# Your experiences with Home Owners Insurance



## shellbeme (Jun 21, 2010)

We are going to start hunting for a home to buy next month and we don't currently have a dog but we are interested in getting a german shepherd and later down the line adding a rottie. (Just in case anyone remembers my s/o with his mild dog allergies we have found it is a mild allergy to saliva and simply washing up after play and keeping clean should take care of that issue)

Anyway back to my concern about this post. So, many companies don't like to cover dogs like shepherds and rotts? We live in Iowa. I have contacted one farmers office and they say they wont, another said he had no problem with covering any breed except pit bulls. The first office referred me to state farm. 

We currently have allstate for our car insurance but intend to have home, car and all else all under one name. I haven't yet contacted allstate, I will eventually. I just want to make sure whoever we go with will cover us when we add those breeds to our household. 

I have read a thread or two dealing with this already but nothing that went into much detail. I will be sure to share what I find as our search begins in the next couple of months. Have you guys run into any issues with it? Who do you have an what state? I am wondering if it varies from state to state, or like the example above if its mostly agent to agent. I also wonder if it's a flat rate regarldess of breed or if it is an increase PER dog.

I have also seen insurance offered just for dogs specifically and I wonder if you have that, if companies who otherwise would not insure you, would cover you then? One plan we looked at though was about 50 a month for one dog I believe it was 300000 worth of coverage but honestly I didn't get the details, the fiance' was just browsing at the time.

I am interested to hear your thoughts, experiences and suggestions for companies that you have had too experiences with.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

My mom's company wouldn't insure her when she got a gsd but her agent found a company that would- she just had to post on the front door and on the fence that she had a gsd. We have USAA because my husband is ex-military. They don't exclude specific breeds to my knowledge, however, we did send them a copy of the STAR puppy and CGC certificates just to have on file. When you do get your dogs, it's wise to start a kind of resume--a file with all the certificates from training classes, letter from a trainer, etc, just in case anything happens or someone complains, you have documentation that the dogs have been well trained. Good luck house hunting!


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## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

We have insurance through a local company that has no breed restrictions.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I am in CT and 'had' allstate, notice I said "had", for years on my vehicles. They wanted us to drop our HO, and go with them for everything, I was ok with it, UNTIL, they told me no gsd's. At the time I had 4,,I said, well forget it, they told me i could always get rid of my dogs,,as if that would happen. 

They continuously bugged me to switch to allstate, I said as soon as I get in writing, that I have 4 gsd's and you don't have a problem with that, fine..VERY PUSHY..

I finally had to really get nasty and tell them to take me off their mailing/call list, because I was now dumping my auto with them as well..

Right now, I have Peerless, when I started with them, last year, they did send me a questionaire on the breeds of dogs I own,,since I'm down to 2 aussies, and 1 gsd, the gsd has become an honorary malinois) 

If I had more than one, I most likely wouldn't 'fib' about the breed, and I'm honestly not sure what peerless policy is on gsd's but I didn't want to chance it..


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

We have American Family through a local agent. We have never been asked about dogs/dog breeds. They seem to care more how many computers we have and the screen size of our TV.


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## SchDDR (Dec 29, 2010)

A few of the companies that *do* restrict certain breeds, make exceptions for dogs that have passed the CGC.

American Kennel Club - Homeowners Insurance Available to Breeds Previously Excluded with CGC Certification


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

We have Farmers and they have no problems with us having GSDs or with me fostering for the rescue. I'm not sure if it varies by agent or by state.


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

CassandGunnar said:


> We have American Family through a local agent. We have never been asked about dogs/dog breeds. They seem to care more how many computers we have and the screen size of our TV.


I just pulled our paperwork and GSD are not on the list, but the following are: Akita, American Pit Bull Terrier, Chow, Rottweiler, Wolf hybrids, a dog that is a mixture containing any of these breeds.

Hope this helps


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## AbbyK9 (Oct 11, 2005)

We're with State Farm currently and they know about the dogs (we still had two when we got the insurance) and it was no problem. Before that, we lived in VA and our insurance was through Travelers and they also know about the dogs and no issues.


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## Sigurd's Mom (May 12, 2009)

We have AAA and they have no issues.


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## Valkyrierider (Jul 21, 2010)

I have AAA in California. They don't have a problem with GSDs but do exclude several other breeds. Shop around, check your auto carrier, some give discounts for combining policies.


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## dogfaeries (Feb 22, 2010)

When I had Dobes, I had Farmers. I've since switched to USAA, and there is no problem having the GSDs with them.


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## racer (Nov 5, 2010)

I have safeco no problems but when I was shopping around for insurance as soon I said I had 2 rotties they were not interested giving me a quote


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## middleofnowhere (Dec 20, 2000)

In over 20 years of owning homes (Oregon, Wyoming, Arkansas) I have never had an insurance agent ask about my dogs. Ever. I was in a smaller town in Wyoming and I swear everyone knew I had the Barker Sisters.


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## UofIowaGSD (Jun 2, 2010)

I'm in Iowa and have State Farm insurance. No breed restrictions. PM me if you want the agent's name. We've been with the same agent for 15 years even though we have moved all over Iowa.


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

We switched from Farmers (Boo, Hiss) to State Farm who came out to inspect before they would cover us. Because we had hot wire around our back yard fence (mostly to keep the horses from dropping their heads over the fence) they had no problems insuring us with no regard for breed.


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## ElvisP (May 19, 2010)

GSD's are usually not a problem but Rottie's are ... tough to get coverage from any of the majors with a Rottie. I've got American Family and they have no problem with my GSD but they do have a few breeds they don't cover (I think).


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## amos.healey (Jan 28, 2011)

The Hartford is known to insure quite a few different varieties of dogs, so I’m planning to get a home insurance quote from them.


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## pyratemom (Jan 10, 2011)

We had to insure out house through Lloyd's of London because we own a duplex (both sides) and they don't cover any type of dog. We did have Kemper insurance when we bought the place in 1988 but they quit selling insurance on duplexes. We never had a company that wouldn't cover the dogs before Lloyds' but one I had to tell we had a terrier (APBT) and a mixed breed (GSD and pit) and they were okay with that. It's hard to get good insurance in south Florida.


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## krystyne73 (Oct 13, 2010)

I have State Farm in Oklahoma. My agent is my friend and he said they don't insure people with GSD, but he suggested when we bought our new house to have the dogs stay somewhere else during the policy review.
He said although there are some breed restrictions even a snarling collie could make them turn down a new policy since he had a few that had happen to a few new clients. 
I left my golden retriever here during the policy check and after they left I brought my dogs back home. LOL once they accept your policy (at least here) they never come back for a policy inspection.
so basically if its a new policy, just hide the dogs, its only for the liability side. It does not interfere with your home coverage and you can still file claims since the claims adjuster that comes out is to access any damage not to handle new claims.
( I have used this advice in my real estate office in Oklahoma for years and have had no problems)


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## DnP (Jul 10, 2008)

We currently have State Farm (whom I've had for over 17 years hwile owning gsds). I've kept them during all of my moves from MD, to NJ, to PA and then to NY when I had Dakota, including both renters and home owners insurance.

We are going to move all of our policies over to Amica (long story). The agent said they will be sending someone over to meet Phoenix before they will accept our policy. They stated they do this with every new person seeing a policy with them who owns a dog, regardless of the breed. Not sure if they were bs'ing us or not.


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## ValleyGirl (Dec 31, 2010)

This post is not directed at any one poster -- just a general comment. 

Risk is relative but a person who buys homeowners insurance is obviously not willing to roll the dice completely. It is necessary to figure out if your insurance company under the laws of your state, has the right to cancel your insurance in the wake of a non-dog disaster if they find out you lied by hiding your dogs or answering application questions falsely. Ask yourself if you really want to base your risk analysis on someone else's experience in another state with another company or agent. At a minimum, read your policy. I know, I know, its a real snorer but persevere. As for dog caused disasters, are you absolutely sure a neighbor's teen won't be foolish and break in and get bitten or some other unexpected scenario? Your dog can be trained to the max but if your dog does bite, insurance doesn't cover and you get sued, legal fees can take a big hunk of your money even if you are ultimately found to be not liable. Roll the dice if you want to. Personally, I bought an umbrella policy before I got my GSD. My insurer is USAA but they do not write umbrellas for GSD homes so they placed it with another company that is administered through USAA so even USAA treats GSD homes differently at least where umbrella coverage is concerned in Virginia.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I've never had any insurance ask us what kind of dogs we own.


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## krystyne73 (Oct 13, 2010)

yea, they never asked us either. I just knew to ask because I have had clients that had an aggressive dog and had their policy canceled. I asked my agent and he told me that "the GSD was on their list" but then explained "even if it was a poodle, if it bit someone they would drop our policy because their company doesn't insure aggressive dogs ".
that's when he explained the risks and gave me the advice. I live in the "good ole boy" state so we kinda help each other out lol He also told me they would drop us if they knew we had a trampoline. I guess I just like to walk on the wild side ha ha


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## robbidyV (Oct 16, 2010)

I live in Wisconsin. When we bought our home 3 years ago we had to get some homeowners insurance to go with it. After calling up several agencies we settled on AAA due to the price and also they had better coverage (even for a better price point). Almost as an aside just before we closed the deal they asked about pets. At the time we had a GSD, I was immediately told they were on the restricted breed list. They asked a few questions about the GSD, like the bite history (none) and the age. Then they said the matter would go to their risk department.

I heard back from them two days later with the green light. When my GSD passed away last year I called up AAA and asked how would I go about getting a new GSD (I was thinking about getting a puppy). They told me that they didn't know I ever had a GSD and that they would have canceled my policy if they had known. They said that if I got a puppy then it would go to the risk assessment department (as it did before though they claimed to have no knowledge of that happening) and that the chances of it passing them was essentially zero because the dog had no history. They said if I got the Good Citizenship Award though then it would make things easier but that if in the meantime I had an incident involving the dog my insurance would be canceled.

Pain in the butt... Been looking for a new insurance carrier since.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

middleofnowhere said:


> In over 20 years of owning homes (Oregon, Wyoming, Arkansas) I have never had an insurance agent ask about my dogs. Ever.





Chicagocanine said:


> I've never had any insurance ask us what kind of dogs we own.


They may not ask... but if they find out that you have a dog on their "restricted" list the can cancel your policy without warning. Once your homeowners insurance is cancelled, it can be difficult to get a policy with a different company. 

When we adopted Luna, she was listed as an Akita/GSD mix. We were insured with American Family. I sent her photo to our agent, and she said, "We have no problem with huskies." I could've pulled the wool out over their eyes and passed her off as a husky, but decided not to risk it. Additionally, we'd planned on getting a Rottweiler and they were also in the banned list.

Most importantly, I REFUSE to support a company that supports BSL. Period. Even if we didn't have Apollo, I still would only have a company that doesn't breed discriminate.

I live in Wisconsin, and at the time we last researched homeowners insurance, Farmers, State Farm, and Auto-Owners were the only three that did not have breed restrictions. We have State Farm, and have been happy with them. Our agent even brings his dog (a lab/pit mix) to work with him.

I have heard some say that Progressive does not have a breed list but at the time we researched them, they did. I even cancelled my auto policy and let them know exactly why.


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## GSDOWNED (Mar 16, 2010)

I worked for State Farm from 2003-2007. The only dog prohibited on the list of our underwriters were Pit Bulls, or Pit Bull type breeds. I'll never forget our agent telling a client who we had just written a policy for, he had to get rid of his Pit Bull terrier. I found it sad. Supposedly, the owner found a new home for the dog but everyone in our office had doubts. If he didn't and the dog would have bitten someone, State Farm would not have covered the liability.


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## Rott-n-GSDs (Jul 7, 2010)

State Farm (at least not the State Farm that we have up here) no longer prohibits pit bulls.


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