Home Insurance and Dogs: Affects on Insurance Rates

As a dog owner, you want to keep your dog and your home protected. The best way is with home insurance. Unfortunately, home insurance and dogs can mean higher rates. With over 60% of American homes having at least one dog, it is important to understand how home insurance and dogs affect each other.

Home Insurance and Dogs: Added Liability Risks

Just like adding a pool to your home insurance policy, owning a dog is a policy underwriting factor that home insurance companies take very serious. Home insurance carriers aren't concerned that your dog will flood the house by chewing a garden hose or break every window in the house one a whim, but that your dog will bite somebody. Simply put: dogs are home insurance liability risks.

Home Insurance and Dogs: Coverage and Dog Bites

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were approximately 4.7 million dog bites in 2005 accounting for roughly $317.2 million in insurance claims. Who would know this more than the mail carrier? In 2004, the U.S. Postal Service reported over 3,400 dog-related injuries—that’s an average of 11 mail carrier injuries every day!

Home insurance typically covers dog bite liability, as long as your dog is disclosed to your home insurance company. Home insurers may charge more or even deny your application if you own specific types of dogs. These are determined by the frequency of dog bites for the breed, whether they are large dogs that can inflict a lot of damage, and the breed's general reputation. Some of the breeds that raise red flags for home insurance carriers are Pit Bulls, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies, Malamutes, Doberman Pinschers, Chow Chows, Great Danes, Saint Bernards, and Wolf Hybrids.

Home Insurance and Dogs: Keep Your Policy Updated

Having adequate home insurance with a dog is a common oversight by many dog owners. Some dog owners attempt to save money on their home insurance by omitting the dog information from the application, and others simply neglect to report their dog since they're already committed to an affordable home insurance policy. As dog owners, the most responsible decision you can make is to tell your home insurance company about your dog because any claim will most likely be denied if you don't. Knowingly omitting relevant liabilities to your home insurance company can be grounds for policy cancellation, which is certainly not in your financial interests.

You may find that adding a dog to your home insurance policy will be negligible to your premium, however, if the opposite is true, it's time to shop around for new coverage. Home insurance and dogs can mean different rates between carriers, so comparing multiple home insurance quotes at InsWeb.com will make it easier to find a policy that meet your, and your dogs’, needs.