[Dokescoonse]

How about not telling them you have dogs?

[Zwnkkvle]

Thanks for the info everyone. So far, State Farm is the only one that's said they would cover the dogs.

danorth--When I initially got my insurance, I didn't think twice that they would be so ignorant as to ban a breed from a policy. I actually said my dog was a pit bull mix. They still said no. We even asked the agent what they would do if we bought the house, got insurance, THEN got a pit bull (or 5 of them for that matter). She said since they woudn't know about the dog, we would still be covered. Kind of ridiculous to me. WIth all the hassle we've dealt with, I'm leaning towards just lying and not telling them I have any dogs! Pretty sad that you have to lie to get by, huh?!

Thanks again!

[Tryphadz]

How about not telling them you have dogs?

That's not very smart.. what if they randomly send an agent to your house and see you have a 'dangerous breed'? Then what do you do?

I've seen this happen first hand.. co-worker had a Rotti (9yr. old female, sweet dog) and his insurance company did a home check one day and the dog barked at the agent through the fence. His policy was dropped that day because he had a 'dangerous breed'.

So yeah, not worth the risk of trying to hide your dogs. Just switch over to a Pit Bull friendly company and you should be good to go. Also, getting a CGC on your dog helps a lot too. I told my agent that Wilson was CGC & TDI certified, and Piper is almost ready to take her CGC test and she said they really like hearing that.

[inilbowly]

I'm in NC and we have Amica. It's not a highly advertised company, but they're very competitively priced and great to work with. They never said a word about us having a pit bull, even after the home visit.

[glamourcitys]

How about not telling them you have dogs?

By not telling them you have dogs they can get out of paying a claim if anything should happen. I have heard of people even getting denied a claim from tree damage to their roof because they had a Pit Bull and didn't disclose the dogs breed.

[Zwnkkvle]

Kady--I've seen a lot of the CGC & TDI mentioned on here. What exactly is that, and how do you get it?

[Tryphadz]

Kady--I've seen a lot of the CGC & TDI mentioned on here. What exactly is that, and how do you get it?

Here's info. on the CGC, AKC CGC Test - Training Behavior

And therapy dogs (TDI is who Wilson is certified through, that's Therapy Dogs International), Thera-pits: Therapy dog training 101 - Training Behavior

Here's TDI's site: Therapy Dogs

[Essefsbyday]

Yeah it really sucks! Also, if one insurance agent denies you call another in the same company. Sometimes that works. The two I know are great with 'dangerous' breeds are State Farm and Farmers. Depending on what state you are in there are some others too.

Definitely if one agent says no, try another with the same company. State Farm is the best at not having breed restrictions, but sometimes, it depends on the agent.

Also, just a note, Farmers Insurance, and Farm Bureau, are not the same company. Not sure what Farmers guidelines are, but Farm Bureau can have different plans, I guess it also depends on the agent. Some will say no, and some won't. Just keep trying and don't give up, but start with State Farm.

FYI... hiding your dog, or your dogs breed, intentionally, can not only result in being denied payment on a claim, but also, immediate cancellation of your policy, as well as Insurance Fraud charges.

[Zwnkkvle]

I am a recently new homeowner (yay!). When applying for homeowners, I never thought twice about telling them the breed of my dog. I didn't think anyone would be ignorant enough to deny insurance based on a dog breed. Little did I know, mine did... along with a lot of other companies. The agent even came for a home visit to meet my dog and was smothered with kisses!!! Even that wasn't enough to convince them that my dog was far from dangerous.

We currently have homeowners, but have a clause in place stating that any damage done by the dog is NOT covered. Has anyone else experienced this same problem? If so, how did you handle it? Does anyone know of any good insurance companies that accept the breed?

[lrUyiva1]

I think if you do a search on the forum, you'll find this topic is discussed often. We have State Farm and have never had issues. I think Farm Bureau (not available in all states) is another that doesn't have breed restrictions.

[asivisepo]

Yeah it really sucks! Also, if one insurance agent denies you call another in the same company. Sometimes that works. The two I know are great with 'dangerous' breeds are State Farm and Farmers. Depending on what state you are in there are some others too.

[LongaDonga]

Farmers in NC isn't "pit bull" friendly. We got a letter with a few things, but one was "dangerous or exotic pets". We only have the dogs, and they aren't dangerous or exotic. lol.

We were dropped by another saying, "Pit bulls may be a liability."

Neither company asked us if we even had dogs, let alone breed, but when they came to do the home visit, that is when they dropped us.

I have heard that State Farm is the way to go. One Agent might say "no", but they don't discriminate. So, if one agent says "no", then go to another.

[asivisepo]

Ah, that sucks about Farmers in NC I can't believe they drop you when they come out and don't mention it before hand.
OP check within your state. Last I checked where I lived Farmers allowed pits but that was a few months ago.
Personally State Farm is my pick

[beenBinybelia]

I didn't have a dog when I got my current policy, and they still made me sign a waiver that dog bites are not included. She mentioned no pit bulls but said an American Bulldog was ok

[M4tHkBw2]

We have Liberty Mutual but when we bought our house I also called Allstate, I was told by both we could have as many pit bulls as we wanted and it wouldn't change our policy.... Now if something really happened I am sure that would change but....

[Tryphadz]

I have State Farm, actually just switched to it because they're known to be Pit Bull friendly.

[GoblinGaga]

State Farm is what I have.

[kenowinnumberss]

We have Liberty Mutual but when we bought our house I also called Allstate, I was told by both we could have as many pit bulls as we wanted and it wouldn't change our policy.... Now if something really happened I am sure that would change but....

Interesting- Liberty Mutual doesn't insure you if you have any "aggressive" dogs. I think the only major company in MA is Progressive and they will bang you for another $1000/year or something stupid.

[Necedofer]

here's a link to some info on my site!

http://pitbullu.weebly.com/discrimin...-insuring.html

[TolleyBoymn]

We have insurance through Country Financial and they cover Pits. We are in Wa state not sure if Country is available everywhere.