Home Insurance And Your Family Pet: Is Fido Covered?
For most families, having a dog as a family pet is simply part of life, and it’s easy to understand why many homeowners overlook their pets when it comes to their home insurance policy.
Dogs may be man’s best friend, but they can do an awful lot of damage to your home or property. Some breeds are considered such a liability that many insurers won’t even cover them or any damage that cause to people or property.
Liability Claims And Your Dog
The truth is, any breed of dog can bite or injure someone on or off your property. When it comes to covering dogs on your insurance policy, breed plays a huge role in determining your premiums. In the eyes of your insurer, some dogs are simply riskier to insure because they could be more likely to injure someone.
Even though your tiny dachshund may be ten times more likely to snap at the mailman, it’s bigger dogs that pay the price in terms of higher insurance premiums. Here are some of the breeds of dog that most insurance companies deem high risk.
- Pit Bulls
- Staffordshire Terriers
- Doberman Pinschers
- Rottweilers
- German Shepherds
- Chow Chows
- Presa Canarios
- Great Danes
- Alaskan Malamutes
- Akitas
- Siberian Huskies
- Wolf hybrids
These twelve breeds are typically the most expensive to insure, due mostly to their ability to cause serious injuries if they bite someone. Some insurers will not cover some or all of these breeds. This means that if you have one of the dogs listed above, and your insurer won’t provide coverage for it, you could be completely financially responsible if your dog injures someone.
How To Get Coverage For Your Pet
If your insurer doesn’t cover your dog, you may have to shop around and find one that will. Not every insurer refuses to cover the dogs listed above on your home insurance policy. Some will require that you purchase a dangerous animal rider in addition to your homeowner’s policy, and others may recommend that you purchase an umbrella policy to limit your liability in case your dog bites someone.
If You Have A ‘Dangerous’ Dog
Your beloved pet wouldn’t hurt a fly, but he’s on the insurer’s ‘least wanted’ list, and you haven’t told them. Maybe you are planning to rescue that adorable pit bull puppy from the local Lake of the Ozarks animal shelter, but haven’t checked your policy to see if it will be covered. Here’s what you should do to make sure that you are going to be covered in the event that the dog decides to take a bite out of someone.
- First, call your insurer. Find out if the pooch is going to add extra liability to your policy, and ask whether you need to add extra coverage.
- Be honest. If you have had the dog for a while, but only just got around to telling your insurer, be prepared for a possible premium hike.
- Understand that if your dog bites someone and your insurance company won’t cover it, you will either have to pay out of pocket for the victim’s medical expenses (and possibly more, if they sue you), or change insurance companies to get the coverage you need.
It’s quite possible your canine companion will never bite or injure anything other than your fuzzy slippers, but there’s always the chance that he will bite and seriously injure someone. Don’t wait until that happens to find out if your dog is on your insurance company’s black list; speak to your insurer and be certain that your dog is not going to be a major liability for you under your current policy.
If you want to know more about how your pet affects your insurance coverage, contact us today. We’re always happy to help with your home insurance needs.
