Home Owners insurance and Great Danes

[Judy]

Hi;
Shopping for new home owners insurance. Filled out the questionnaire on Geico.com site. Response was as follows:

"Unfortunately we cannot offer you a policy at this time for the
>following reason(s):
>
>Our policy provides liability and medical pay coverage for dog
>bites. Based on loss statistics related to dog bite frequency
>and severity, the breed of dog you own is ineligible."

Anyone else have this problem?

We are with Geico for our cars and they saved us A LOT of money, but if they don't like my dog, to heck with them.

Can anyone recommend another insurance company/
Judy
http://www.eagle-editions.com/wyatt3.htm

[zookeeper]

I went to get new insurance and found the same thing 7 companies said no way. One said ok at 5 times the price. Nice hey still looking for a lower insureance comp in MI jean in MI

[Brindle baby]

When I owned a home I had Met insurance and they said that they wouldn't insure German Shepard dogs and Rotts, but that was it. I had a rescued german shepard type dog, but she was white and they said that the agent would have to come and meet her. They came and I had to take a polaroid of him and my dog to keep in the file showing that she was friendly. Oh, she was licking his face in the photo. Anyway, they said no rotts or other shepards and no trampoline and I was fine. I also gave them copies of our obedience class completion certificates.

http://www.PictureTrail.com/brindlebaby

[danesR_us]

well that is a very unpleasant thought.I have Southern Ins.and they say no rotties.I checked into Gieco at one time when we had a dually truck,they along with Allstate were $1,000 more per yr to insure it and my car,so we stuck with Southern on our house and car.They are very easy to deal with and cheap.I have full coverage on my Mercedes for $750 per yr,they give discounts for safety features(maybe all do,I don't know).I hope they never adopt the policy of not covering me due to having danes.:(

[andipanda]

We are insured with Mercury, which also insures our cars. They offered us a 10% discount if we got rid of our dogs, or agreed to a statement that the dogs would not be insured in any way through the policy. We pay the 10% extra. However, they will not offer any insurance coverage if there is a pit bull or rott in the home. andi

[pongosmom]

Hey, We are with USAA and we have had no problems with the danes. They just needed to know about a fence and if there were any prior situations wiht the dogs.
Beth

[Judy]

Hi Pongo's mom...

Can you give me the contact information, phone number address for USAA?
I am angry about this refusal to offer insurance because I have a Great Dane, how ridiculous!!!

Thanks a bunch,
Judy

[Judy]

Hi;
Can you give me the contact information for 'southern' insurance? I am in Montana so wonder if they are all over the US or just in the south?
Thanks so much,
Judy

[IZspots]

My husband and I have our car and home owners through CNA(Encompass) for the past 14 years.We both have perfectly clean driving records.When my daughter started driving a year ago we put her on our insurance( big mistake ). Anyway she got two tickets and the insurance company dropped us like a hot potato!! We contacted just about every insurance company and no one would give us home owners because of the dogs. So to make a long story short CNA would take us back if my daughter was off our policy and never drives our cars.She is now with another company paying big bucks and we have our old homeowners back!

[shillrest]

shillrest


Hi,

My kennel club in Pennsylvania had a dog warden talk at
one of our meetings. I recall him telling us about
someone who called about their insurance company wanting
to drop them because of their dogs. Not sure what kind
they had. He said PA had a law against it being breed
specific and sent her a copy of it. When they showed it
to the insurance company they got the insurance. You may
want to contact your local dog warden and ask them for
advice. There could be similar laws in other states.

Kate

[danesR_us]

Hi Judy.I checked my policy and I beleive you would want to contact Donegal Companies(southern Ins.is an extension of them per state).Address:1195 River Road P.O. Box 302 Marietta,Pa.17547-0302 ph # 888-877-0600.If that doesn't get you anywhere,let me know,I will call my agent and ask them.Good luck.
:7

[Judy]

Hey Thanks, I'll call in the morning,
Judy

[Judy]

Hey Kate;

Hmmmmm...good info. I talked with some of my friends about this. One of my girlfriends used to raise Rotties in San Diego, never had a problem but that was 7 years ago.

Does anyone think this may be a NEW problem because of the dog killing that lady in northern California? I'll be so! Sheesh!

I'm too damn honest, I shoulda lied and said "no, me???? I don't have a dog?!!!"

Sheesh, I just don't need all this imposed hassle!
Judy

[Gloria]

This is like a bad nightmare that keeps reoccuring! I have had insurance with my company for 18 years and never filed claim one. They asked if they could send out an inspector to make sure we were covered completely - since we just added a kitchen, we thought sure, maybe we need to up the insurance coverage. They came out, and we got the same letter - canceling insurance because of ineligeble dogbreed. My Rottwieler, Porsche, who was always in the house or in my fenced backyard and was a sweet as can be was an ineligible breed. No concessions! I couldn't even sign a waiver letting the insurance agency off the hook if something did happen which I wouldnd have bet my mother's life on the fact that Porsche would not bite anybody! If she did, that person should not have been there to begin with and was up to no good. Well, Porsche was going to be put to sleep because of her severe hip dysplasia so ... and then we got Mojo (Great Dane). I need a large dog on my property for protection. Just the size of him will keep me safe even though he is more scared of the boogie man than anybody I know. It is these stupid people who fight their dogs and who are not responsible that ruin it for these breeds. I can't believe Great Danes are making the "Hit List". What is it going to be next - any dogs over 10 pounds? Pretty soon nobody will be able to own cats. And I have some killer Koi in my pond - people better watch out for them! My advice - don't let your insurance agent know you have a big dog!x(

[kahluadanes]

We have State Farm Insurance and have no problems. They are well aware that we have 5 dogs total: 2 Danes, 2 Labs and hubbies Beagle.

Dale

[Aggie]

You should do a search in the archives. There was a thread many months ago with a link that listed the major companies and their policy regarding dogs, including a list of unacceptable breeds if applicable.

[Judy]

Thanks! I've got my work cut out today!
Judy and Wyatt
http://www.eagle-editions.com/wyatt3.htm

[weim_mom]

Just an FYI... USAA is only for military personnel (active or retired) and their families.

Michelle

[Judy]

Yup, found that out!
But good news, I contacted Farm Bureau and they don't care how many animals I have and what kind!
They specialize in insuring farms, ranches and 'farmettes' which is what we are (more than 5 acres)....so, the premium is only $100 more than what we are currently paying ($900) but no where near the $2000 that Farmers wanted!!!!
Thanks to all who helped and suggested things off and on-line!
ROO-ROO!
Judy and Wyatt
http://www.eagle-editions.com/wyatt3.htm

[pongosmom]

Hey Judy I am sorry about that I keep forgeting that we have special benifets since we are active duty air force. When we were in the Civ life we used State farm. My family has always used them to cover our farm and livestock. I had my horse covered thru them also.
Beth - mom to pongo and coty

[ALNedimyer]

AHHHH....finally a topic I can answer with alot of knowledge. I am a Nationwide Associate Agent in PA and yes, we do have restrictions on certain types of dogs, doberman, german shepard, pitbull and a few others, but Great Danes are NOT on the list.
Every state is different with certain underwriting guidelines- but this should go across the board with Nationwide. Also, I used to work for State Farm Insurance, and they have no breed restrictions. As long as your dog has never bitten anyone, they will insure you.
And both Nationwide and State Farm DO NOT charge extra for dogs.
You can find a local agent at both websites:
www.nationwide.com
www.statefarm.com

[weim_mom]

Well that is good news... we also have insurance through our state's Farm Bureau and we are happy with them. We even chose them over USAA because of better rates and their good record with tornado disasters.

Michelle

[KelJJKev]

I have State Farm Insurance and there's no problem...

[Gloria]

>AHHHH....finally a topic I can answer with alot of
>knowledge. I am a Nationwide Associate Agent in PA and yes,
>we do have restrictions on certain types of dogs, doberman,
>german shepard, pitbull and a few others, but Great Danes
>are NOT on the list.


Not yet, but I bet it won't be long and insurance companies will start including Danes because of their size.

[ALNedimyer]

Size really doesn't matter. It's tempermant. Pitbulls for example aren't the largest of dogs, but it is because of the fighting and reputation. Sometimes it's hard for me to even think German Shepards, etc. but I live in a small town. Think of NYC or the major cities that dog fighting is prominent in...that's what regulates the rest of the state/country. Great Danes in general are a gentle breed. I know there was that one incident not too long ago- but one incident compared to hundreds is alot different. IMO, I don't think Danes will be added to the list anytime soon.

[arhoadsfoust]

My husband have Geico Home Insurance, we bought our house about 3 years ago and we didn't have our boys then but we have had no problems. I don't recall them asking us about dogs when we applied though. We haven't called them back to tell them we now have 2 Great Danes.

It is my understanding that only certain breeds are on the "LIST" for insurance. I find it REAL hard to beleive that Great Danes on that list. It is more like Rotts, Pitt Bulls, Parsa Canaries...

Have you tried contacting the AKC yet on this issue? Try them, they usually can supply you with a list of animals that Insurance companies deem as unsafe. It might vary from state to state also depending on dog bites and attacks reported in the state.

We live in OH.
Amanda, Brad and our big boys Diesel & Obbie!

[arhoadsfoust]

Good news,
I contacted the AKC, very helpful and they have actually started an entire section on their web site dedicated to insurance and dog!

Take a look, this should help everyone here!
http://www.akc.org/life/homeins/homeowners_inscenter.cfm

Contact Caine Legisltation department for more information.

Amanda, Brad and our big boys Diesel & Obbie!

[Judy]

Hi Amanda;
I don't know if Geico is going by a 'list' but rather what they just want to do.
I did find an insurance company who will insure us with Wyatt, Farmers Union...they specialize in ranches, farms and homeowners with more than 5 acres.
So, we're all set...and the insurance was less than 1/2 of what Farmers wanted!
Thanks for your help.
If you have Geico I hope you don't have a claim as it just might be voided because you did not 'claim' the dogs!
Judy and Wyatt

[Aggie]

That's the site I was thinking of when I posted. Thanks for the link. As we will be buying soon, this will be useful for me too.

[BryanAdcock]

USAA insurance is only available to its membership which is open only to military personell and their families and decendants... But if your in that group its very nice to have you usually cant beat their coverage or rates.

[Gloria]

They already have been added to the list - see the original post.

[cals mom]

We have had state farm for 15 yrs. They didnt care what kind of dogs
we had (we have had 2 rotties and 2 danes). They just stated they only
pay for one incident.

[Jill]

I'm glad this came up again! I get an e-newsletter from the ASPCA, and this is a hot topic right now. Here's a portion of the article pasted from their web page.

HELP US STOP INSURANCE COMPANIES FROM DISCRIMINATING AGAINST DOGS!
Many homeowners are faced with the hardship of choosing between keeping a beloved family companion and obtaining homeowners' insurance--simply because their dog is on a list of breeds that the insurance company has exempted from its policies. To put an end to breed discrimination, the ASPCA Government Affairs and Public Policy Department needs your help. If your insurance company has refused to write or has canceled your homeowner's or renter's policy based on the breed of dog you own, please complete our online survey at the ASPCA Advocacy Center. The information will assist us in compiling the data we need to prohibit this practice, and will not be forwarded to any other sources. For those of you who have responded to our previous request, thank you so much--and we'd greatly appreciate your participation in this survey, too.

Here's the link:
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=lobby_insurance

www.aspca.org also has a feature story about this topic right now.

Just an FYI for any interested parties!

Jill

[PC CHIC 1]

Ok, so I decided after reading through this thread that I should make an anonymous phone call to my insurance agency.
I live in Illinois and have Pekin insurance. She stated that they do not have a Bad Dog list, but do consider some dogs to be hazardous. Pit Bulls and Rotts were the only ones on that unofficial list. When I said so Great Danes aren't on there? She laughed and said No.
I told her I was going to post it on the site that Pekin is a Pet Friendly insurance company.
She did state that they needed to know I had dogs though and pulled out my file and updated it.

Awesome. Applause to Pekin and all the other Pet Friendly insurance companies.
:o :o :o :o :o :o :o
Shannon
With one Dane, my friends THOUGHT I was crazy, with two the KNOW.

[Gloria]

Jill,

Thank you for the information. I immediately submitted my survey. I'm still so angry that insurance companies can do that. My neighbor still has her vicious dogs running loose and they are mutts. Go after the owners not the dogs!

[DanielleG]

Hello we are with state farm and they have no problem with us haveing two danes and it does not raise the price at all. Geico was also our car insurance people the problem with them is they themselve do not give you insurance they take our info and give it to compnaies that work for them there sort of like the middle man. We have since switched over the cars with state farm also they give a discount for the insuracne when you have the house and cars with them so it works out for us real well. :7

[Jill]

Gloria, I totally agree!! A badly behaved dog is most often the fault of a careless (or lazy IMO) owner- regardless of breed. It frustrates me to no end!

[Ami]

OOhhh Gloria,

The KILLER KOI in the pond is quite unnerving! and may be a public threat to the entire community!!! I bet your insurance rate will go up by at least 75% for owning those vicious killing "large-breed" goldfish!!

I am chuckling at this, but this is about how ridiculous insurance companies are becoming! I wont even start about my story yet!

Ami, Tuesday and Lily

[Ami]

Thank you! Do you have any direct info for Pekoe Ins (homeowners) like a website or something? I live in Minnesota and Pekoe may not even cover me here.

I bad a break-in. About 5 months ago. My 9 yr old,Tuesday-rescue tried to deteer these criminals. But there were 4 big black guys.

I know Tuesday got one of them, because there was a partial hand print of blood on the wall from the burgalar. I am assuming that the other two guys kicked and hit Tuesday until several ribs were cracked and Tuesday was bruised quite badly.

I made the claim to my Ins co ASAP. They said nothing about the dogs at all, so I assume GDs are fine here. The bad part is that they jacked up my insurance rate by 15%. If ANYTHING happens again in the next 36 months...I will be/might be canceled. That really pisses me off! I didnt tell these crackheads to break into my house and hurt my dog and take all my things!!!! Why am I punished for it and threatened about it?

My 2 cars are insured by a differnt company, just to not complicate things with the home-ins policy.

Insurance Companies are soooooo nice when they sign you up. If you make a claim, everything changes!

Ami, Tuesday and Lily

[Gloria]

Ami, is this the story you referenced in your post to me and my Killer Koi? I'm so sorry that happened to you. I'm glad nobody was hurt.

I agree with you that insurance people are so happy to sign you up and after you've contributed thousands to their cause, as soon as you turn in a claim up go your rates to make up for the amount they had to pay you from their stash. I think insurance co's should give back a portion of your money if you haven't filed a claim for a long period of time.

At one time, our insurance co gave us a discount because we had a large dog (alarm system).

[MiraAndMe]

Hi all,
We have AAA for our insurance - home and auto. I called them yesterday and told them about or pup. She updated our file and there is no extra cost. She only asked what type of training the dog had and if she had any history of biting. I told her only confirmation training and some obedience training and instead of biting she probably would lick you to death. She said she wanted to make sure Mira wasn't trained as a guard or attack dog. Also, Pit Bulls and Rotties are on their "unofficial" list of dogs to look out for.
Hope this helps.

Amy & Mira
http://www.picturetrail.com/miraandme

[ALNedimyer]

Ami & Gloria,
Some people get angry at insurance companies because they don't understand it and don't understand how it works. People complain because sometimes their rates go up, but they don't complain that the cost of clothing, food, gas, doctor's office visits etc. go up in price. That's just expected.
What you need to understand is that not every insurance company or agent is "out for your money". They get paid on renewals, so it is so important to keep you happy so they don't lose your business. As for your rates going up when you have a claim, unfortunately, this is the way it is. With the rising costs of claims paid out; mainly due to the mass water claims in Texas; then b/c the "clean up team" did not clean properly, there are TONS of mold claims floating around. Millions of dollars in law suits are pending (or already paid) by insurance companies. Thus influencing people in other states to follow suit. Along with the drop in the stock market and September 11 (which plays a role, but not as much as people think) insurance companies are out millions. In order to make up for this huge loss, premiums are increasing, and they are cracking down on claims. Even though the claim may not be any of your fault, you will get surcharged. BUT, keep in mind, lets say you premium goes up $100 or even $200/yr after a claim that they paid even only $1000. They would have to wait 5-10 yrs. to make that money up. Not including the cost of insurance and expenses, etc. Unfortunately, most claims are much more than that. Even if you keep your policy with the same company for the rest of your life, they may never recover all their losses. But they will pay. If your house burns down tomorrow, they will pay to rebuild it (providing you have adequate coverage). Lots of people say "I don't think insurance is worth it. I paid my premiums for (x number of) years and I never had a claim. They should pay me!" Ok...so lets think...say you pay $500/yr for 30 years. That's $15,000. Now, your house completely burns down. Your insurance company pays $100,000(for example) to rebuild you a new house. Plus they pay you $75,000 for your personal property. Plus they pay you $15,000 to cover expenses that you incurred while you could not stay in your house b/c it was being built. So, they paid out a total of $190,000 and you paid in $15,000. That seems like a pretty good deal to me.
"You" only want it when you need it. It's a "what if". Sure, you don't have to have insurance, but "what if"?
JMO.

[Gloria]

You have made some excellent points, insurance is a good thing to have in case the "what if" occurs, however, insurance companies are in business to make money and they, too, are taking a chance. We sure didn't hear any gripes from insurance companies losing money before 9-11.

My main complaint is that the insurance companies tend to punish the innocent people. We end up paying the cost of bogus and frivolous lawsuits that never should have been awarded humongous amounts of money, let alone paid. Responsible home owners have their rights taken away (dog ownership, pools) because of the same kind of lawsuits. Again, go after the irresponsible people and the people who would file lawsuits because they spilled their hot coffee on themselves and got burned (dah).

This has strayed off the subject and I hope you haven't taken any this personally.

[ALNedimyer]

BUT, who is it that awards these people huge amounts of money.
That's right, the jury. People like you and me. SO if we don't want to be charged more for insurance, those are things the jury should think about in a lawsuit. Was it really the insurance companies fault? Most people want to "sock it to" the insurance companies not realizing the effects.

And no, I haven't taken it personally. But I do think the people who complain the most about their rates and their companies would rather complain than understand or learn about it. Trust me. I deal with those people who want to do nothing but complain about their rates but when I try to explain why their ears just close up.

JMO.

[Gloria]

>But I do think the people who complain the most about their rates and their companies would rather complain than understand or learn
>about it.

I tell you what, I want you to sit down and picture somebody, that doesn't even know you or your dog, telling you that you must find someplace else for your Great Dane to live within the next 2 weeks. Try to understand or learn about that.

[ALNedimyer]

So get another insurance company. There companies out there that don't have "dog lists". If that were me, I'd tell the company to "Go to He!!" in no uncertain terms, find another company and take the rest of my business with me.
But, that's just what I'd do.
P.S. They can't give you 2 weeks notice b/f they cancel your policy. Min. is 30 days. And it needs to be in writing from the company or underwriter. Just a "heads up".

[Gloria]

The letter I received was typed on September 3, and I was told to take care of the "problem" by September 17, along with a photograph or a signed contract that "the work" had been completed. That is 2 weeks, they did however give me until October 22, before canceling our insurance.

Finding another insurance co where I live is a little harder than you think. Believe me, I tried.

[Ami]

Gloria,

I feel your pain! I am so mad at my insurance co. So, now I have to worry about being canceled if anything else happens to my house in the next 36 months! Like I can STOP something from happening!!! I, by law, HAVE to have home owners insurance, but what if no company will take me? I worry about this, because I called around to switch companies as soon as I heard that my company could cancel me. All the new companies needed info about the break-in, and would document it just as it had happened to their company. I think this is CRAP!!! What do they expect me to do??? I CANNOT deter these accidents from happening...THATS WHY I HAVE INSURANCE!

Gloria, I only mentioned the "Giant Breed" Koi fish as a joke. (but who knows...they may be a liability in the future).

:D Ami

[Gloria]

>Hi Ami

>I only mentioned the "Giant Breed" Koi fish as a
>joke. (but who knows...they may be a liability in the
>future).
>
Yeah, the fact that I have a pond may freak the insurance agents out because some young child who isn't being properly attended by their parents may come over and drown in it.

You've got a prime example of unfair insurance practices. Punish the homeowner because a scumbag who won't go out and earn an honest living like the rest of us. Here's the kicker - we won't be able to have big dogs to protect our property from people like this.

You know pussy cats can get pretty big and scary - when all the dogs are eliminated then will come the cats, then the pet birds and what about the MAN EATING HAMSTERS :'(

I'm still pretty upset about the whole situation and can get very riled up over it.

Again, go after the irresponsible dog owners who have previous dog bites (my neighbor has two previouse and still gets to own vicious dogs that run the neighborhood (she has already informed the neighborhood that there isn't a leash law out here). Her dogs will bite somebody and the insurance will just hand over the money and she will continue owning vicious dogs.

I would just like to add that Alnedermyer(sp) did private e-mailed me and did offer to help find insurance which was very sweet of her.

[2cooldanes]

I have been meaning to check for myself and just hung up with our agent and Allstate has no problems with ANY breed of dog. However, if there is a bite you will be dropped.

Rob

[Ami]

Gloria,
'we wont be able to have big dogs to protect out property'

LOL! Lily would either lick them to death or hide behind me! The only threat she poses is her "happy tail" which can (and does) cause bruising! I know that every dog will protect their owner IF NEEDED, but I would rather my dogs to go hide somewhere and not be harmed than try to be tough and be hurt or killed by a felon.

Since my break-in, I keep my dogs gated off in the kitchen (attatched to their own bedroom) instead of roaming the whole house. This way IF anyone was to break-in again, they could steal everything expensive without my dogs being harmed.

If I was to come home to my house burned to the ground...but I had my dogs healthy...I would be just fine with it. Everything can be replaced except for the lives of my beloved friends. All my nieghbors know to rescue my pets if an emergency happens (and I know all my nieghbors pets, and would make sure they were rescued to the absolut best of my ability).

I used to feel safe having Tuesday roam the house while I was gone, but after he was beaten by these people who broke in...I only care about him (and my other dogs) being safe. PLEASE, TAKE EVERYTHING!!! JUST DONT HURT MY DOGS!!!--is what I want to post on my door!

Ami

[SherryE]

OMG Ami, how horrible for both of you. Is Tuesday all right? (maybe I missed a post). I'm sorry, that is just about the scariest thing I can think of. I hope that he is ok.

[Ami]

Re-reading my post, I just had to think about how unnerving it is to think this way! I am really wishing that I did not have to worry about such things. With all the other crap going on right now... I just wish that THIS was not a concern!

I guess everyone has worries.

Ami

[Gloria]

Ami, I agree with you about keeping the dogs safe. I wouldn't want anything happen to Mojo if someone were to break into the house.

I'm so sorry again about what you had to go through.