Home owner's insurance and dogs...

We just changed from Travelers to Farm Bureau or Farmer's ins last week and found out when we were signing the papers that they won't cover rotties, pitbulls, akitas, chows, and one other I can't remember. We took the insurance and the ins man said all the companies he knew of were the same way, but I immediately went to work calling people and he was very wrong. I immediately found Allstate and State farm. I am working on getting rates right now and if we can even get close we will change.

 I don't know if we will ever get another rottie, but I don't want my choice of dogs to be dictated by the ins company. Especially with the pit bull mania that goes on. it seems like so many mix dogs, I will hear people say it looks like it has pit bull in it. I'm sure some do, but not all. I would be afraid also if something happened with a mix dog, they would try to point out a banned breed that could be in the mix. Our little girl Bear has a spotted tongue. Would that be enough to be able to say uh-oh Chow if there was ever an accident with her?

 I hope to find another company that can match their rates. State farm is very interested and knows I am thinking of getting another rottie. I don't really know if I will, but I am being up front with it at the beginning so there are no surprises later on. Julie

cakana

I have State Farm also and we've never been asked about our dogs. A former coworker had the same insurance company though and his dog bit the gardener when he came in the backyard. The guy filed a bite report and the insurance company insisted they either get rid of the dog or they'd cancel his policy. That's the kind of thing that scares me.

State Farm has a one bite only policy.  They do not ask what kind of dog you have, but no matter what kind it is they will drop you after one bite if you don't get rid of the dog.  They did ask us how many dogs we had, if they had a bite record, and if they were guard/protection trained.

There's chilling info at this site:  http://www.dogbitelaw.com/PAGES/insurance.htm

I'm not sure what my policy covers or if there've been changes.  I wonder if there's a way I could call and get info without revealing my identity.  I just know that if I call asking lots of questions about dogs and bites, etc. they'll get suspicious and drop me.  It pays to be informed ahead of time. 

sillysally

 

cakana

I have State Farm also and we've never been asked about our dogs. A former coworker had the same insurance company though and his dog bit the gardener when he came in the backyard. The guy filed a bite report and the insurance company insisted they either get rid of the dog or they'd cancel his policy. That's the kind of thing that scares me.

 

State Farm has a one bite only policy.  They do not ask what kind of dog you have, but no matter what kind it is they will drop you after one bite if you don't get rid of the dog.  They did ask us how many dogs we had, if they had a bite record, and if they were guard/protection trained.

Sadly, I remember the guy telling me he was going to get rid of the dog and his kids were devastated. At first I was in disbelief but as we talked and he explained that he'd lose his home if he didn't maintain homeowners insurance, I realized how serious it was. I wondered if he couldn't find another carrier, but I imagine the information might get passed along. It made us very cautious owners. We have locks on the inside of both of our gates and I don't let anyone freely approach my dogs. I just don't take chances. Neither dog is aggressive towards people but you just never know what might trigger something.

USAA never asked me my dog's breed (although I did tell them) and only asked if she'd ever bitten anyone.  Nope.  I LOOOOVE USAA.

cakana

sillysally

 

cakana

I have State Farm also and we've never been asked about our dogs. A former coworker had the same insurance company though and his dog bit the gardener when he came in the backyard. The guy filed a bite report and the insurance company insisted they either get rid of the dog or they'd cancel his policy. That's the kind of thing that scares me.

 

State Farm has a one bite only policy.  They do not ask what kind of dog you have, but no matter what kind it is they will drop you after one bite if you don't get rid of the dog.  They did ask us how many dogs we had, if they had a bite record, and if they were guard/protection trained.

Sadly, I remember the guy telling me he was going to get rid of the dog and his kids were devastated. At first I was in disbelief but as we talked and he explained that he'd lose his home if he didn't maintain homeowners insurance, I realized how serious it was. I wondered if he couldn't find another carrier, but I imagine the information might get passed along. It made us very cautious owners. We have locks on the inside of both of our gates and I don't let anyone freely approach my dogs. I just don't take chances. Neither dog is aggressive towards people but you just never know what might trigger something.

OH yes, there is a database for homeowners' insurance companies. It's so that they can asses what kind of a risk you'll be. If you get dropped by an insurance company, it's in the database and it's very hard to find new coverage, they put everything in the database, some companies even make a record of when you call to ask a question (like if they cover certain breeds). We ended up going through a broker to find ours, that's what I'd do again if I ever got dropped.

I think if anyone wants to call an insurance company, do it as if you were a new customer shopping for quotes without revealing anything personal.

Who knows if they are telling the truth or not until you are actually in the situation of having a dog-bite, but State farm just told us they take every dog bite as a case to case basis, and won't necessarily drop you if the dog was provoked.

 I wonder sometimes just what you are supposed to do to keep people from being stupid around your dogs? Our yard is fenced, and before our Rottie died, the back yard was fenced too, inside the first fence. We almost never let her stay out in the yard when we weren't home, but sometimes if we weren't going to be gone long and it was a nice day, we would let her out int the back, double-fenced. Now this dog hadn't bitten, but she was very protective of her home and with a stranger, who knows when you are not there.

 We come home one day, and the fuel delivery man had been there, even though they know they are to call first, and he had gone in the back yard and delivered fuel. How, I don't know. I usd to deliver, and you can bet, dog lover that I am, if I came to a house with no one home, and there was a rottweiler double-fenced behind the house, I wouldn't go in. If she would have bitten him, I guess you could figure out the rest of the story.

I am wondering, with the situation where the ins co had to pay a dogbite claim, they let us believe that they would just exclude the dog afterwards if they kept you as a client, not that they would make you get rid of the dog. What difference would it make to them who had the dog as long as they didn't have to pay. Like our new ins, we can have a rottie kennel, but anything to do with the dogs is excluded. That doesn't really make sense. But I could still believe it. Julie

spiritsmom

 Our little girl Bear has a spotted tongue. Would that be enough to be able to say uh-oh Chow if there was ever an accident with her?

No WAY!  My GSD is as pure as they come and has a spotted tongue.  Spots are birth marks.  The Chow's mouth is completely purple.

spiritsmom

Who knows if they are telling the truth or not until you are actually in the situation of having a dog-bite, but State farm just told us they take every dog bite as a case to case basis, and won't necessarily drop you if the dog was provoked.

 I wonder sometimes just what you are supposed to do to keep people from being stupid around your dogs? Our yard is fenced, and before our Rottie died, the back yard was fenced too, inside the first fence. We almost never let her stay out in the yard when we weren't home, but sometimes if we weren't going to be gone long and it was a nice day, we would let her out int the back, double-fenced. Now this dog hadn't bitten, but she was very protective of her home and with a stranger, who knows when you are not there.

 We come home one day, and the fuel delivery man had been there, even though they know they are to call first, and he had gone in the back yard and delivered fuel. How, I don't know. I usd to deliver, and you can bet, dog lover that I am, if I came to a house with no one home, and there was a rottweiler double-fenced behind the house, I wouldn't go in. If she would have bitten him, I guess you could figure out the rest of the story.

I am wondering, with the situation where the ins co had to pay a dogbite claim, they let us believe that they would just exclude the dog afterwards if they kept you as a client, not that they would make you get rid of the dog. What difference would it make to them who had the dog as long as they didn't have to pay. Like our new ins, we can have a rottie kennel, but anything to do with the dogs is excluded. That doesn't really make sense. But I could still believe it. Julie

Exactly!   I don't care if it's a rottie or a  Teacup Chihauhua, entering a property with a dog on it that is outside or able to access the person entering seems SO foolish on the part of the person entering.  I could be home and the dogs outside in the fenced in yard and a bite could happen. I doubt my dogs would bite, but really if someone is entering "their" territory, there is a natural dog reaction there.  It sucks because if someone wanted to scam, it would be very easy for someone to provoke a dog and turn around and file a claim with the homeowners' insurance.

I think with homeowners' insurance, there isn't a way for them to "exclude" the dog.  I don't think the dog itself is insured, but if they bite, it's the same situation as if the mailman slipped on your icy driveway, your insurance to cover the medical bills (and of course, they often claim psychological damage and loss of wages due to the trama on there to) of the person who was bit no matter what.

Thanks for the spotted tongue info. I wondered about that. Julie

I have Farmers homeowner insurance and it doesn't exclude dogs. But, insurance-wise, dogs are viewed as property. If a person comes onto my property and trips over the garden hose and gets hurt, they can claim on my insurance because they were injured by my property. Same with the dog. If he injures someone, they can claim injury due to my "property."

I had the tongue thing backwards. Her tongue is purple with two little pink spots, not the other way around. oops! Julie

Ron, is your Farmers ins the same as Farm Bureau ins? That is what we just got, but I am in TN. I have papers in hand of our coverage as of yesterday, so Monday I will be doing some checking. I don't want to give the ins co my business that discrimantes on dog breeds. Hopefully we can find someone who can come close enough in rates to let us be choosy. Julie

When you're checking on rates for your homeowner's policy, it's worthwhile to also inquire about an umbrella liability policy. It ended up costing us almost nothing to buy a $1M policy because we were able to lower the liability coverage on the homeowners policy. It was strange how it worked out, but we were thrilled and I wondered why more people didn't do it. The umbrella policy covers us for liability if any situation (car accident, home accident, personal liability) except work-related issues.