Need help! Homeowners insurance after dog bite?

[erin1715]

Well, to make a long story short...we had a dog that escaped from our fenced in yard and attacked and killed a dog across the street. This was about 3 years ago. The neighbor reported it to our homeowners insurance who paid the damages of about $3500. We put the dog to sleep the same day it happened.

Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago, and our homeowners insurance company notified they were dropping us due to what happened and we need to find another company by October. We've since called around to the larger insurance companies and nobody will cover us. We currently own 2 dogs.

Has anyone had an experience like this or have any advice to find a new insurance company??

 

[brittsmum1998]

What state are you in? What kind of dogs are they?

Here in Massachusetts, some companies won't insure pit bulls and trampolines.

 

[golfgal]

And people were making fun of my post when someone was posting about a new chow/rottie mix puppy --this is NOT uncommon.

It is very difficult to find insurance with a history of a dog attack, sorry. What kind of dogs do you have now? Is that the issue? You may have to get rid of your dogs and agree to never have dogs again. You also might only be able to get covered under your state plan-which is very expensive.

 

[erin1715]

We are in NY and have another St. Bernard and an Olde English Bulldog.

I also think its completely ridiculous that an INSURANCE company, who is supposed to work when these things happen, won't help. Plus, we got rid of the dog...so that means all of our dogs should be punished now!

 

[Jennasis]

I don't think your new dogs are being punished, rather "you" are. The insurance company has to assume that if you were somehow negligent and let your other dog escape and attack another dog, that it is reasonable to think you mightlet it happen again.

FWIW, I think it stinks out loud. I'll ask my dad about it. He owns an insurance brokerage.

What part of NY? He's on Long Island.

 

[golfgal]

We are in NY and have another St. Bernard and an Olde English Bulldog.

I also think its completely ridiculous that an INSURANCE company, who is supposed to work when these things happen, won't help. Plus, we got rid of the dog...so that means all of our dogs should be punished now!

Insurance companies are not charity organizations, they are in the business to make money. It all comes down to claims experience and if something is too expensive to insure they have the choice to either hike up your rates or not cover you. This is why floods, for example, are not covered under homeowner's policies-floods cause more damage then all other natural disasters combined. What kind of dog did you have that killed the other dog?

 

[erin1715]

I really appreciate all of the input. The dog that killed the other dog was a St. Bernard mix...we rescued her from an abusive home.

I wonder if an insurancy policy would carry us if we told them that they wouldn't have to cover our dogs under the policy. That we would pay for any future damages.

We are in upstate NY...about an hour from Syracuse.

 

[Pakey]

Here, insurance companies cancel with any kind of claim and there's a long list of dog breeds that are not allowed under our policy.

Personally, I would never have a dog that would exclude us from liability coverage. My luck, I'd get sued for $200,000 in damages if my dog bit a child or something like that. As much as I love my dogs, I'd never take the risk that my liability insurance would not protect me.

 

[golfgal]

I really appreciate all of the input. The dog that killed the other dog was a St. Bernard mix...we rescued her from an abusive home.

I wonder if an insurancy policy would carry us if we told them that they wouldn't have to cover our dogs under the policy. That we would pay for any future damages.

We are in upstate NY...about an hour from Syracuse.

Doubt it. They are probably discontinuing policies for ALL homeowners that have had previous dog bite claims against them. They can't discriminate and say that you agreed to not have any dog claims covered. It is against the law to do that. You might be able to retain a policy if you get rid of your dogs and never have dogs again but that is easier said than done.

 

[erin1715]

Yeah I really don't want to get rid of dogs and never have them again. There must be other people out there who have gone through this same ordeal.

I just don't understand the logic of even having insurance if they are going to drop you the minute you file a claim...makes no sense.

 

[Jennasis]

Yeah I really don't want to get rid of dogs and never have them again. There must be other people out there who have gone through this same ordeal.

I just don't understand the logic of even having insurance if they are going to drop you the minute you file a claim...makes no sense.

Happens with auto insurance all the time.

Just keep trying. I'm sure you'll find someone who'll take you but you will probably pay heftily for them.

ETA: Your homeowners insurance paid your neighbor $3500??? Why on Earth didn't you settle that yourself? You should have paid that small amount out of pocket rather than go through your insurance, and then you'd still have coverage. Lesson learned. Always settle if you can.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

In many states there are state sponsored insurance "funds" so that people who are considered higher risk, for whatever reason, may still be insured.

I went and did a little google-foo and found out that if you cannot find insurance from any other insurer, New York does have a state sponsored type of insurance with higher premiums. The website is: http://www.nypiua.com/

A friendly guide to insurance in New York, written by the New York State Department of Insurance may be found here: http://www.ins.state.ny.us/homeown/pdf/home2007.pdf

Hope this helps.

 

[erin1715]

Happens with auto insurance all the time.

Just keep trying. I'm sure you'll find someone who'll take you but you will probably pay heftily for them.

ETA: Your homeowners insurance paid your neighbor $3500??? Why on Earth didn't you settle that yourself? You should have paid that small amount out of pocket rather than go through your insurance, and then you'd still have coverage. Lesson learned. Always settle if you can.

That's the thing....we never even knew that the neighbor went to our insurance company and that they paid him until after it was all finished. Our insurance policy never notified us that this was happening.

 

[erin1715]

In many states there are state sponsored insurance "funds" so that people who are considered higher risk, for whatever reason, may still be insured.

I went and did a little google-foo and found out that if you cannot find insurance from any other insurer, New York does have a state sponsored type of insurance with higher premiums. The website is: http://www.nypiua.com/

A friendly guide to insurance in New York, written by the New York State Department of Insurance may be found here: http://www.ins.state.ny.us/homeown/pdf/home2007.pdf

Hope this helps.

Thank you so much...that does help.

 

[MushyMushy]

That's the thing....we never even knew that the neighbor went to our insurance company and that they paid him until after it was all finished. Our insurance policy never notified us that this was happening.

Did you offer to pay right away when your dog did that? If not, maybe they thought it would be easier to get the money from the insurance company.

Anyway, sorry for your trouble. That really stinks.

 

[RitaZ.]

That's the thing....we never even knew that the neighbor went to our insurance company and that they paid him until after it was all finished. Our insurance policy never notified us that this was happening.

How did they get that information?

I understand your frustration. I live in S. FL. After the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005, thousands of homeowners had their polices cancelled by their insurance companies. Many had been with the same company for years and had NEVER filed a single claim. The companies no longer wanted to take on the risk of insuring homes in the area. The end. One of my neighbors had been with Allstate for 18 years and had never filed a claim. He was dropped.

You may be able to find a company to cover your home, but it will probably be rather costly. Good luck.

 

[dejr_8]

How did your neighbor know who your insurance company was?

 

[Jennasis]

What the deuce?? They sued your insurance without your knowledge? How then did they know who your insurance agent was??

 

[JoiseyMom]

First of all, I can't imagine an insurance company paying out a claim without talking to the home owner and getting their side of the story.
Secondly, pets are legally considered property, and I cant see a dog being worth that much money, unless it was perhaps a show dog. Or if there were vet bills involved and their dog didn't pass right away.

I had a neighbor whose DS was attacked 2x by a dog, and they had to take them to court to get something done. Even the town couldn't/didn't get them to do anything (like a fence or kennel). I know there is more to it, but it was insane .

Insurance companies are there to make money, if they feel you are a bad risk, they will drop you. When my DS got into his second accident as a new driver, I told my IC that we were removing him from our policy and he was not allowed to drive our cars, and I signed a paper saything that, so that my rates wouldn't go sky high. DS was told this was what was going to happen. He went off to college and got a DL in that state using his school address and got insurance there. This was 8 years ago, and he still hasn't driven one of my cars since!! LOL

I had a Chow mix (he was also part rottie, german shepard and retriever) for 14 years. Now, he looked Chow so I couldn't say he wasn't. We were looking for a new insurance company, just because ours was getting to expensive. I couldn't find a company that would insure us because of our senior citizen dog! My agent finally got a company to agree, after I told him he was 13, could barely walk, and had never bit anyone. It was crazy.

 

[golfgal]

How did your neighbor know who your insurance company was?

They probably filed it with THEIR insurance company and that insurance company has access to reporting systems that can find that information pretty easily.

I also find it strange that they paid out for a dog attacking dog situation. Did the dog destroy any of their property or hurt someone in the family?