Homeowners Insurance - Page 4

I think state farm provides umbrella inurance for "properly cared for and secured GSDs" in maine and other eastern states, but they do send an insurance investigator to check the facilities.

Here in East Texas State Farm and all the ones I contacted added $1,250 a year to my homeowners in the country because I have GSD's and Schutzhund is a redflag Its not the agent its the underwriters sitting in a gold padded chair somewhere that knows Schutzhund dogs are from high prey ancesters and we do bitework. Our club in Dallas just got through with a city meeting because someone thats not in the know complained about a group of Schutzhund dogs in the neighborhood. This is why Insurance CO. have tagged our GSD's as a hazardous breed and you can argue the point. Since I sell a litter or two a year I sure can't lie about it as some do, so just get ready, if your agent doesnt know now he or she may know and you will be dropped or the payments will be so high you have to do without like I do now. Never had a claim, never had a dog bite or scratch and now its be extra safe as to who comes on my property and I don't leave any GSD's loose when I go to town. Only in my home is there one guarding the front door and God Bless the family of the one that comes thru that door if Im not there.

I'm in Pennsylvania and I used to have Allstate when I owned a Rottie and I also had a Doberman. They never asked if I had a dog but I did upgrade my policy just in case there ever was a bite issue despite the fact neither dog I had was aggressive and neither had any "work" put on then other than basic obedience. Now I have Nationwide and they too never asked nor did they ever come look; at least to my knowledge they didn't. I only have 1 GSD and 1 Lab but I figure it's easier to beg for forgivness than ask for permission. lol I would however suggest you up your liability limits "just in case".

State Farm will write you as long as you have never had a bite incident. But here in FL they are not writing and like me if you have to many trees on the property will drop you like a HOT potatoe. GL Home Ins is a real problem.

I had Travelers for years, with no issues at all. Then after one bad hurricane season in Florida, they decided to dump all policies for properties within a half-mile of the coast because they feared wind damage claims. I live in Massachusetts where a hurricane threat exists but nowhere near the extent of the threat in Florida, but they still dumped me. So my agent sent me a two-page application form from a local company that did not ask about dogs. All was fine for a few years, when I suddenly got a non-renewal letter on the basis that I had German Shepherds. Turns out the insurance application was supposed to be four pages, not two, and the missing pages did request information about dogs (I went to school with my agent, and he was a dolt then and proved himself to remain a dolt now). Apparently someone from the company had done a drive-by and saw the dogs out in the yard. As a side note, this is why all documents should be numbered as "page 1 of 4" etc. as opposed to simply "page 1." The agent said he couldn't find a company that would insure both wind damage and dogs, so I went into the state-mandated "FAIR" plan for "high-risk" homeowners. The FAIR plan here uses the standard Massachusetts homeowners policy form required of all companies and offers all the optional coverages that the companies do, such as environmental insurance (in my opinion, a necessity if you heat with oil). It costs me about $300 more per year to insure via FAIR than it would with a private carrier. I suppose I should try to save the $300 and investigate for myself whether there are any companies that would take me, since the agent is of no use in this regard, but I just haven't gotten around to doing it. What is funny is that years ago before I got dogs, my house was broken into twice and thousands in stereo equipment, cameras etc. went out the door and was reimbursed by the insurer carte blanche. Since the arrival of GSDs, no subsequent break-ins, which means no subsequent claims. It would be nice to find an insurer who would agree that the dogs provide a security benefit far outweighing any potential bite liability.

Some interesting statistics on insurer payouts for dog bite claims can be found here: http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/ The bottom line is that at $320 million in claims paid per year, dog bites are a drop in the claims bucket, especially when compared to payouts for "catastrophic events" (defined as events where claims payouts exceed $25 million). Clicking on the "facts and statistics" link and then the "homeowners insurance" link shows that the payouts for all types of personal injuries, including medicals, comprise a mere $3 for every $100 of premium paid. Homeowners insurers collected almost $60 billion in premiums in 2005, so I hardly see how payouts for dog bites are such a huge drain on the bottom line. I would have no problem forking over another $50-$100 per year above and beyond the usual premium to be insured for dog bites, but blanket policy exclusions or forcing people to spend an additional $500 or more for dog bite coverage are just plain greed.

Same here, something needs to be done

I agree on something needs to be done but just as other things in Texas unless I spend the money out of my pocket for insurance investigations of dog claims against the need for some kind of regulation as to how much over a limit to charge for GSD's on premises it would be like the $4,000.00 it cost me to prosecute the former dog trainer of the Harris Co Pct.4 Sheriff Dept years ago for the theft and disappearance of my stud dog Konig. Someone has to take the ball and run withit and I have a kennel and a house and other obligations and a life to enjoy with my shepherds so we all sit and talk like we are here SO how do we get it done. Are insurance comissions going to listen to us ?