probably had to disclose whether you owned a Rottweiler, Pit Bull, Doberman, Chow, or German Shepard. (Sometimes even Dalmatians make the list.)

If you do own one of the above breeds, you are probably paying a higher premium than your Chihuahua-owning neighbor.

You’re not the only one who thinks this practice is unfair. Dog advocates label this “breed discrimination” and they’re lobbying every state legislature in the union in hopes of stopping it. Deeds not breeds, they say, should determine rates.

But insurers have good reason to be skittish about dogs. According to the Insurance Information Institute, they paid over $317 million in dog bite-related claims in 2005. The III says dog bites totaled about 10 percent of all homeowner liability claims that year.

While advocacy groups can sympathize with insurers, organizations like the Humane Society and the American Kennel Club believe breed-specific rate setting is a misguided and ineffective attempt to remedy the costs of dog aggression. All breeds bite, they say. The best way to reduce dog-bite liability claims is to encourage and reward responsible dog ownership.

And they have persuaded a few state legislatures with their arguments. Some states have already banned breed-specific rate setting, and others are crafting bans as we speak. Legislatures are putting more emphasis, in the form of both carrots and sticks, on dog owner responsibility.

The American Kennel Club thinks dogs can be an asset to insurers, not just a liability. The group says a dog may serve as “a natural alarm system whose bark may deter intruders and prevent potential theft.”

And the good news is that if your pooch takes a bite out of a burglar, you’re not liable for any injury. All you need to do is make sure Fluffy can distinguish between the bad guys and the good guys.