Black listed dog and home insurance

[dvalley]

So who knew that our shepherd mix had some Akita in him; we had a DNA test done for info and turns out he has a few different breeds mixed in him including Akita. My home owner's insurance company black lists several breeds including Akitas (or a mix of the black listed breeds). They said they cannot insure me

Does anyone know if there are companies that will insure even if it's with some additional cost. I'd hate to take the pooch back to the pound. If I did he'll be the poster child for the riches-to-rags story amongst his pooch buddies that's for sure!

 

[Marita40]

Wow. I'd voluntarily drop any insurance company that had such a policy. You'll probably do well to shop around to compare prices. Please keep the poor dog!

 

[dvalley]

I was surprised to find this out myself. I never knew insurance companies cared what breed your dog was but I guess I can see with so much media coverage on certain breeds and dog attacks. Apparently this a common practice for many insurance companies. Here's a blog post from Progressive:

@Progressive Blog - How Does Home Insurance Cover Pets?

Don't worry, the dog's staying On the other hand the insurance company's got to go even if they've given me the cheapest rates over the years.

 

[Another Reader]

Why on earth did you go there? The dog is a shepherd mix. That's all they had to know.

There are lists of insurance companies that will insure you if you have a blacklisted dog. You can usually find one at a rescue group that takes pits and pit mixes, although I can't find it at the moment. The Akita rescues or perhaps the breeder's association should have a list as well.

 

[grasshopper]

No wonder Ms G keeps me on a short chain.

 

[MRG]

We used to have American Family, they had the same type of limitations, don't know if it's by insurer, state?
MRG

 

[Bestwifeever]

Run another test from a different company and you might get different results.

 

[panacea]

I think this varies quite a bit by insurer. We had a purebred Akita a few years back and didn't have a problem finding an insurance company who wanted our business.

 

[barbara sgro]

I recently switched to State Farm for homeowners insurance after our previous company added breed restrictions. You might look into them.

 

[martyb]

I don't believe my Allstate agent ever asked me a question about pets. We just bought a homeowner's policy a few months ago.

 

[Silver]

I had a chow chow for many years and ran into the same issue with some homeowners insurance. Chows are normally very aloof, and do not ever want to be approached by a stranger. My Roxanne never bit anyone but clearly showed her disdain for people she didn't know, as do most chows.

Eventually I called State Farm and stayed with them for many years.

 

[Amethyst]

Nationwide never asked about pets until I applied for an umbrella policy. Then I was asked more personal questions than would be required for a security clearance! The questions included whether we owned certain specific breeds of dog. I don't remember what they were (we don't have a dog).

Amethyst

 

[dvalley]

Thanks everyone for the input. I'm with Costco/Ameripr and pay $1k for Auto (2 cars, 1 driver) and $1k for home insurance. The $1k for Auto is much cheaper than other companies when I shopped around. I'm thinking I may move just the home insurance to another company.

Also, if you say your dog is a 'mix' of any kind they want to know what that mix is.

 

[dvalley]

Amethyst, that's how this came up for me too. I called about Umbrella and this was one of many questions they asked. We didn't have a dog when I originally got the home insurance so they may have asked then too but don't recall.

 

[aja8888]

Are you absolutely positive the dog has some Akita bred in him?

 

[Andre1969]

I'm with Erie Insurance Group, and I remember them amending my policy a few years ago, listing that their would be a surcharge for certain dogs. I didn't pay much attention to it, as my dog had just died. I think it mentioned Pit Bulls, Dobermans, German Shepherds, and I forget what else.

 

[dvalley]

@aja888 he hasn't eaten any small animals or children yet so I'm not absolutely positive he has Akita in him In all seriousness though he's just a mix and that's how the shelter listed him so that's what I'm going to stick with

 

[aja8888]

@aja888 he hasn't eaten any small animals or children yet so I'm not absolutely positive he has Akita in him In all seriousness though he's just a mix and that's how the shelter listed him so that's what I'm going to stick with

Yes, we had a Golden Retriever/Chow mix and just called him a retriever mix. Keep it simple unless you were there when the dog's parents were in the act of conceiving the litter.

 

[braumeister]

Akitas are wonderful dogs; your insurance company is stupid.

You're better off without them (and with your dog).

 

[Amethyst]

Before applying for the umbrella policy, we were never asked any questions I would have considered odd or intrusive. The only time that happened is when I made a claim against another driver who rear-ended my car: The other insurance company (Progressive) paid, but they made me "pay" for my reimbursement in the form of an extremely rude and intrusive phone call, obviously designed to set me up as some sort of serial-getting-rear-ended person. The caller seemed unable to believe that I only wanted my bumper fixed, and wasn't planning to sue for injuries.

Amethyst, that's how this came up for me too. I called about Umbrella and this was one of many questions they asked. We didn't have a dog when I originally got the home insurance so they may have asked then too but don't recall.

 

[youbet]

@aja888 he hasn't eaten any small animals or children yet so I'm not absolutely positive he has Akita in him In all seriousness though he's just a mix and that's how the shelter listed him so that's what I'm going to stick with

I'd go with an insurance company which does not have restrictions on certain breeds or breed mixes.

Since you have had a DNA test done and were informed by those people that your dog contains some akita ancestry, that's apparently the way it is, like it or not.

I never like to be anything other than 100% truthful when I'm buying liability insurance. Withholding the outcome of the DNA test to qualify for insurance would probably be easy to do. But if your dog did somehow became involved in an incident which resulted in civil or criminal legal action and the DNA test results, and your knowledge of them, came out, that might give the insurance company a way to wiggle out of covering you.

Buy your insurance from a company where you do not have to "forget" to mention the results of the DNA test you had done.

The next time you acquire a dog and you don't want to know the ancestry, don't have a DNA test done!

 

[rodi]

A friend has a dog that bit a woman. She sued, his homeowners paid... then non-renewed them. He was unable to find any insurer that would cover anything related to his dog and was advised to get a separate policy just for dog liability. He did - through Lloyds of London. That allowed him to get State Farm insurance for everything else homeowner related.

 

[ERD50]

Wow, I don't recall any questions at all when I got my umbrella. Hmmm, maybe just some basics, like no business being conducted, and no dangerous hobbies like sky-diving, but since those types of questions are so basic, I guess I wouldn't remember if they were asked or not.

Is that because I had home, and all cars insured with the same company (State Farm) for 20+ years?

-ERD50