Can your pet affect your homeowners policy?
How much do you know about your homeowners insurance? For example, do you know that just owning a certain breed of dog in some states can be enough of a red flag to have your policy canceled? Some breeds of dogs are considered more aggressive than others and have been put on a restricted list within some insurance companies. The list is long and has about 75 dog breeds on it. A few dogs included on this list are:
• BOXER
• BULLDOG
• BULL MASTIFF
• CANE CORSO
• CHOW-CHOW
• GERMAN SHEPHERD DOG
These few dogs can be enough in a few states to keep you from getting a standard homeowners insurance policy without purchasing additional liability insurance. Whether you agree with the tactic or not, it is important to find out if your dog can cause you to lose your insurance. Unfortunately, dogs do sometimes bite people. Your dog may not fit the category of being aggressive and still attack someone. On the contrary, your dog may BE on the aggressive list and never hurt a fly. A lot depends on how you raise him and the environment in which he is living.
Even if your dog is on the aggressive list, do not worry. Talk with your insurance agent to find out if you even need to be considering a policy change. You may be absolutely fine with what you currently have. Your insurance carrier may already have taken into consideration your household pets when writing your original policy. But it certainly does not hurt to find out before it is too late. If you need to make a change, do it now instead of waiting until an accident happens. Your agent can help you. Just give him a quick call.
Insightful article! Thanks for shedding light on how pets can impact homeowners’ policies. Very informative and well-written.