My home insurance was cancelled because I have Dobermans

[jel0511]

Originally posted by airhead
My dog,whether it is a Doberman or mutt is a well trained dog. I don't want my animal grouped with Joe Smoe's untrained,chained up yard dog! Obedience training is costly. I should be rewarded for taking the time and money to properly train my animal. To group ALL dogs in a catagory is discrimination.
See,I guess the way I see it,and I've been struggling with this in all areas of our culture/society,that it does not pay to follow the rules or to do the "right thing". This is just one more instance of "good gets ya nuthin".

I agree with you, but at any moment even a VERY well trained dog can snap. It has happened in my family. My Aunt had a VERY well trained Siberian Husky. This dog was one of the nicest dogs I'd ever met. It was calm, loving, always followed commands, etc. Well one day, it just snapped. Her daughter (who had ALWAYS been there) was walking by the dog. The dog all of sudden "snapped" and attacked her daughter. Her dauughter almost lost half her face and is permantely scarred. Obviously the dog was put down after this incident, and this dog breed isn't even on the "do not insure" list. It can even happen with well trained dogs, but is DEFINATELY the exception, and not the rule. It's these type of situations (as well as the untrained, unruly ones) the insurance companies want to avoid. I'm sorry that it has happened to you, since you are DEFINATELY doing the right thing.

 

[piratesmate]

I'm sorry you're having this trouble. Our landlord doesn't allow pets so I haven't dealth with this myself. However, my sister had a doberman (another of the-biggest-baby-in-the-world types) and they were covered by State Farm Insurance. I don't know if you have that in your area, but thought it might help.

 

[Mskanga]

I just recently found out also that my homeowners insurance will not renew the policy because I have a german sheppard which BTW has never given any problems and is always contained in our property or at home.
I was going to look for another insurance anyway, so no biggie.

 

[HappyMommy2]

I'm sorry this is happening to you! It certainly doesn't seem fair that they would call entire breeds unacceptable. In my opinion the main problem is not with the breed itself; it's that the breeds that are supposedly more aggressive and intimidating are the breeds that some irresponsible people will get simply for the "cool" factor or as a guard dog, without ever training them properly. Of course it doesn't help that the breeds in question also happen to be large and strong and when something goes wrong they can inflict major damage or even death. Small dogs (and cats!) can be aggressive and dangerous too but the damage generally just isn't so severe.

Insurance isn't the only issue. In some areas there is pressure from the public for the government to "do something" about certain breeds. In a city where I used to live, there was a rash of pit bull attacks (including the death of a little boy), and there was a lot of talk about banning pit bulls from the city altogether. The ban was never enacted; people seemed to realize that you can't just generalize like that.

Our family will probably never own a dog--DH was attacked by a neighbor's doberman when he was 4 (luckily an adult was nearby and got him out of harm's way) and I was bitten by a cocker spaniel on the way home from 3rd grade, so we are a bit wary of dogs! But it seems like there should be some kind of certification that good dogs can get that would exempt them from the insurance problems.

Just my 3 cents!

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

Originally posted by DebbieB
I work for a major insurance company in commercial lines. The problem with excluding a known hazard from a policy sometimes does not hold up in court. If someone would be seriously injured by your dog and has no other means of recovery, the courts will sometimes rule that the insurance company has to pay anyway.

Oh, that makes sense I guess. Thankyou for explaining that to me.

 

[olena]

Originally posted by HappyMommy2
But it seems like there should be some kind of certification that good dogs can get that would exempt them from the insurance problems.

There is. The AKC Canine Good Citizen Certification is becoming more and more recognized as a means to distinguish well-behaved dogs from those with poor social skills.

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

I hate to say it, but that is the price you pay for having a dog that is one of the known 'dangerous' breeds. I realize that not ALL Dobies are vicious, snarling, drooling, baby-eating monsters but the few that are give the rest of the good ones a bad, bad name.


TOV

 

[cherylp3]

Luckily my insurance agencies haven't asked. But you can get insurance from the State of MA. One of my friends who has a chow had her insurance canecelled.

Cheryl

 

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by airhead
My dog,whether it is a Doberman or mutt is a well trained dog. I don't want my animal grouped with Joe Smoe's untrained,chained up yard dog! Obedience training is costly. I should be rewarded for taking the time and money to properly train my animal. To group ALL dogs in a catagory is discrimination.
See,I guess the way I see it,and I've been struggling with this in all areas of our culture/society,that it does not pay to follow the rules or to do the "right thing". This is just one more instance of "good gets ya nuthin".

I'm sorry this has happened to you...


Insurance companies don't act fairly, from the customers viewpoint....

it's a well known fact that when it comes to car insurance, young male drivers pay way more than female drivers, regardless of their driving skills or record...people pay more for owning a sports car, regardless of their driving skills or habits...it's all a matter of statistics/ percentages....

 

[airhead]

I needed that....

 

[TheOtherVillainess]

Well, it's true. If you own a dog that's considered one of the 'dangerous' breeds, you're going to have to deal with the stereotypes that go along with that. Even if you have a perfectly obedient dog whose never attacked anything other than your houseslippers. You as the owner chose to take that on when you adopted the dog in question. I'm not saying it's right that people have stereotyped certain breeds as 'dangerous'. It is the fault of the many bad breeders/owners out there that they have as a bad a rep as they do.



TOV

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Every Rottweiler I've been around has been a gentle giant.

The only dog that I've ever been bitten by? A dachshound.

That doesn't mean I think every dachshound is mean. The one next door is cranky but I've never heard of him biting anyone, and growing up I had two neighbors who had dachshounds and they were friendly dogs.

Yes, there are breeds that may do more damage if they're raised to be vicious, but I don't think everyone that owns a dog of those breeds deserves to be penalized. The insurance companies should allow exceptions when a dog owner of one of these breeds can produce a Canine Good Citizenship certificate.

What I want to know is this -- first, don't police dogs live with their handlers/partners? And does that have an impace on the police officers' homeowners insurance or are they allowed exceptions?

 

[ErikdaRed]

Lets work out the whole good teenage driver thing before we go after good dogs please.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Sorry to hear that, CJ. A bummer for sure. Doc here, a Rottie, is like a baby.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

I can't believe that, it sucks! My mom who has a Dobie, never had a problem. Though its a friend of the family who does our insurance as well as hers, so he may just get around that question. As far as Dobies ingeneral, these stereotypes have got to go. I have an older collie, in her younger days she would have definetly bit or snapped at someone before my moms Dobie. You should be able to choose your own breed. I know for a fact, there are certain areas, where certain breeds are banned. They are only allowed in the area for the show. But must always be leashed or crated. Maybe, someone should do something about the bad owners of these breeds of dogs, instead of punishing everyone.

 

[Mskanga]

Originally posted by ErikdaRed
Lets work out the whole good teenage driver thing before we go after good dogs please.

That and the drunk drivers, uninsured drivers, wreckless drivers , I'm getting tired of my insurance premiums going up every year to make up for all the people who put in claims , when my husband and I have perfectly clean driving records with no accidents or tickets . Yet we can't keep our home insurance because we have a dog that has never given a problem and someone considers that breed a threat?
Insurance should be considered on a case by case basis, not general.
And TOV, don't tell me this is what I brought on to myself when I got the dog, because 7 years ago when I got the dog, my insurance company did not have that policy, they started this just about 2 years ago, but I had the same company for 5.

 

[airhead]

...What breed do you have? Have you run into the same problem as I have?

 

[Mskanga]

Airhead , I have a german sheppard and yes I have been already told that at the end of this policy , they will not renew because I have a german sheppard. Now I have to look for another company , but I was going to do it anyway because I think their premium is high.

 

[airhead]

I'm in Massachusetts. My agent said not to worry about it,that there were lots of companies that would insure us. I guess I'm just angry because my dogs are so well behaved and we're being
treated unfairly. And contrary to some people's ignorant opinions,
I didn't "ask for this" when I decided to own and train dobermans. I chose the breed because of its intelligence,loyalty and eagerness to please its owner.

 

[elgerber]

Originally posted by goofy4tink
When I told her it is a golden retriever she just laughed and said that certainly wasn't a breed on her list!!! Someone should educate these people. It's the owners of those other breeds that have caused this to happen. No, not you CJ!!! But there are owners out there with the pit bulls, rotties and dobies that have trained their dogs to be vicious. Now, entire breeds have gotten terrible reps!! Not fair.

I completely agree with this! This is a subject that makes me so mad! I have known several dobies and rotts, and they were all big babies. I used to work at a vet, and the only time I was ever bitten or snapped at was by small dogs. I makes me so mad that people buy dogs to use as weapons or status symbols. I used to have a neighbor that bought a pitbull for that reason, and I hated him for it. He left the dog in the hot garage all day or tied him to a tree with a 6 foot chain. He never played with him or trained him or took him in the house when he whined at the front door. I am sorry you have been penalized for having dobermans, I think it's totally wrong!!

Erika