Question:
> >No, and my insurance company is Allstate. > Some companies have different regulations for different states. I’m pretty > sure that I read somewhere (so this is only hearsay) that Allstate will not > insure a homeowner with an Akita in New Jersey.
Well, I’m in Jersey (don’t ask what exit) have Allstate and used to have GSD’s. Up until about 2 years (about the time we lost our last shep) there was never a question for us re: insurance. Some of our friends did have some "problems" with other cos, but I don’t remember anyone being dropped. While I don’t have a "questionable" breed anymore, I did get a "notice" with the last Allstate renewal that went on and on about limits for dog related injuries and also threw stuff in on "viscious breeds" and all that. I should have read it more thoroughly, though. I think it may be a "state-mandate" thing with respect to coverage restrictions or maybe notification of coverage limitation. I have not gotten a questionaire from them on whether I even own a dog or not, let alone what breed. > It’s a state-by-state thing. I have Allstate in Virginia, no problems. But > they *did* ask me if I had dogs, what kind, and then launched into a big > speech about only covering the first BITE. Not the first ATTACK, but the > first BITE. I verified this with the agent — if somebody came into my home, > tried to attack me, and my dogs ripped him open, only the very first bite from > each dog would be covered — I’d be liable for the rest of the injuries. > Frankly, I doubt that there are very many people out there stupid enough to > try. So I don’t worry too much.
I wouldn’t agree with that. When we had the GSD’s they had free run of the house and we actually had people (real estate people) walk into the kitchen when we were’nt home and leave literature on the table (the house was not for sale … it was a flier on IF we wanted to sell, please contact …). I have no idea what the shepherds were doing while all this was going on. Normally they trash the place trying to protect it … We also have had people who have walked around the outside of the house as we could tell by the path of carnage and destruction from window to window on the inside, but it didn’t seem to bother the people on the outside … not even when a window pane got broken … lucky it broke out-wards and the pieces fell out cleanly so they didn’t get cut, but it apparently didn’t bother the people any. — RBT —
Response:
>Of course, then I didn’t make myself too clear either! I >was trying to make a point about the importance of reading >for context, but I failed to say that explicitly. Shows >what spending a day teaching undergrads (and digging your >way out of almost a foot of snow to do it… grumble grumble)
Maybe I should take your class. <grin> >Though it is an idea, Lynda. Perhaps Rotties, Dobes, Am Staffs, >Neopolitan Mastiffs, etc. could band together and start their >own insurance company. Then "Neopolitan" would make sense >within the context of the post. Of course, there might be some >anti-cat discrimination in such a company.
Now there’s an idea! As long as they include Akitas, I’m all for it! Whaddya think — breed clubs of the world, UNITE! >Holly in Winchester, VA
Hey, we’re almost neighbors! I’m in Blacksburg. Where’d you get your foot of snow? We had a little sleet, that’s all <neener, neener, neener> & Edric the Wonder Mutt, Kati the world’s hairiest Akita, __ /|__ Gypsy the brindle pinto pogo stick, ah, I mean Akita, / ___/ ^_/ and Battlecat & Cringer, who think all dogs are dumb / | (oh, yeah, there might be a husband under all the hair) / — / "If I don’t vacuum for another year, maybe I’ll finally || || have wall-to-wall carpeting!"
Response:
: > Are there *any* insurance companies out there that are not discriminatory : > about breeds of dogs? I had Metropolitan for a while…..was told that : > if I had Rotts, "Pit Bulls", Bull mastiffs or Dobies I couldn’t be : > insured. I’d rather not do business with companies that have such : > policies. Can we perhaps make known what companies out there DO NOT : > discriminate? : : My home is insured by Allstate, and they never even asked me if : I had pets at all. I also had occasion to make a large claim Well, I have Allstate insurance, and they asked if I had a dog, how many, and what kind. I can’t remember anymore exactly what she said (its been a year), but they do try to track that info (whether or not they refuse to insure you, I don’t know). I’m in Michigan, and I’m not sure if it varies by state. Rhonda & Zeus the great dane
Response:
> : > Are there *any* insurance companies out there that are not discriminatory > : > about breeds of dogs? I had Metropolitan for a while…..was told that > : > if I had Rotts, "Pit Bulls", Bull mastiffs or Dobies I couldn’t be > : > insured. I’d rather not do business with companies that have such > : > policies. Can we perhaps make known what companies out there DO NOT > : > discriminate? > :
Have a friend who has PEMCO and they told her the same thing.
Response:
> Are there *any* insurance companies out there that are not discriminatory > about breeds of dogs? I had Metropolitan for a while…..was told that > if I had Rotts, "Pit Bulls", Bull mastiffs or Dobies I couldn’t be > insured. I’d rather not do business with companies that have such > policies. Can we perhaps make known what companies out there DO NOT > discriminate?
Karen, My home is insured by Allstate, and they never even asked me if I had pets at all. I also had occasion to make a large claim last summer and they were not only reasonable, but generous in their settlement. I haven’t been following related threads very closely, so I don’t know if anyone else has had problems with Allstate. If they have, maybe it’s a state or regional thing rather than a company thing. I wouldn’t do business with a company that restricts my right to own the breed of my choice any more than I’d use a car insurance firm that asked me what color my vehicle was (people with red cars drive too fast, you know…) Bullfeathers! — Regina M. Seaner Fluvanna SPCA’s "Pawprints" Newsletter: http://avery.med.virginia.edu/~rmm7e/pawprints.html
Response:
Are there *any* insurance companies out there that are not discriminatory about breeds of dogs? I had Metropolitan for a while…..was told that if I had Rotts, "Pit Bulls", Bull mastiffs or Dobies I couldn’t be insured. I’d rather not do business with companies that have such policies. Can we perhaps make known what companies out there DO NOT discriminate? I live in CT if that matters. Karen F.
Response:
> Have a freind who is buying a house. When discussing homeowner insurance > with her company they asked if she had a dog. Yes she replied and they > asked what kind. She has a corgi and that appeared to not be a problem. > When she inquired why they stated that if she had a pitbull or other > questionable breed that they would have dropped her from their company. > Anyone else experiance anything like this? > Dan Burbank
A few years back, we were renting a house and wanted to get renters insurance. We phoned around to several companies to get quotes. They all asked us if we had dogs. When we finally settled on a company, they again asked us if we had dogs and what breed they were. When we told them that we had a shepherdX, a dobie/shepherdX and a labrador, they said they would need to see the house and the dogs before they insured us. The agent came out, met the dogs and inspected the house. He told us that they were very careful about insuring particular breeds, including GSD, but that he could tell our dogs were good dogs. We just recently bought a house, and when we applied for homeowner insurance, we were not asked about the dogs at all. Linda Stoli, Jack, Ruffles and Roscoe’s mom.
Response:
> Have a freind who is buying a house. When discussing homeowner insurance > with her company they asked if she had a dog. Yes she replied and they > asked what kind. She has a corgi and that appeared to not be a problem. > When she inquired why they stated that if she had a pitbull or other > questionable breed that they would have dropped her from their company. > Anyone else experiance anything like this? > Dan Burbank
I had never heard of anything like this until recently. My brother and his wife just bought their first home and had extreme difficulty in obtaining homeowner’s insurance. The reason: they have two Rotweilers. Of course the fact that both dogs have had extensive obedience training etc. (one, a neutered male, has just completed his C.D.) was not at all significant to the insurance company representatives. It was the breed. My brother ended up replacing the existing chain-link fence which ran the perimeter of the back yard with a six foot wooden "privacy fence". They were finally able to obtain insurance, but as my sister-in-law states, she prefers not to think about the premiums. This is in South Carolina. I’ve also wondered if owning particular breeds is going be even more of a luxury item. Will the ownership of Dobermans, Rotweilers etc. be confined to those who can afford such unforseen expenses as raised insurance premiums? (Just a random thought.) The ironic thing is that one agent actually visited the house, chatted with my bro., played with the dogs, was extremely positive and then said as soon as my brother got rid of the dogs he could be insured. Oh well, guess he was just being honest and doing his job. . .
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -Dotterer) writes: >Dan Burbank asked……. >Have a freind who is buying a house. When discussing homeowner insurance >with her company they asked if she had a dog. Yes she replied and they >asked what kind. She has a corgi and that appeared to not be a problem. >When she inquired why they stated that if she had a pitbull or other >questionable breed that they would have dropped her from their company. >Anyone else experiance anything like this? >Dan Burbank
Yes!! When I tried to get insurance they asked if I had a dog and what kind of dog. I asked them (Liberty Mutual) why they asked that kind of question. They answered that if I had said, "German Shephard, Doberman, etc. (You get the idea), they would have refused to insure me. I told them the truth …. I have a schnauzer. They said, "Fine". And my insurance certificate reads "schnauzer" as an addendum. Phew!!! It’s a good thing they didn’t realize that there’s more than one type of schnauzer !!!! Pat Byrnes
Response:
we have a commercial boarding kennel – it has comprehensive kennel insurance (liability, fire, theft, etc) we have a house on the same property as the kennel business. we were approached by an insurance agent to save money on our house insurance policy. looks good we said, but we have a kennel business on the same property and many DOGS. no problem says agent, i’ve checked with company – and signs us up and we drop old house insurance policy. well 6 months into the new policy – no claims- and the homeowners insurance company dropped the homeowners insurance because we had the kennel. IT DIDN’T MATTER THAT THE KENNEL HAD A SEPARATE POLICY!! the company said they were afraid of liability from the kennel coming onto the house insurance if the kennel insurance people backed out of a claim. we appealed through the state insurance board. it did no good. finally the agent who sold us the kennel insurance – which is with The Travelers found us a Maryland underwriter for Travelers home owners. We figured that if we got the homeowners and the business policies from the same company – no problem (the only drawback being that the homeowners policy went from $500 a year to $1500 a year and the kennel policy went from $500 a year to $1000 a year – we had changed to The Travelers from hartford because The Travelers did sell homeowners in Maryland which Hartford did not). So after months of negotiation between the commercial underwriter and the residential underwriter the policies were sent in to The Travelers and then the homeowners was refused! Reason – too much risk that the kennel insurer might back out of a claim and it would be passed on the the homeowner’s policy. AAARGGH! well we got both agents on the phone (see the commercial agent couldn’t sell the house insurance and visa versa) and they talked to a couple of VP’s of The Travelers and finally the whole thing was worked out and the next year the insurance bill even came down a little bit. and you know what, we are never, never, never going to change insurance companies again. ever. (Unless we get dropped) moral either: (1) don’t have business and home on same property (2) don’t have dogs (3) don’t have insurance Bonnie Dalzell, MA freelance anatomist, vertebrate paleontologist, writer, illustrator, dog breeder, computer hacker and iconoclast mail: 5100 Hydes Rd Hydes MD USA 21082 phone: 410 592 5512
Response:
>No, and my insurance company is Allstate.
Some companies have different regulations for different states. I’m pretty sure that I read somewhere (so this is only hearsay) that Allstate will not insure a homeowner with an Akita in New Jersey. It’s a state-by-state thing. I have Allstate in Virginia, no problems. But they *did* ask me if I had dogs, what kind, and then launched into a big speech about only covering the first BITE. Not the first ATTACK, but the first BITE. I verified this with the agent — if somebody came into my home, tried to attack me, and my dogs ripped him open, only the very first bite from each dog would be covered — I’d be liable for the rest of the injuries. Frankly, I doubt that there are very many people out there stupid enough to try. So I don’t worry too much. & Edric the Wonder Mutt, Kati the world’s hairiest Akita, __ /|__ Gypsy the brindle pinto pogo stick, ah, I mean Akita, / ___/ ^_/ and Battlecat & Cringer, who think all dogs are dumb / | (oh, yeah, there might be a husband under all the hair) / — / "If I don’t vacuum for another year, maybe I’ll finally || || have wall-to-wall carpeting!"
Response:
Dan Burbank asked……. >Have a freind who is buying a house. When discussing homeowner insurance >with her company they asked if she had a dog. Yes she replied and they >asked what kind. She has a corgi and that appeared to not be a problem. >When she inquired why they stated that if she had a pitbull or other >questionable breed that they would have dropped her from their company. >Anyone else experiance anything like this? >Dan Burbank
No, and my insurance company is Allstate. "They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." – Benjamin Franklin The opinions are mine and may not be that of my employer
Response:
Have a freind who is buying a house. When discussing homeowner insurance with her company they asked if she had a dog. Yes she replied and they asked what kind. She has a corgi and that appeared to not be a problem. When she inquired why they stated that if she had a pitbull or other questionable breed that they would have dropped her from their company. Anyone else experiance anything like this? Dan Burbank
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