Pet Parents Must Often Choose -- Insurance or Their Pet

Mindy, an eight- year -old spayed Rottweiler who is deaf, partially blind and arthritic, sits forlornly in her kennel at the local animal shelter facing the likely prospect of being put to death.  Her human mom, Linda Erickson, sobs as she completes the relinquishment papers.  The reason given for leaving Mindy at the pound is, "Our homeowners insurance company told us we had to give up our dog or we would not be insured".  The Ericksons tearfully explain that they tried to reason with the insurance company that Mindy was a good dog and had never shown any aggressive tendencies but the insurance company wouldn't listen.  They explained that Mindy was spayed and was a member of their family but the insurance company wouldn't listen.  The insurance representative callously explained that if a family had one of the certain breeds of dogs that that they had determined were "BAD" that they would not be able to provide them with insurance. When the Ericksons desperately tried to get insurance elsewhere, they found that all the other companies they contacted also had blacklisted certain breeds.  Therefore, they had no choice.  The mortgage company had made it clear that they must have insurance and as responsible homeowners, they knew that was true.  So poor Mindy sits bewildered in the kennel facing a very uncertain future.  She is not likely to be adopted because other potential adopters will face the same dilemma as the Ericksons.  Mindy's only crime is that she happened to be born a Rottweiler.

This is just an example of hundreds of stories concerning insurance companies canceling or refusing to write insurance for individuals who have certain breeds of dogs.  Although the breed list changes from company to company, the most "usual suspects" are Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Doberman Pinschers, Chow Chows, and Mastiffs.  But don't think you are safe from this discrimination if you have a mixed breed dog because if your dog is "guilty" of having any of the above breeds in his lineage, you may suffer the same fate as the Ericksons.

Do Insurance Companies Have Alternatives?

Insurance companies tell you that they have no choice because dog bite claims cost them a lot of money.  But breed discrimination is not an effective way for them to reduce these costs.  The truth is that all dogs can bite and cause severe injury to the victim.  Dogs that are socialized with humans and other animals, are obedience trained, can easily be controlled by their owners, are spayed or neutered, and are not constantly tethered are not likely to be involved in a bite incident.  Measurements of a dog's temperament can be made by an animal behaviorist using proven scientific methods or through such tests as the "Canine Good Citizen Test" administered by the American Kennel Club.