{"id":3462,"date":"2017-04-03T00:45:56","date_gmt":"2017-04-03T00:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/?p=3462"},"modified":"2017-04-03T00:45:56","modified_gmt":"2017-04-03T00:45:56","slug":"a-helpful-guide-for-homeowners-dog-breed-insurance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2017\/04\/a-helpful-guide-for-homeowners-dog-breed-insurance\/","title":{"rendered":"A Helpful Guide for Homeowners – Dog Breed Insurance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated on Wednesday, January 11 2017<\/span> By Bryan Ochalla<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
Shopping for home insurance can be a challenge if you have a dog–especially if its breed is seen as dangerous. This guide will help you get a policy (and affordable rate) regardless.<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\"pitSixty-five percent of US households have a pet, according to the 2015-2016 National Pet Owners Survey<\/a> conducted by the American Pet Products Association. Almost 78 million of those pets are dogs.<\/p>\n

Impressive, right? Some might describe that figure as kind of alarming, too. After all, those pooches injure a lot of people every year.<\/p>\n

Specifically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that dogs bite about four and a half million people annually<\/a>. And one-fifth of those bites are serious enough to require medical attention.<\/p>\n

That last statistic surely is what\u2019s prompted a portion of the insurance industry\u2014home insurance providers, especially\u2014to turn a wary eye toward \u201cman\u2019s best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, that and the similarly startling stats that show Americans file tens of thousands of home insurance liability claims due to dog bites and other dog-related injuries each year. In fact, the Insurance Information Institute<\/a> (III) and State Farm recently revealed that US homeowners filed more than 15,000 of these claims in 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also, insurers spent approximately $570 million as a result of those claims, and that sum equaled a third of all homeowner-liability dollars paid out that year.<\/p>\n

Although the number of home insurance claims tied to dog-related injuries in 2015 was the lowest since 2007, their combined value and their average cost (just over $37,000) represent record highs for the industry.<\/p>\n

As for what caused those spikes, Loretta Worters, III\u2019s vice president of communications, suggests they were spurred by \u201cincreased medical costs as well as the size of settlements, judgments, and jury awards given to plaintiffs, which are still on the upswing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which dog breeds worry insurance carriers the most (or which dogs do insurers like the least)?<\/h2>\n

Combine the above with information that points to a handful of dog types accounting for more of those costly bites and injuries than others and it\u2019s easy to understand why some insurers restrict, refuse, or cancel home coverage if a customer owns a certain breed.<\/p>\n

Others exclude certain breeds from a homeowner\u2019s policy, or require homeowners to sign liability waivers for any bites that occur. Or they drop coverage or raise premiums if a customer\u2019s dog attacks and injures someone.<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, the dog breeds listed below tend to make insurance companies the most nervous.<\/p>\n