A dog may be known as man’s best friend, but brokers may want to advise their clients to choose their friends wisely to protect your home insurance coverage.
While homeowners’ insurance is not typically among the top concerns when adopting a pet, some carriers will deny coverage to residences with certain breeds that have been deemed unsafe, according to
Psychology Today.
“We are in the business of evaluating risk, and based on what we know the dogs on our 'uninsurable list' pose a higher risk,” an
Allstate Insurance representative told the outlet.
She justifies this assertion by pointing out that one-third of its U.S. liability claims in 2013 resulted from injuries inflicted by canines. This translated to $490 million total, or $30,000 per claim.
Insurers lists of “dangerous” dogs varies, with some even labeling theirs as “prohibited dog breeds” and “excluded dog breeds” in terms of covering their owners with home insurance. The inference is undeniable: these breeds are deal killers. While there is a push to outlaw this practice, it is still common in most parts of the U.S. and Canada.
A noted dog psychologist examined several home insurance companies’ lists of forbidden dogs, and found the following 14 shared among them:
- Pit Bull Terriers
- Staffordshire Terriers
- Rottweilers
- German Shepherds
- Presa Canarios
- Chow Chows
- Doberman Pinschers
- Akitas
- Wolf-hybrids
- Mastiffs
- Cane Corsos
- Alaskan Malamutes
- Siberian Huskies
While it’s easy to recoil at the idea of denying coverage based on a client’s choice of pet, there is one silver lining: it has led Canadian pet owners to seek out independent brokerages when obtaining home insurance policies.
“Brokerages are probably the best. I’ve phoned a couple of brokers and they’ve said ‘We will find you someone,'” Lorraine McLeod told
Global News.
