# insurance companies ...really???



## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

the last thing I would have even thought about was my homeowners not carrying my pup  and now not even me.

I am with selective and called just to check after being on the forums here...and nope german shepherds are on the black list ..and bad dogs. So I have until the 12 of next month to get covered with somebody else  and nobody is going to beat their rates..which ok I'll pay extra but somebody help me find a company that will even insure me.

I saw farm bureau mentioned and we used to be with them but I just put a call into one of the agents and she thinks they have restrictions in there too  she is checking into it. I guess the next call will be state farm


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

We have home and auto through Meemic. My shepherds cost $50 additional per year but their rate and coverage is still so much better. In fact I should probably call them since I adopted a pit bull mix this weekend and I'm guessing they're on the "list" too.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

I believe Progressive is okay with Shepherds.


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## gsdsar (May 21, 2002)

I have USAA and they are fine with GSD. When I bought my house I was still doing SchH with my first GSD. They asked what breed of dog I have, then asked if she had ever bitten anyone. I paused and then explained about the sport. They got a supervisor on the phone and I explained it again. They were fine once they understood. 


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

We have USAA as well and they've never asked about what breed we have. I always tell them and they're just like "Yeah that's fine"


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## LoriH (Apr 16, 2013)

I have American Family Insurance and German Shepherds are not on their list. No problem with insurance.


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## VTski4x4 (Dec 29, 2012)

How long after getting the dog do you have to tell the insurance company/how do they find out? Obviously I am changing my policy as my company does not cover GSD, however, I am training him as a therapy/service dog and that changes things a little bit. Do they check with the town when you register them, or what? Im hoping to buy myself a little time, as he is a puppy and not going to be a major perceived "threat" for a while.


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## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

You're not obligated to tell them at all, but if something happens and you make a claim against your homeowner's (like say your dog bites a guest and they want you to pay for their medical costs) then you wouldn't be covered. My insurance company never checks, they go based purely on what I tell them. They don't care because if I try to make a claim regarding a dog (or something) that isn't properly covered that's my fault.


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## cshepherd9 (Feb 11, 2010)

I switched insurance companies last year to Travelers and while they did ask if I had dogs and if either had a bite history, they insure with GSDs.


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## NancyJ (Jun 15, 2003)

I, too, have Travelers with no issues.


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## kiya (May 3, 2010)

Hartford is good with all breeds except pitbulls.


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## jmdjack (Oct 2, 2009)

I had USAA. GSDs were on their list but they would issue insurance - you merely had to pay more. Interestingly, I inquired whether Malinois and Dutch Shepherds were on their list - Nope! 

While having to pay a little more to be insured with a GSD was not a deal killer, it caused me to look around (because as a matter of principle it ticked me off). After doing so, I ended up switching all my insurance over to Travelers. They did not have GSDs on any list and I ended up saving a ton on homeowners and auto.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

I have American Family Insurance and they allow GSDs


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Farmers Insurance allows GSDs. Liberty Mutual asked what breed I had and when I explained they both had their CGC there was no further issue.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Went on a website and found this(which is a good thing because I have State Farm)

A dog's tendency to bite depends on such factors as heredity, obedience training, socialization, health, and the victim's behavior. There are good dogs and bad dogs within every breed, just as there can be responsible and irresponsible owners of each breed. State Farm does not refuse insurance based on the breed of dog a customer owns in any U.S. state.


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

oh it's not only dog bites with Selective...if I had a fire and they find out I have a german shepherd..the claim gets thrown out and I'm automatically cancelled..how much does that suck?


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

got a quote from state farm today...it's going to run me about 300 more a year in insurance ...but I'm guessing I have to do what I have to do..at least my butt will be covered


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## JackandMattie (Feb 4, 2013)

I have Allstate, and they accepted the GSDs.


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## mebully21 (Nov 18, 2011)

allstate and state farm are all independently owned, so some will say ok to blacklisted dogs and some will say no. every insurance company has a blacklist breed list. most of them include gsd, dobe, husky, akita, great dane,chow, pitbull, american bulldog, sharpei, rotti, mastiff. selective has 17 blacklisted breeds .. they dont tell you that they blacklist the dog , its more of a secret, which is stupid. if more people would sue the insurance companies over this type of discrimination it might eventually get thrown out where the carriers cant discriminate ( i am an insurance underwriter and i think its totally unfair),. the carriers go based on claim payouts as to what breed they will deny.. i had NJM who was fine with rotts, gsds and pitbulls but wouldnt insure my new home because my above ground pool isnt fenced in.. so i went with liberty mutual who i had years ago who made their rules that power breeds had to attend obedience courses and you couldnt live near a school.. now with liberty mutual again cause they dont care that my above ground pool isnt fenced in , they had their rep come out and meet my gsd and pitx to approve them.

some homeowner carriers will deny a claim if you have a blacklisted breed .

most of them are now accepting CGC and atts.org titles on power breeds and various obedience titles and will insure them to a degree. of course once a bite happens they wont insure you anymore (which is a crock of **** if you ask me).

my liberty mutual policy is $300 higher then NJM but i will do whatever it takes to find a carrier to insure my home and my dogs


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## Fade2Black (Apr 30, 2012)

I have Farmers Insurance Comp. of Flemington. They asked if I owned a dog about 8 or so years ago (along with other questions I forget). I kept not answering the letter. They kept sending it. Finally I just answered it as someone would have to pry one of my dogs from my cold dead hands to get him. Anyway they never raised my rates or asked again....

You should actually get a discount. My Kaos was really friendly. But no one would ever dare try and break in. Just his bark could wake the dead.....


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## Kittilicious (Sep 25, 2011)

I have Western National and they have never asked me about what pets I have. I had a rottweiler when I signed with them 13 years ago. I know my agent personally so she would know if I'm screwed or not. I did a Google search and found that Western National has many pet safety tips on their website - how to keep your pet safe if you are having a yard sale, for example, and even mention that some breeds get protective in situations like that (but they don't list breeds).


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## LindsayJ (Apr 20, 2009)

I have always had a GSD, last yr my home owners insur Hingham Mutual notified 2 mth before my renewal which is Jan. That they would no longer cover us because we had GSD and they are on the "bad" list. we never had a claim, no incidents or history of bites. Just dropped period. We went with Liberty Mutual paid a little more.


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## iamcarleen (May 29, 2013)

Wow, I had no clue that I needed to check my homeowner's policy before getting a GSD! Called our agent today and learned that because our Allstate policy is so old, there is no blacklist associated with it; however, newer policies do have a "bad dog" list and GSDs are on it.


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## FlyAway (Jul 17, 2012)

I have State Farm and my agent knows I have several dogs.


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## shepherdmom (Dec 24, 2011)

We have State Farm and my agent knows I have several dogs. She has dogs as well. She has never mentioned any restrictions.


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

I ended up with White Pigeon. State farm couldn't even begin to touch the premium that white pigeon covered us with


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