# Dog Liability insurance???



## Topdog

So I live in Massachussets, and If I rescue a GSD, my home owners Ins (Vermont mutual) will be dropped. Well I can switch to another company and there is a chance that if the dog and I complete the AKC CGC training I can go with them, However the other company wont let me bundle with my car and would cost me alot more. Really I'm looking for a way out of this crap. 

I suppose I don't need to tell my Ins company I have a dog, however that idea is not without its issues. 
Is there a just for dog liability insurance I can get for my dog that will cover my dog and keep my Ins Co from dumping me. 
What do other people do? I guess im just looking for ideas and suggestions here. I can't be the only one in this boat. 

Thank you so much!
Ryan


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## SRQ5363

Ryan, you are not the only one. I just joined this group for this very reason. I just came up for renewal on the homeowners insurance I've had for years and noticed that the policy said that I didn't have dogs. I called the agent and told her I have a GS and a Siberian. She checked it out and was told that I'd have to go elsewhere. She also told me that the insurance company could have refused to pay on a claim for something completely unrelated to my dogs had I not made them aware of the dogs being present in the home. I had to go to another company that would tolerate the dogs but the insurance doesn't cover me if the dogs were to bite someone or another dog. So, I am also looking for a "dog liability insurance" company to cover me against an extremely unlikely event.


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## jasonGSD01

Check State farm. I just went through this today. I rent a house and the landlord has a insurance company that will not cover GSD. So I went to state farm and took out renters insurance with a $300,000 Liability coverage. So my renters insurance will cover the GS in case anything was to happen. If you look hard enough theres aways a option.  Also I pay 15.00 a month. of course everyones coverage rate will be different.

Jason


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## smyke

jasonGSD01 said:


> If you look hard enough theres aways a option.


not if you live in Massachusetts there isn't. LOL

you will have to check around Topdog. each company will have different guidelines. 
Our agency deals with few different companies and GSDs are on the list with only one of them.
here is the list of companies that offer home owners insurance in Mass.

to answer your question about not disclosing the dog?
yes, if there is a claim and you misrepresented on your application your company may deny a claim.

I am not aware of any policies that will cover dog bite liability only, but then again I dont do business in all the states.


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## littledmc17

which I think is total crap these insurance agencies.
So you mean to tell me that all the K9 officers in Mass don't have insurance because their partners are living with them and the Ins companies won't cover them 

Insurance is a total scam!!
My fathers yorkie and Golden will bite someone before my GSD will


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## selzer

So if you own a GSD, and did not disclose it to the insurance company, and lightning strikes your house, and it ends up burning to the ground, the insurance company can say they will not cover the damage because you own a dog???

Has anybody taken them to court on this???

Would they win???


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## littledmc17

Totally agree with that one Selzer


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## jasonGSD01

A lighting strike is a act of God. So it would be covered, the high personal liability that i was quoted was to cover the dog. The dog falls under personal property. Of course i am talking renters insurance and your talking home owners.


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## Sigurd's Mom

I have triple A. It's not the best coverage for dog liability, so basically, if he bites someone, and whoever wants to sue, blah blah, I have to get rid of him but they will cover all expenses. They know I have a GSD. We actually just called and asked recently, didn't raise any eyebrows or fees.


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## Lilie

My home owners frowned because we had dogs in our back yard, and we live out in the country. When he came over to audit (we added different policies for livestock) he noticed that we had a hot wire around the back yard fence. This was mostly to keep the horses from leaning over the chain link - but he stated that made a difference on our policy and accepted the dogs as is. I dunno.


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## Lilie

:crazy:You know, we should get a price break for having big dogs. Statistically, people with large dogs aren't robbed as often as those with out a dog at all.


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## selzer

I agree with that.


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## smyke

selzer said:


> So if you own a GSD, and did not disclose it to the insurance company, and lightning strikes your house, and it ends up burning to the ground, the insurance company can say they will not cover the damage because you own a dog??


not sure where you got this from but it was already answered by someone else.

dont shoot the messenger! question was asked so I answered. 

Trust me, I dont agree with it either, but insurance rates/policies are based on statistics and there is tangible data to support their reasoning. whether we like it or not.

When insurance companies "frown upon" stuff it doesnt mean jack ****. as long as you did not withhold information and they wrote/issued the policy they would not be able to deny your claim no matter how hard they try.

I dont know how K9 officers get their coverage in Mass. I would imagine that the PD has some kind of policy in place for that.
In CT you have options and luckily not every company discriminates against GSDs, heck I have never even seen Malinois on those lists (they must have missed it).


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## smyke

Lilie said:


> :crazy:You know, we should get a price break for having big dogs. Statistically, people with large dogs aren't robbed as often as those with out a dog at all.


true, but its very difficult (nearly impossible really) for an insurance company to fight the dog bite liability claim and that $300K that Jason mentioned will be right out the window. so at $180 a year thats a pretty big loss, wouldnt you say?
its a lot more money than the PS3 that the burglar would steal.


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## selzer

The incredulity was not aimed at the messenger but at the message/insurance companies. 

No one is shooting anything around here.


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## smyke

I know it wasn't, selzer. no worries.


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## jasonGSD01

smyke said:


> true, but its very difficult (nearly impossible really) for an insurance company to fight the dog bite liability claim and that $300K that Jason mentioned will be right out the window. so at $180 a year thats a pretty big loss, wouldnt you say?
> its a lot more money than the PS3 that the burglar would steal.


Sorry but can you explain this alittle more? I am kind of confused.


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## smyke

I am already off the clock. LOL
with any claim, insurance companies will always try to find the way out of the jam (ie. not to pay it if they dont have to). with dog bite liability there is pretty much no explanation that it could have been the claimant's (person that got bitten) fault (compared to automobile accident for example), especially if it was a child. therefore lawyers know that they can easily go after the maximum liability on the policy ($300K in your case) and that they will get it. insurance company will not spend extra money on lawyers in a case they cannot win. so they will just pay up and close the case. 

In some instances they will sue you for more than your limit but its more complicated and most people would rather get what they can quick and not drag it out for years.

here are some statistics for you: dog bite stats


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## selzer

I think that companies prefer to settle a dog bite claim than to fight it. So if a yayhoo climbed your fence so they could play Schutzhund with your dog, and got bitten, and they sued, the company would just settle out of court instead of forcing the "victim" (perpetrator) to prove his case in court in front of a jury. 

Not sure why this is. Maybe because juries were awarding criminals all kinds of freaky claims, like the dude that went into the house under construction to steal tools and fell down the steps and broe his leg and sued because there was no railing put up. He won. 

I guess grusome polaroids of dog bites coupled with pictures of fierce GSDs or Pit Bulls, do not go over well with juries regardless to what idiots are doing. 

So, there is a major hit on your insurance. Bad, bad, bad. 

Currently, I am so fearful of homeowner's insurance claims that when the ice caused the sunroom to leak, I just had it fixed, and when the tree fell on my front door taking down my power pole, I had to replace the pole, and the power box and just paid for it myself. Once you make a claim they cancel you. So unless the house burns down to the ground, I am not making a claim unless there is absolutely no way around it.


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## selzer

So where do you live? I could sure use a lucrative dog bite???


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## jasonGSD01

Ok thanks for making it more clear.


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## smyke

selzer said:


> I think that companies prefer to settle a dog bite claim than to fight it. So if a yayhoo climbed your fence so they could play Schutzhund with your dog, and got bitten, and they sued, the company would just settle out of court instead of forcing the "victim" (perpetrator) to prove his case in court in front of a jury.
> 
> Not sure why this is. Maybe because juries were awarding criminals all kinds of freaky claims, like the dude that went into the house under construction to steal tools and fell down the steps and broe his leg and sued because there was no railing put up. He won.
> 
> I guess grusome polaroids of dog bites coupled with pictures of fierce GSDs or Pit Bulls, do not go over well with juries regardless to what idiots are doing.
> 
> So, there is a major hit on your insurance. Bad, bad, bad.
> 
> Currently, I am so fearful of homeowner's insurance claims that when the ice caused the sunroom to leak, I just had it fixed, and when the tree fell on my front door taking down my power pole, I had to replace the pole, and the power box and just paid for it myself. Once you make a claim they cancel you. So unless the house burns down to the ground, I am not making a claim unless there is absolutely no way around it.


sad, but all true


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## Topdog

This entire thing just stinks, Ill keep shopping for ins that will Tolerate the dogs. I dont even care if they cover them or not for biting. Oh by the way if any of you consider a move to Massachusetts... Um Dont!... 

Thanks for your advice guys. Ill try and figure somthing out, But up here my guess is Labs are the way to go..


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## SRQ5363

If you should find an independent source of coverage, please share and I'll do the same. I took a look at the dog bite stats that someone linked to. It was surprizing to see the higher number for GSD and GSD mixes but I think statistics in a vacuum can be misleading. They have to be expressed as a percentage of that particular breed's population to make any sense, IMHO. I am really shocked, though, that there is no specialty insurance. I used to scuba dive alot and I could find industry-specific insurance for that. With the shear numbers of dog owners in the US who have no problem with their dogs but who might want to be protected, it seems like some company would jump on this kind of insurance! Heck, everyone dies but you can get life insurance.


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## Marko

*Home Owners' Insurance / Renters' Insurance -- Does it resolve the problem?*

I have a similar situation. I rent a home in Gulf Breeze, FL. Some time after moving in, I rescued a GSD. After learning of this, the homeowner called and expressed his concern regarding his liability insurance. He also said, "_the neighborhood doesn't allow large dogs..." _However, there is no Homeowners Association and there are several large dogs in this sparsely populated rural area with generous land between neighbors. 

Would adding my dog to renters insurance resolve the homeowner's liability insurance concerns? Enough, or at all?


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## smyke

Yes, renters insurance will provide you with liability coverage and make you the first in line to get sued. However your landlord may not be completely off the hook anyway, but make sure you get as much coverage as you can (usually $500K) and that should put him more at ease.


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## zeusandfriends

*Make Sure*

Make sure you have a sign posting beware of dog / dog on premises somthing to that affect. Ins. look at that. No different than horses there is a sign to post as an "equine facility." I work for a law office who actually does defense work for Ins. Co. and dog bites are running wild. If I didn't do the type of work I do I would never think of it so much. If your property is posted properly, the insurance co looks at that very closely when someone tries to sue. Not all insurance with pay right off the bat, I know I have seen it. Just from experiance.


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## bellamia

check 'travellers insurance' maybe u might find wat u r looking for . AND NO I AM NOT AN AGENT! just a gsd owner who went frm pillar to post tryin to find ins. and keeping a budget!


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## bellamia

and FYI just to hijack this post! sorry! we r in the process of selling our house, new hs being built. in the mean time if this got sold and we had to temp. look for temp. appartments or even a rental prop. NO ONE will accept a gsd!! INSURANCE can take a walk! obviously even temp. we dont want to disturd our 16 and 14 yr old high schooler(zoning and all that zazz!).


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## JakodaCD OA

I do NOT recommend posting a "beware of dog" sign..This is insinuating your dog is something to 'beware' of and could potentially bite..a NO TRESPASSING sign is better or Dog on Premises..


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## Valkyrierider

A lot of insurance companies don't cover specific breeds. Both Alliance (Nationwide) and AAA have exclusions for Pits, Akita's, Canaan dogs, and others include Dobies, GSDs and believe it or not I seen one that wouldn't cover A Golden retriever seeing eye dog. You can imagine what the blind guy told them to do. The saddest part is the insurance companies always have the same answer - "this is to help keep your rates down". Bottom line think Lethal Weapon cell phone scene with Joe Pesci and Chris Rock. " They BLEEP you with the insurance just like the cell phones". Granted I live in California where anything goes. Usually the cash out of your wallet, then the shirt off your back and finally the roof over your head. I may not win every fight but if i stay in their faces long enough sometimes they cave in and maybe do what's right.


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## smyke

Here is a link with some general info on dog bite laws, and towards the bottom there are few agents listed that may be of interest to you (if you cant find a "normal" policy that will give you proper coverage).
DOG BITE LAW - Insurance for the Dog Owner

Keep in mind that every company may have different guidelines in place for different states. so if Travelers (for example) gives you coverage for a GSD in Texas, they may not offer it in Florida.
it sucks that its getting to the point where people may not be able to get insurance because of their beloved pet, but there are more and more restrictions in insurance now in general. trampolines being a new "big issue".


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